Atkins, Carson and Crocombe

The only way to build a strong team is to make sure that younger players only get in the side by forcing established players out, by producing performances just as good as the older player they want to replace.

If you try to do it the way we have, it never works.

The ones that are good enough will want to go to a division one county to prove themselves, and, inevitably, some like Atkins won't make it, either because of injury problems, or not good enough.

Players who are good enough will always force the older player out. It's got to be better if a batter makes his first team debut after scoring 3 centuries in the last six innings in the second eleven, thus demanding to be given a chance, rather than picked on 'promise and potential' when he may have only got one 50 in the last 12 second team innings.

Also, easier coming in to a side as the only young batter, or bowler, surrounded by nine, or ten others with bags of experience, who can help you find your feet. As a batter, it has to be easier coming in at 220-3 in the 60th over, with a guy on 50+ at the other end, rather than coming in at 10-3 in the fifth over, with the bowling attack still fresh and smelling blood, because the others are no more experienced than you are.

There's got to be a reason why no other county has ever done what Sussex have done. Maybe it's because they know it won't work.

The nonsense of 'They've all grown up together, and played age group cricket together, so they'll all make the grade, and never want to play for anyone else' was always nonsense. It was just a way of managing down peoples expectations for a few years, with a ready made excuse of 'Give them time' which they wouldn't have had if a more experienced side was losing.

You should always pick your strongest side, but it seems like senior players who knew what they were doing were quite intentionally treated badly, so they would move on, thus getting the wage bill down.