Story Sussex:2022 - Over 3 million vCash to be won!

[Imager36]

Match Archive
(CC) Sussex vs. Lancashire
(FPT) Sussex vs. Surrey
(CC) Sussex vs. Gloucestershire
(CC) Sussex vs. Surrey
(FPT) Sussex vs. Gloucestershire
(FPT) Sussex vs. Yorkshire
(FPT) Sussex vs. Durham
(FPT) Sussex vs. Surrey

Sugden Takes Over at Hove

Yesterday evening, it was announced that Carl Hopkinson's replacement as Sussex head coach would be none other than Andy Sugden, taking charge immediately.

It has been predicted that Sugden may struggle to replicate Hopkinson's success as coach as he is an outsider coming into a closely knit club at Hove, and he may struggle to control the dressing room with strong characters such as James Harris, Adil Rashid, Greg Warner and Paul Ewing.

The first situation that Sugden will most likely sort out is the problem of who to replace retiring captain and wicketkeeper Andy Hodd, who retired last week at the age of 36. He has many options to solve this issue, and as yet it is not clear which one he will take. Bookmakers are suggesting that he will take a contingency plan option for his first couple of seasons, with 36 year-old opener Ewing and 34 year-old allrounder Rashid the early leaders, although he may end up taking a punt on a younger player, such as 25 year-old Wayne Austerfield or 29 year-old Michael Foot. Whichever decision he makes, it may be a while down the line as he gets to know his new squad.

The other reason why Sugden may fail to gain success is due to the large amount of older players in his squad. Apart from the aformentioned Harris, Rashid, Warner and Ewing; Hunt, Hodgson, Coddington and Rickman are 30 or over, and Sugden will need to find some new bowlers and a wicketkeeper from somewhere to try and keep his side's trophy hopes alive over the coming seasons.

I will be following Sugden and his Sussex side for the next few years, and reporting on exciting or important matches. If he succeeds, he'll be a South Coast hero. If he fails, he'll have trouble getting on the bus in the Brighton and Hove area.​

P.S - In case you didn't notice the title or the rather large picture, this story starts in 2022. My first step will be, in character of course, to introduce you to each of the players under contract at the club, and show you through the preseason contract dealings.

 

[Chewie]

Hi Imager!

Good luck with this story, I'm sure Dragon Fire won't object

 

[thesweepmaster]

Hmmm... Another story based in the future, so no of us have any idea where it could lead to. Perfect story I guess! Could be unpredicatable, you could fail miserably or do wonders, hopefully you'll do wonders!
Very good start mate, I look forward to reading your further updates!

 

[Imager36]

Sussex Squad Profile Part One - Openers

The first part of my Sussex squad previews, I'll start by looking at the Shark's openers. There are only two currently under contract at the club, so it shouldn't take too long!​

Name - Paul Ewing
Age - 36
Year Joined - 2010
Profile - Paul Ewing has been one of the most consistent openers in county cricket for over 10 years now, especially in the one day form of the game, where he averages over 40. For some reason or other, however, the selectors have never garnered him with international honours, preferring to play test match openers Delaney (Warwickshire) and Rush (Hampshire), who have played over 150 ODIs each. He has been selected in a couple of one day squads for England, and many columnists have suggested that the reason he has not featured in teams is due to his larger than life personality, that only Hopkinson has seemed to be able to contain as yet.
Sugden needs to - Contain Ewing.

Name - Jim Wright
Age - 23
Year Joined - 2018
Profile - One of the prodigious talents of world cricket, Jim Wright looks like he may end up as one of the players of the twenties, with 1 one day international match already to his name. In domestic one day cricket, he averages almost 50 off 83 innings, and over 40 in the first class form of the game, in no way shoddy. Also one of the best fielders on the county scene for the previous few years at slip, he is sure to provide some of the fight and determination that Sugden may well look for in his players. In the one day international, he scored 15, but it seems that he will get further chances in the side as he was awarded a central contract at the end of the 2021 season.
Sugden needs to - Get the most possible out of this young starlet.

