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

[Dragon Fire]

I really don't mind. To be honest, it would be pretty thick to have an argument about non-existant cricket series 27 years apart on a free cricket forum

 

[Imager36]

I really don't mind. To be honest, it would be pretty thick to have an argument about non-existant cricket series 27 years apart on a free cricket forum

I have to say, I wasn't planning one

 

[hedger_14]

Yeah. This is a great start. tbh, I don't really read through much of this pre-season stuff so it's good that you are trying to get through it quick. I would suggest maybe to be one update ahead so if you can't find time to do an update, you can just post the one you've already done. Just a suggestion. It's your story and you're free to do as you want.

And so far, I really like the presentation. Simple and neat without being fantastic. When you see some of the other stories, I can't stand to read them based on the presentation. Really looking forward to further updates and the actual season to start. KUTGW.

 

[Imager36]

Sussex Squad Part Three - Less Experienced Batsmen​

Name - Anthony Stock
Age - 26
Year joined - 2018
Profile - As the oldest of the young batsmen, joining the club at the same time as Jim Wright from the Sussex youth academy, Stock has not yet shown too much promise in the 4 day form of the game, with an average of just over 30 and only 4 100s from 98 innings. He has been an inspiration, however, in the middle order for Sussex in one day cricket, with an average of almost 45.5, being consistent with 17 50s from 64 innings, without ever scoring a century as his usual batting position at number 5 rarely allows this.
Sugden needs to - Make a decision on his 4 day position in the team.

Name - Wayne Austerfield
Age - 25
Year joined - 2020
Profile - An exceptionally talented batsman in first class cricket, Austerfield averages almost 50 in the format, and has recently been called up to the England test match squad, playing 5 matches so far with 3 50s and an average of over 40. He mentioned last season that he wanted to captain a county side and maybe even his country some day, and as a vital member of both FC and OD teams, may well be the youngest player under Sugden's consideration for the post, a decision on which is decided to be made when I've finished going through the squad player-by-player!
Sugden needs to - Decide on how to treat Austerfield's captaincy ambitions.

Name - Robert Follet
Age - 24
Year joined - 2021
Profile - A player with bags of potential that are as yet to be unleashed on the world, Follet made 3 test match appearances in his first season as a pro playing for Essex after being taken on a tour to the West Indies which was then hit by a large batsman injury crisis, leading to him debuting at a point when no-one had expected him to. As a 24 year old with a FC average of only 33.6, he looks unlikely to gain a call up any time soon, and a one day average of just over 20, albeit of only 14 matches, has a lot to be desired. Where Sugden sees Follet's future could be all important for the man's career.
Sugden needs to - Clear up his future.

Name - Ben Bird
Age - 23
Year joined - 2019
Profile - Another good first class batsman, Bird has also seen improvements in his one day cricket throughout last season, and he has pushed at, but not yet got, an international cap to his name. A relatively tentative player at the crease, Bird is also shy and reserved off it, with departing captain Hodd calling him "One of the nicest, most talented young cricketers you are likely to meet", in an exclusive interview we got with him coming up soon. (Believe me, he doesn't mince his words on some of the other players in the team!)
Sugden needs to - Decide on whether he is part of his one day team and stick to his decision.

PS - In some ways, the batting is a bit good to make the story an interesting one, but with the amount of international callups there will be for players such as Wright and Foot, it will be weakened for large parts of the season, and players like Follet and Rickman will have to try and prove their worth.

 

[Imager36]

Almost Exclusive Interview with Andy Hodd​

I say almost because the bugger's just gone to the Independent as well, but we're not bitter, so on presses our favourite correspondant Martin Robinson with our interview, in which Hodd reveals some very interesting stuff about his former teammates that you may or may not have read in an aforementioned daily.

MR - Hey Andy, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with us.

AH - No problem Martin, I like to have my views heard, as you know!

MR - Of course! A toughie to start, I suppose, but one that's quite obvious. Why did you quit?

