Ben Brown has always been a glass half-full captain so it seemed right that he offered an upbeat assessment on the first part of the season as his Sussex players enjoyed some much-needed time off this week.
After six successive Championship games – five of which went to a fourth day – the opportunity to recharge their batteries would have been welcome, especially by the young players who are having to learn on the job about the grind of county cricket.
“For the last six to eight weeks we have had a very tiring schedule of matches along with physical training,” said Brown. “It’s taxing because we are competing hard in every session to stay in every game.
“Experienced sides are more used to it, so we need to take our time away from the game and come back refreshed, especially the younger guys.”
The Championship table – Sussex are fifth in Group 3 with one win so far – would suggest only modest improvement on last season but this was always going to be a summer when the focus was on development and bedding in the new coaching team of Ian Salisbury and James Kirtley, whose priority is the white-ball competitions.
Of the 16 players Sussex have fielded in the Championship so far this season, ten are aged 24 or under and only three are over 30. Four teenagers have played and three have made their first-class debuts. The average age of the team that lost narrowly to Yorkshire was 23.8.
There are sure to be more ups and downs, and for players who will also be expected to play in the T20 Blast or Royal London One-Day Cup later in the season the schedule won’t get any easier.
But if you’d said to Brown and Salisbury that after six Championship games one of his young batsmen (Tom Haines) would have over 500 runs and one of his bowlers (Jack Carson) would have 21 wickets they would have been delighted.
“The way some of the young lads have improved on last season shows they are really growing into their roles. Six weeks in a row of playing has been challenging but I’m delighted with how the squad has responded,” added Brown.
“We had a blip at Northants a couple of weeks ago but otherwise we have competed fantastically and in terms of our development I am really pleased.”
The coach-captain relationship is the most important in the club. During Sussex’s days of plenty Chris Adams and Peter Moores didn’t always march in step but they always had the good of the team at heart. It’s early days, but the way Brown speaks about his relationship with Salisbury suggests a similarly strong alliance is forming.
“Sals has been brilliant. He is so positive and a very caring person,” said Brown. “He’s very level-headed and that helps me and he’s fantastic with the youngsters. He’s got a tremendous amount of passion for their development.”
Last week’s game against Kent was ruined by weekend rain and a pitch which, unusually for Hove, went to sleep after 21 wickets fell in the first five sessions. We’ll never know if a fully fit Jofra Archer would have made a difference in Kent’s second innings.
Instead, Archer is due to have surgery this week on an elbow problem which has troubled him since the start of last year. He is unlikely to play any part in England’s international series this summer.
But while he recovers, Ollie Robinson has the opportunity to stake a claim for next winter’s Ashes tour after he was called up for the two-Test series against New Zealand which starts on Wednesday 2 June.
Some would say – and they might not necessarily all be Sussex supporters – that it’s an overdue reward for consistent performances over the past four years. It will be fascinating to see whether he can transfer his outstanding record in county cricket to the Test arena.
With no Archer or Robinson, Brown and Salisbury will need to make changes for the next Championship game against Northamptonshire which starts next Thursday (27 May).
Henry Crocombe and Jamie Atkins may be asked to fill their considerable shoes but after some time off they should be raring to go.
And for the first time since September 2019 there will be spectators in the 1st Central County Ground with around 800 permitted each day. For most of those youngsters, it will be a novel experience playing in front of a crowd.
