Sussex’s other sporting institution Brighton and Hove Albion may appear to have the monopoly on superstars at the moment with a World Cup winner in their midfield and several other players likely to have a similar sort of career to Alexis Mac Allister.
But down at the County Ground in Hove, Sussex CCC are about to welcome a star of their own as Steve Smith arrives in the county at the start of a three-week stint.
You only need to have a passing knowledge of cricket to recognise the name. Smith has been one of the best batters in the world for more than a decade – and if he plays in all five of this summer’s highly anticipated Ashes matches, which barring injury he will, then he will have clocked up 100 Tests, 38 of them as Australian captain.
There has been much debate among Sussex supporters about the merits of signing Smith. Why, the critics wonder, are Sussex offering him the opportunity to acclimatise to English conditions ahead of the Ashes, and perhaps denying a young player an opportunity in the Championship team.
They have a point and there are, of course, no guarantees that out in the middle Smith will make any difference to Sussex’s prospects of winning any of the three games against Worcestershire, Glamorgan and Leicestershire that he plays.
His scalp will certainly be coveted more than others by the opposition bowling attacks.
But for me, the pluses outweigh the negatives. For starters, Sussex’s young batters can only benefit from being around a player as good as Smith in terms of watching how he prepares to bat, how he trains, how he works in the nets.
Imagine what players like Ali Orr, Tom Haines and Tom Clark will gain by being able to pick his brains and spend time in the middle batting with him.
If they can take away just one thing from the experience of sharing a team environment with Smith which benefits their own careers, it will be well worth whatever Sussex are paying him.
The only pity is that, of his three games, only one will be at Hove, although two days at New Road potentially watching one of the best in the world at work next weekend sounds like a fine alternative to the coronation.
His only game at Hove is against Glamorgan, starting on Thursday 18 May, where the opposition will include another stellar Australian, Marnus Labuschagne.
There has been a noticeable spike in attendances at Sussex’s first two games and there is definitely a more positive atmosphere at Hove, although it could hardly have got worse after the last few miserable years.
Beating Durham helped and, although Sussex needed the assistance of the weather to escape last week’s meeting with Yorkshire with a draw, things are looking up.
The prospect of watching Smith – and indeed Labuschagne – should draw in the punters. You never know, it might be pleasant enough not to have to wear four layers to sit in a deckchair and watch.
No one at Hove tells it like it is like batting coach Grant Flower. Sussex’s batters all speak very highly of Flower. He is often seen patrolling the boundary at Hove behind the arm watching his charges intently in the middle.
He rates opener Ali Orr highly and the feeling is mutual. Orr has often praised Flower’s part in his development into one of the best young players in the country.
Fortunately for nearby spectators, Flower wasn’t within earshot last week when, for the third time in his last five innings, Orr was run out when a drive from his opening partner Tom Haines was deflected on to the stumps by the bowler at the non-striker’s end.
When it happened the first time in the final game last season there was widespread sympathy, not least as Orr was on 198 at the time.
When it happened again against Durham, the majority watching would have wondered how many black cats he’d crossed paths with.
But against Yorkshire in the most recent match at Hove, sympathy was in much shorter supply, not least from Flower who called it “stupid and sloppy”.
Orr was caught against Gloucestershire at Bristol as the rain thwarted Sussex this week. But, as the season progresses, it will be interesting to see whether Orr does anything different, like standing on the next pitch, as some batters like to do when the bowler releases the ball, to at least reduce the risk.
Only two counties – Essex and Kent – had a lower average mark for the pitches they produced for first-class matches in 2022 than Sussex. Even then, Sussex’s 5.00 equates to a “very good” rating in the ECB’s merit table.
Of course, the sun shone for much of last summer but for a while now batting at Hove has been a much more profitable occupation than bowling.
Head coach Paul Farbrace has recognised this and, after two games, there is evidence that the pitches prepared this year by Ben Gibson and the groundstaff are going to give bowlers a bit more help.
Farbrace said: “I want defensive nicks to carry to slip so we’re trying to leave a bit of grass on so that there is bounce and carry.
“If the ball bounces, everyone is in the game. Bowlers love it because it gets the best players out. Spinners love it because even if there isn’t a lot of turn, they get bounce. And batters like nothing more than the ball bouncing because they can hit through the line of the ball.”
For spectators, anything that helps produce games like the season opener, which Sussex won by two wickets against a high-quality Durham attack, has to be applauded.
Follow Bruce Talbot on Twitter @brucetalbot1.