AH - Ha! I was expecting you to ask me that, and my honest answer is that there were several reasons for me to quit. Firstly, of course, because I've just become a father, with a beautiful baby daughter

MR - Congratulations!

AH - Thanks. Secondly, I felt that as Carl had left, it would be good if I left and allowed the new coach to build an entirely new era for Sussex, with a new coach and a new captain of his choice. Having stepped down as captain, I felt it was time to retire also, as I feel that it wouldn't be right for me to still be in the dressing room; not only influencing the team, but keeping young keepers out of the side.

MR - Is there any truth in the rumours that you lost some of the dressing room towards the end of last season.

AH - Well, now you come to mention it, that would form my fourth reason.

MR - Care to shed any light on who?

AH - Well. Obviously that's tough for me to answer, but seeing that I'm unlikely to return before these people retire, I will say that Anthony Hunt and Paul Ewing were at least partially responsible, and my relations deteriorated with them as I got near the end of my tenure, which was especially weird seeing as they were my closest allies in my first days.

MR - Do you think that Sugden will have success at Sussex?

AH - I really don't know. I have a feeling his fate may be sealed as soon as he chooses his captain and allies in the dressing room. It's a good squad with young players like Wayne Austerfield and Ben Bird, two of the nicest and most talented cricketers you're likely to meet, and the batting looks strong for the future.

MR - Finally, Andy, have you any aspirations to get back into cricket?

AH - I'm not sure, as yet, Martin, we'll see how it goes. I think I've got a stint of nappy changing before I can think about sport again!

MR - Thank you, the ever cheerful Andy Hodd!

And thank you, the ever cheerful Martin Robinson. Just as a reminder, if you have a question for new Sussex head coach Andy Sugden, mention it here, and I'll make sure to inform Martin to ask him come the time we speak to him, just before the start of the actual cricket season.

 

[just_cricket]

I'd like to ask Andy Sugden a few questions:

i) What is your cricket background?

ii) What sort of culture will you try to instill in the Sussex camp that will make them champions?

Beautiful write up mate, kiu!

 

[Varun]

Beautiful writing mate! Best from a newcomer! Betcha you will be successful if you write some novels.

 

[Imager36]

Sussex Squad Part Four - Wicketkeepers​

Name - James Freshwater
Age - 24
Year joined - 2021
Profile - Out of the two keepers available to Sugden to replace outgoing captain Andy Hodd, it seems as if Freshwater has slightly greater batting potential. At only 24, as compared to Hodd's 36, he is by no means young, but the oldest wicketkeeper on Sussex's books. He has by no means stopped developing as a cricketer either, and his glovework has come on significantly from what we saw in the last couple of months of last season, where both he and Mark Morley had opportunities behind the stumps due to a recurrence of his back problem (which he joked was from crouching down to Rashid and Alwis for too many years on a turning Hove wicket!) Although neither of the two young keepers have desirable batting averages, Freshwater has the best of the two, and has almost reached a first class century, with 96 against Hampshire. Tipped by the bookies to be named as the wicketkeeper for the first Sussex game of the season (vs. Lancashire 15th April, 2/5 on).
Sugden needs to - Say where Freshwater stands.

Name - Mark Morley
Age - 22
Year joined - 2021
Profile - A better rated gloveman than Freshwater by many pundits, averaging with more catches in both formats, but the lack of stumpings, coupled by the lack of runs, makes Freshwater the favourite. Morley does only average at about 16 in one day cricket and slightly over 20 in FC, which puts him down in the bookies estimation, and possibly Sugden's, but I feel that if he shows himself well in preseason nets, especially with the bat, Sugden may well take a punt on him for the first match of the season against Lancashire. We'll see!
Sugden needs to - Decide whether Morley is good enough for this level.

PS - Thanks for the comments everyone, you're all far too nice

 

[Imager36]

Sugden Swoops For Youngsters​

Andy Sugden has unveiled his first two signings as Sussex head coach today, Alec Norton, a 21 year old opener from Surrey and Nathan Griffith, a 19 year old keeper from Yorkshire.