As there are only two, with batsman Rickman and former captain Hodd filling in at some points last season, Sugden may well try to bring in another to balance his squad, especially with Wright looking to be in many England squads throughout the summer.​

 

[Gorro_124]

Bright future for Sussex!!

 

[Imager36]

Exclusive Interview with Dave Brooks​

We grabbed an exclusive interview with Dave Brooks, Sussex Chief Executive, on the appointment of Andy Sugden as head coach. Martin Robinson spoke to him.

MR - Hello Dave, thanks for letting us do this interview with you

DB - Hi Martin, and thanks for letting me answer any of you questions, just to clear things up around this appointment.

MR - Speaking of questions, I suppose I'd better start with one! Are you happy with the appointment of Andy Sugden to the head coach post?

DB - Of course I am, Martin, I appointed him after all! Andy has a wealth of experience from his time with Yorkshire, and I feel that he has a steady pair of hands in order to take our club forward.

MR - Do you feel that Andy Hodd's retirement last week had anything to do with Carl's departure?

DB - Yes, I think Carl's decision has a lot to do with Andy's (Hodd). Carl was a big man at the club and had a large impact on the team as a whole, so obviously his decision to stand down was one that was entirely his and nothing to do with any pressure from the club. Even though last season ended badly, he had a very successful tenure at the club, so there was no chance of the club sacking him. We all know that Carl had a great relationship with his captain, so there is a chance that the two made their decisions together before they came out with their resignations to the media. Andy said to me whilst resigning that part of his decision was based on letting the new coach create his own era, without hampering his first decision on the captaincy front.

MR - Do you think that Sugden's presence will ruin the family atmosphere at the club, given that he is an outsider?

DB - I think that that atmosphere will be retained, but Sugden may be tougher on the players than Carl was.

MR - Will Murray Goodwin be resigning as batting coach after running for the head coach job?

DB - I would doubt that he will resign, as he is an integral part of the coaching staff. Murray is an exceptionally professional man and he'll get over missing out on the job soon enough and get back to coaching our young batsmen.

MR - Will there be any new signings during the off-season?

DB - To be honest with you, Martin, there is a wage budget to reinvest, but whether and how Andy spends that is entirely up to him so you'll have to speak to him about that one!

MR - Dave Brooks, thank you once again.

DB - Thank you very much, Martin.

 

[Imager36]

NOTE - No real reason why I've done the batsmen in two parts, but I felt that 7 were too many to put in one post, and indeed, sitting!

Sussex Squad Part Two - More Experienced Batsmen​

Name - Alec Hodgson
Age - 35
Year joined - 2009
Profile - Now a veteran seeing out his playing career at Sussex, Alec Hodgson has played 53 test matches and 31 ODIs for his country. His 30 first class centuries is the largest number of any of the Sussex squad, which is particularly impressive because he has been far away from the first team recently, having played only 10 matches in the last 2 years, and all in the first class form of the game. He has bags of experience, and is a model professional, so he will be a large candidate to replace Murray Goodwin as batting coach should he resign at any point, as has been predicted by many sections of the media.
Sugden needs to - Decide how Hodgson's experience is most useful, whether in his side or in the nets.

Name - Anthony Rickman
Age - 30
Year joined - 2013
Profile - Although never having been a regular in the Sussex side, Rickman has been around Hove for his entire career, having been born and raised in Brighton. He has never been a batsman likely to get international honours, he has mainly been used by Sussex in a replacement capacity, although he enjoyed a long run in the side as an opener alongside Paul Ewing in the one day form of the game before Jim Wright came through the youth academy. Also regularly filling in as a wicketkeeper when Andy Hodd was on IPL duty at the start of each season, Rickman has played over 80 FC, over 90 OD and over 50 T20 matches for Sussex, and is a valued member of the squad without having played a pivotal role in any of their titles.
Sugden needs to - Decide whether Rickman makes the grade as a replacement for Jim Wright while he is on England duty.

