When things are bad at Sussex – and, let’s face it, they are pretty bad at the moment – there’s always a temptation to look back in rheumy-eyed reminiscence about how things were so much better way back when.
And for this generation of Sussex supporters, you don’t have to have a particularly long memory to recall an era when the county were serial trophy winners.
One constant through all those eras, some good and some bad, has been the place where it’s unfolded, the County Ground in Hove.
And to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first game played there, in 1872, comes a fascinating and superbly researched account of how Hove has become the ground we have come to love.
Field of Dreams, by Sussex supporters Patrick Ferriday and James Mettyear, traces the story of the ground back to its Victorian roots when it was called the Brunswick Ground.
They touch on royal patronage as well as regal characters like Ranjitsinhji who thrilled the first patrons watching from the deckchairs at the turn of the century.
Of course, as the authors point out, your personal view of Hove and the memories it holds depends on when you first went there and the cricket you watched. I’d only been an occasional visitor before I started writing about cricket 35 years ago.
Half of the ground – the pavilion and the Cromwell Road end – hasn’t changed a great deal since then, but the other developments, particularly the stands in the south and south west corner, have undoubtedly altered Hove for the better.
And I think the same will eventually be said about the development currently under way at the main entrance and the plans for the south east corner where the hospitality area is currently sited.
But like all cricket grounds, Hove is a patchwork of different elements and that is part of its charm. That, and the seagulls, the sea air and the deckchairs.
The section in the second half of Field of Dreams is excellent, as the authors talk to various people from former players to Sam Wheeler, the friendly steward who has been welcoming visitors to Hove on the main gate for the last 20-plus years, to several former players.
The charming reminiscences of Jim Parks are particularly poignant, bearing in mind Jim passed away a few weeks ago.
If you have any feeling for Sussex cricket, or have spent time at Hove watching the game, you will enjoy this book immensely.
And, as someone leafing through it at the ground a couple of weeks ago sagaciously remarked, it might even take your mind off what’s going on out in the middle at the moment.
Field of Dreams: 150 years at the County Ground, Hove; by Patrick Ferriday and James Mettyear, HB, Von Krumm Publishing, 240pp, £17
A hugely disappointing Vitality Blast campaign ended on Sunday with defeat against Hampshire. Four wins out of 14 meant that Sussex finished seventh out of nine in the South Group.
It was their worst performance for a decade since they came bottom of a six-team section in 2013.
A ruinous run of five straight losses early on left the campaign holed below the waterline and the only consolation for the bean-counters at Hove is that last Friday’s game against Essex sold out, even though Sussex had no chance of qualifying.
Proof, not that it were needed, that for a lot of people being entertained is more important than the actual result.
Sussex put a lot of emphasis on the Blast campaign but very little came off. Five overseas players were employed but none of them played more than half of the 14 matches (Mohammad Rizwan).
Quite what the cost of paying them, their agents, accommodation and flights amounts to is anyone’s guess, never mind how much all the coming and goings affected selection and the balance of the side.
Only skipper Ravi Bopara, Delray Rawlins and Steve Finn played in all 14 matches – and a total of 20 players were used.
You couldn’t accuse coach James Kirtley of not shuffling his resources to try to find a winning blend but in the end Sussex just didn’t do the basics well enough and often enough.
Only Tom Alsop, who played 10 games, scored more than 300 runs while only Bopara bowled at an economy rate of more than 7.50. Tymal Mills, who began the tournament with a career economy rate of 7.77 went for 9.47 runs an over.
You could make a strong case for arguing that West Indies left-armer Obed Mackay, with 15 wickets in five games, offered the best return by the overseas contingent.
Rashid Khan loves playing for Sussex but can the county keep committing to him long term when he plays only six games?
Pluses were hard to find. Ali Orr acquitted himself well and had a strike rate of 161.75, Rawlins balanced the side and his left-arm spin was often effective but the under-use of Sussex’s all-time leading wicket-taker Will Beer, who played just five games, was never seriously explained.
It was announced the day before the Hampshire game that Beer would be leaving Sussex after 15 seasons and, while he was presented with his county cap afterwards, his departure in front of a small Sunday night crowd in a meaningless match didn’t feel like the send-off a player who has given so much to Sussex deserved.
At last – a Championship win! When Sussex began their last-day chase of a target of 342 against Derbyshire, I’d be surprised if there were more than 150 spectators at Hove.
Now, I’m not suggesting that by the time Dan Ibrahim hit the winning runs a few hours later punters were storming the gates, but the crowd had more than doubled in size as Sussex ticked off the runs and supporters could celebrate Sussex’s first four-day win in front of a crowd at Hove since August 2019 (they beat Hampshire in 2020 but the County Ground was empty because of covid restrictions).
A first Championship win anywhere since April 2021 will have done wonders for morale and with Leicestershire, the only side below Sussex in the table, due at Hove next week, dare Sussex supporters dream of two in two?
Follow Bruce on Twitter @brucetalbot1.