It had already been suggested that Sugden may look to get another opener in to replace Jim Wright while he's on England duty, and youngster Norton is the product of that want. It is unlikely he'll get regular first team action, as Ewing would most likely demand a place in the first team and Norton looks, by his statistics, looks to be a fill in player. He averages over 30 in FC cricket, but under 10 so far in OD cricket, so he may well have to be taught the one day game back over by Murray Goodwin, resident batting coach.

The other signing, Griffith, played 16 total games for Yorkshire last year after rising through their youth academy. He's only 19, and Sugden must feel that he has a future in the game as the keeping department does not really need extra backup with Freshwater and Morley already arguing over the first team place, and Anthony Rickman more than happy with the gloves if necessary, many of the media are questioning his decision to add to Sussex's already large squad with a keeper who may well not play a match in his first season.

Both have been reportedly signed on 3 year contracts, which may well turn into a mistake if either of these turn out to be flops, but at only a reported ?25,000 a year each, Sugden is not wasting too much of his enormous wage budget if the two fail at the first hurdle, with contract terminations possible at the end of each season. These players could well turn out to be the backbone of the Sugden regime in years to come, and we may well see Norton end up playing week in week out after Ewing retires, whenever he decides to do that.

We sent my favourite reporter Martin Robinson to the ground because he only lives just around the corner and he's extremely cheap. He had varying amounts of success in finding someone to talk to, finding Hove almost deserted as it is February, but he sneaked into the pavilion and found someone by the name of Tom Franch, who obviously does not represent the club in any way, but we were getting desperate so we told Martin to go ahead.​

MR - Mr. Franch, thanks for agreeing to speak to us.

TF - Yes, umm... who were you again?

MR - Martin Robinson, Mr. Franch, a cricket journalist.

TF - Yes... We used to have a coach named Robinson you know.

MR - Yes, Mr. Franch. Anyway, on to business. What do you think about the new signings today?

TF - There were new signings today?

MR - Ye... Yes, Mr. Franch, a young opener from Surrey called Alec Norton and a young keeper from Yorkshire called Nathan Griffith.

TF - He'd have to be from Surrey to have a name like Alec, wouldn't he?

MR - Yes, yes I suppose he would. Any ideas on the players?

TF - Nathan's a good name though. Always liked Nathan. One of my grandchildren's called Nathan you know.

MR - Yes, Mr. Franch. Any ideas about anything?

TF - Pub?

MR - If it'll stop this interview, gladly.

At which point I think I'm legally obliged to thank Martin Robinson. He's down in my estimations, I have to admit.​

 

[blake]

Beautiful writing mate! Best from a newcomer! Betcha you will be successful if you write some novels.

I can also write using correct grammar, but that doesn't mean I'm going to instantly become a successful novelist...

Anyway, keep up the story mate. It's going along well so far, looking forward to seeing some action though!

 

[Varun]

Freshwater... what a name !

 

[Imager36]

Where has cricket gone since 2010?

As the main headline on the front of the paper today will have reminded you, many people who suffered in 'The Event' in 2010 have recently been released from the cryogenic labs at which they were being stored, as the cure for radiation poisoning was made available to the public last week. I felt I should try and sum up what has happened in cricket since 2010, for the benefit of these people and to refresh the memories of the rest of you.

International

Those of you waking up from 2010, be extremely well prepared for a shock before reading the next line.

Pakistan are the best Test team in the world.

There, I told you to prepare yourselves. They've transformed themselves from the team with so many problems they could open a problem factory to Test World Leaders in 12 years. And people don't really know how or why. In an era now of great bowlers, (cricket used to be a batsman's game!) They have one of the best batsmen in the world in Azeem Ghumman, who was actually playing first class cricket before 'The Event' actually happened, and has scored over 9000 runs in test matches at 44.18, with 22 100s, and although he had a slump in form last year, he is still only 31 and is likely to come back to form soon. Yasim Murtaza, their best bowler, a slow left armer, averages around 23 per wicket, and also played FC cricket before 'The Event' also being 31 now.

