At around noon on the final day of the opening County Championship match at Hove, a tremendous cheer went up around the 1st Central County Ground.
Oli Carter, the 21-year-old Sussex wicket-keeper, pulled a short-pitched delivery from Brydon Carse to the fence for four to seal victory over Durham.
The win, by a slender margin of two wickets, was the first for Sussex in their opening match of the Championship season since 2015.
While Carter claimed the headlines, the triumph was a team effort. The captain, Cheteshwar Pujara, scored a scintillating century in his first innings while seamers Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Henry Crocombe both took four wickets in the second.
Yet, it was the contribution of Nathan McAndrew that proved most crucial. The Australian, making his debut, claimed a dogged 5-85 in Durham’s first innings and a vital 38 not out as Sussex replied.
Despite his stellar start, he is an all-rounder who has never played international cricket and was somewhat of an unknown prospect when he signed for Sussex in January. So, who is Nathan McAndrew, and what exactly does he bring to Sussex?
In 2016, at 21, McAndrew made his professional debut, turning out for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, Australia’s premier T20 competition.
Two matches and one BBL trophy later, McAndrew moved to New Zealand to play first-class cricket for Colin de Grandhomme’s Auckland. He impressed on his red ball-debut, taking three wickets and scoring 65 runs.
Back home, Nathan made several white-ball appearances for New South Wales before signing for South Australia in 2021, citing his desire to play first-class cricket as his reason for the move.
Last season, new Sussex coach Paul Farbrace brought McAndrew to his old side, Warwickshire. And, despite a rocky start, the all-rounder soon found his feet.
Before this season began, Farbrace said: “When he came to Warwickshire last year, he’d played about 10 first-class games. He’d never bowled with a Dukes ball in England and he found it really tough to start with. But the longer the season went on, the better he got.
“We’ve seen with South Australia this winter he’s been outstanding with the red ball. He’s been fantastic.”
McAndrew has indeed been fantastic down under, taking a six-fer in the last game and finishing the season as South Australia’s leading wicket taker.
Farbrace added: “He’s someone who’s still on his upward journey in terms of red-ball cricket and I think that fits nicely with our team.”
Yet, despite his growing reputation, McAndrew looks set to miss three fixtures this year – the County Championship matches to against Worcestershire, Leicestershire and Glamorgan next month.
Competition rules dictate that a side can field only two overseas players in any one game. McAndrew and Pujara, the run-machine skipper, played in the curtain-raiser. But when the illustrious Steve Smith arrives next month, he will surely claim his countryman’s place.
Smith averaged a whopping 59.55 in England, having scored six test centuries in 17 matches. Pujara on the other hand, is quickly becoming one of Sussex’s best ever players, averaging over 100 in his nine matches. So McAndrew should not feel too hard done by to miss out.
Sussex are due to return to action on Thursday (20 April) facing Shai Hope’s Yorkshire at the 1st Central County Ground.
