Sussex counting the cost of COVID-19 as period of change looms

HUW TURBERVILL: As the Sharks were defeated by Essex Eagles at Hove on the field, off it chief executive Rob Andrew is fretting at the prospect of another summer without fans

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As Sussex’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast received a blow, their chief executive Rob Andrew told The Cricketer how the pandemic has affected the club. 

England aspirant Dan Lawrence batted brilliantly for his 44-ball 81, with six sixes, helping Essex to what will probably be a consolation win, their first in seven matches so far. He also took two wickets in his only over for the holders as Sussex fell 13 runs shy of their target of 198. 

Sussex now trail south leaders Kent by a point, with matches against Surrey, Middlesex (the only one at Hove) and Essex to come. Making the last eight would be a fillip for Andrew, who found out this summer that his head coach Jason Gillespie is returning full-time to South Australia. 

He confirmed that Sussex have lost “a seven-figure sum” this year – gate receipts and commercial – because of Covid. “Most counties would be losing that, some more than others,” he said. “We don’t have massive reserves – we certainly wouldn’t want to see another summer without crowds, that would cause a lot of problems for a lot of clubs, so we are all trying to budget for something.  

“There’s going to be a lot of cost control, with smaller squads, and a focus on developing your own players, which is what cricket should be doing. There is no point having academies if you don’t have young players coming through. I think there will be two overseas players, so fewer Kolpak players, who have been filling spaces, to get promoted. We have all done it, I don’t deny it. Give all counties the chance to develop their own red-ball players, rather than having the so-called smaller counties raided by the so-called bigger counties.” 

He says he is a fan of conferences, like those used in this summer’s hastily convened Bob Willis Trophy (even though Sussex have won only once in five matches). 

“I don’t see what value promotion and relegation adds to cricket," Andrew added. "Conferences work perfectly well for 50-over and T20. Everybody starts on a level playing field, which the Championship doesn’t. They also give you flexibility, that is crucial next year because of Covid – we could go north/south, or cut three ways… it avoids short-term decision-making: promotion/relegation discourages player development.” 

^{It was a picturesque afternoon at Hove - but all is not necessarily well on the south coast}

Sussex supporters should not expect to see a new coach before Christmas. “We won’t be recruiting before then. We’ll review the season/situation with Dizzy before he leaves. We have good coaches under him. He has not been here the last three winters anyway, so we’ll see how things shape financially. We are not in any hurry. There are so many issues, we are having to double-guess at the moment.” 

Sussex were without Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Rashid Khan of course, but still had a stellar attack against Essex. Lawrence had to contend with Ollie Robinson, George Garton and Tymal Mills among others, but shone against them all. His first 46 runs were made up entirely of boundaries. He hit the roof of the pavilion with a smash over midwicket off Robinson.

Luke Wright didn’t know where to put his fielders, as Lawrence drove Danny Briggs through extra, then planted him over long-on. He’s tall and there is a certain Kevin Pietersen-style wristiness to his strokeplay. He hit former team-mate Ravi Bopara like an Exocet over long-off. He perished on 130 with 44 balls left, but Sussex did quite well to restrict the visitors to another 67. Delray Rawlins bowled well, on his 23rd birthday, to shouts of “nice one Del Boy!” Triffic! 

To be fair it was a batting day, under azure, cloudless skies. If the giant eggcups were still here, Lawrence could well have hit them. Sussex needed an Imran Khan or Garth Le Roux to charge down the hill and cut the youngster down to size. Tom Westley (39) and Michael Pepper (34 not out) offered solid support. 

Aaron Thomason (47) gave Sussex a decent start and Rawlins continued his good day with 37. David Wiese tried to keep his side in it with 30, but there was misery for out-of-form Bopara in his first meeting with the club he left at the end of last summer. He looked on in disbelief as he holed out to long-on. Sam Cook was the pick of the Essex attack. 

Driving into Hove, down the hill towards Eaton Road, seeing the sea shimmering in the distance, a cricket fan could be persuaded that all was right with their world. What all counties need now is for spectators to be allowed back in to watch entertaining contests like this. 

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