The top ODI team in the world is Australia, closely followed by England, but Australia at the top are deserved leaders in that format. They have, in my opinion and that of many others, the best batsman in the world since Bradman in Gary Beaumont, who is only 26. His FC average is over 70, and his test average over 60. Even his ODI average is almost 58. Phil Hughes, if course, is still imperious at the top of the order, with a career ODI average of almost 48.5. In the bowling attack, a young offspinner, Phil Murphy, has played 23 ODIs at just over 16 per wicket and an economy rate of just over 4. Evergreen 31 year old quick Graham Nye also shines brightly in ODIs, with an average of just under 20. After Australia decided he would not play any more tests after only 2, he concentrated on his one day game and has become a cult hero in Australia.

England have had success in ODIs, despite a strange policy of not continuing to pick players who perform exceptionally well in the bowling front, with no less than 4 bowlers averaging under 20 from between 10 and 20 matches, yet continuing to pick underperforming batsmen, with no current batsman averaging over 36. Somehow, however, they have managed to win a lot of matches without a lot of good players, holding the 2nd position in ODIs. In tests, they have also been good, with a rating of 3rd=, with Australia, but they have suffered again due to bad selection in my opinion.

Domestic

Prepare yourself time again.

The ECB haven't messed with the competition structure for 11 years.

After the cancellation of the 2010 season part way through due to 'The Event', the ECB for once did the sensible thing by deciding that part of the reason for 'The Event' may have been due to the lack of the 50 over game in the county structure, and reverted the system for the 2011 season back to how it was in the 2009 season. They haven't changed it since, and 'The Event' has not repeated itself, so maybe it's worked.

In terms of who's won trophies, Yorkshire have been dominant, with 9 trophies in only the past 6 years, including a treble winning season in 2018. Kent have also won 3 trophies in that period, as have Sussex under the Hopkinson banner (Mark Robinson quit immediately after the 'Event'). I can also, surprisingly tell you that the holders of the Challenge Trophy going into the 2022 season are Scotland CC, beating Hopkinson's Sussex in the final, something that may have well made Hopkinson resign at the end of the season.

In terms of perennial failures, Glamorgan have established themselves as the worst side, with 5 bottom placed finishes in the 2 divisional competitions in only the past 6 years, making so many wooden spoons they almost need another utensils draw to fit them all in. Somerset, the second best one day team in the country pre-'Event', are now almost permanent fixtures in the bottom tiers of English cricket.

If the whole regeneration process didn't work well, and you don't remember what cricket is or who I am, don't start trying to re-find out. Cricket is a cruel mistress, and you really don't want to know who I am. Honestly.​

PS - My web browser doesn't seem to think that followed is a word, and if it isn't then I've been making it up for the past 15 or so years! :P

 

[Varun]

Amazing update man! Full of surprises! Beautiful vocabulary!

and hey! I would like to know about the Indian team. Is Raina still playing cricket ? And Ishant, Rohit, Piyush Chawla and others ? Are they still there ? Has Sachin been given the title "Sir" ?

This looks more like a fortune-teller.

 

[Imager36]

Note - I know it's a long one, but it does at least clear some things up!

The players of 2010:- Are any still playing?

I have had many of my old friends who were frozen after 'The Event' come up to me and ask me how the players are who used to play in their days. Because of how few friends I have, there are many people in the Sussex area who still don't know, and here, I'll try to clear some of that confusion up.

Firstly, the best batsmen of the generation that you came from, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. With almost 40,000 test runs between them, the three have all been knighted. King Antonio (long story) knighted them all in 2013, in his well known 'Offer knighthoods to almost everyone' year. There was, however, one condition, that has to be upheld until one of them dies, which is that they all have to live together for a fortnight each February in a bedsit in Hackney. I was also offered a knighthood in that year, however I rejected as the condition the great king presented me with was that I had to spend each May for the rest of my life in a sealed tank with 70 piranhas.