Name - Michael Foot
Age - 29
Year joined - 2014
Profile - Originally at Hampshire, Foot moved to Sussex in his early twenties to improve his first team chances. He rarely plays at the moment for Sussex, however, as he is one of the vital players for the England side. He was one of the early favourites for the captaincy that Andy Sugden is due to decide shortly, but sources have revealed that if offered it, he would most likely turn it down due to wanting to play for, and ultimately captain England. He's played 66 ODIs for the country, and 25 tests at an average of over 45, although his overly aggressive batting style may have stopped him from gaining more tests, as he has been slated in the media for getting out at the wrong times.
Sugden needs to - Protect Foot in the media whilst trying to help try and help him control his temperament whilst on high scores.

PS - It might speed up when we get to some matches, but during this period, the more posts here, the better, as otherwise I feel like I might be writing just for myself

PPS - If you have any questions for the new Sussex head coach, post them in the thread, and I will make Martin Robinson ask them to him when the interview is given just before the start of the season.

 

[just_cricket]

Very nice start. Jim Wright looks like a guy who would be my favourite player.
Just one tip - don't try to go too fast with the updates. As a writer, I know it's easy to get all excited and post up really quickly, but you'll find it hard to keep up as the story progresses.
Good luck anyway!

 

[Chewie]

Very nice start. Jim Wright looks like a guy who would be my favourite player.
Just one tip - don't try to go too fast with the updates. As a writer, I know it's easy to get all excited and post up really quickly, but you'll find it hard to keep up as the story progresses.
Good luck anyway!

I agree, try and slow down the pace of updates Also some graphics might be nice - possibly of their statistics?

But apart from that, nice start and good luck!

 

[CG123]

That's a very good start in terms of your writing.
It will be interesting to see how you do your graphics as it's ICC, and it's in the future, so it doesn't provide you with too many opportunities.
Like JC said three updates in the space of several hours is probably a bit too fast, I once got this tip, "try to keep some updates spare and don't just post them as soon as you have made them, so if something comes up and you don't feel like making one you still have an update or two ready to post" or something along those lines.

 

[blake]

What on earth is wrong with fast updates?

Don't listen to these clowns, the more updates the better. I'm not sure why on earth anyone would want to read one update every two weeks rather than one every three hours. I'm not saying you obviously have to maintain this pace throughout your story, and it's fine if you drop to once every few days or something... but if you are inspired, I see no problem.

Great stuff mate, keep it going. This could be really interesting - I'm definitely intrigued as to how Sussex will perform. How have they been going over the last few years, and who is dominating world cricket? I guess you will be covering this in the next few updates.

Good effort.

 

[Chewie]

I wouldn't want one every two weeks, I'd prefer one a day - this gives people time to read each update one at a time and comment on that update.

 

[Imager36]

Sorry guys, the main reason I've been doing them quickly is to try and hurry through pre-season, and then slow down when the season starts. I'll post one a day from now on and see how that goes!

 

[just_cricket]

What on earth is wrong with fast updates?

Don't listen to these clowns

Blake: I humbly apologise for trying to give a new writer a tip, which I felt he could benefit from. I didn't realise that I'm not allowed to have an opinion.

Sorry guys, the main reason I've been doing them quickly is to try and hurry through pre-season, and then slow down when the season starts. I'll post one a day from now on and see how that goes!

Nah, don't be sorry. By all means continue at this pace if you wish, I just reckon when you get in to games they might have to slow down. Also, if you post three or four times a day that doesn't leave much time for other readers to read and comment on each individual update.
Anway, looking forward to the games here. I'm sure my fellow clowns and I will follow it, regardless of "update speed."

 

[Varun]

Till now the updates look good! Let's see what excitement lies ahead. (Good luck for the story)