In terms of players who are still playing the game, Adil Rashid here at Sussex is an obvious choice, as well as then youngster James Harris playing here as well. Steve Davies (Keeper) now plays for Warwickshire, but does well for England as well. Former England stars Steven Finn and Liam Plunkett both turn out for Essex, but that's not really a big deal as I'm sure my mother could make at least their Second XI. Alastair Cook still plays for Hampshire regularly, but was dropped by England in 2012 and never restored. Ravi Bopara also plays, now for Lancashire, but his career has gone severely downhill since his heyday in the late 2000s. Finally, as far is England is concerned, Stuart Broad, now 35, still turns out for Middlesex, and played a lot of matches for England yet never really developing into that allrounder England needed.

Sir Phil Hughes (one week in each September constantly arguing with Sir Ian Botham), who I have previously mentioned, is still a major Australian force, with the most test match runs ever by one player to his name, with almost 16,000 runs at an average of over 50. Peter Siddle also still plays for Australia, and he has the largest amount of test wickets by any of the players still playing, with 784 to his name, not far off the record that Murali still holds at 801. At the age of 37, though, it looks unlikely that Siddle will overtake him.

In India, a large amount of players continue. One of the most successful of these, who has the most runs, is Gautam Gambhir. He has accumulated over 10,500 in just over 150 matches, which led to many questions from the public as to how he was allowed to play so many matches without being dropped. Murali Vijay, now being 38, still turns out for Central Districts, but his India career was cut short some time ago, as was Manoj Tiwary's and Virat Kohli's. Kohli averages over 53 in FC cricket even at the age of 33, but has never pushed for a recall. Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Kartik have interchanged as keeper throughout the years, with Patel having slightly more success, although both were cut loose a while ago when new keeper Seth came through. In terms of Indian bowlers, Ishant Sharma has been by far the most successful, with over 700 wickets in tests. Piyush Chawla played almost 50 tests, as did Irfan Pathan, before they both retired at the end of last season.

As far as New Zealand is concerned, only Tim Southee survives in cricket, so this chapter will be nice and short. He has only played 67 tests and taken a tad over 200 wickets at a tad over 33, so he hasn't been overly successful, but he is still playing every so often and for Northern Districts, and seems to be a handy performer, but nothing more.

For Pakistan, no players who were playing international cricket still play. I suppose that was necessary for them to become the best test side in the world! For South Africa, three batsmen still regularly play for the country in test matches, their all time highest run scorer AB de Villiers (12,337), JP Duminy who has now played 131 tests, and Hashim Amla who has played 151!

For Sri Lanka, only 2 players still play, those being tricky spinner Ajantha Mendis and 'allrounder' Angelo Mathews. Mendis has played 100 tests and taken 693 wickets, and Mathews has inexplicably taken only 1 test wicket, which I'm informed is less then he'd taken when you were last awake. He has, however, scored over 6000 test runs, which more than makes up for his bowling failings.

As far as the West Indies are concerned, Kieron Pollard has played 31 tests, and Denesh Ramdin is also still going, with over 100 tests and over 3800 runs in those tests. For Bangladesh, Shakib-al-Hasan is the only one worth mentioning and has scored over 4400 test runs and taken over 280 test wickets, with these are counting up as he continues to add to his 86 tests.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll all get used to the new superstars and start to worship them instead!​

If you did get to the end of that, well done, I'll try to make them a bit shorter in future!

 

[CG123]

Good to see Southee come through and pick up quite a few wickets, but he never turns out to be the strike bowler we were hoping for after Bond.
No surprises in Phil Hughes going into the record book for the most test match runs, he must be one of the greatest ICC gods.
Lol at Mathews playing as a very specialist batsmen.
Keep it up mate, and I'm looking forward to some matches.