ROB ANDREW - THREE YEARS ON
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It has been three years since Rob Andrew was appointed Chief Executive of Sussex CCC after taking over from Zac Toumazi and come January, three years since he first sat in the CEO hot seat at Hove.
I interviewed him some months in to his reign and my immediate impression was Andrew is someone who has the experience and ability to return Sussex CCC to the dizzy heights of their golden decade of the 2000s. In fact, I felt excited and certain that his appointment was ‘meant to be’ when he explained during our chat that the timing had been perfect. If the advert for a new Club CEO had appeared 3 months earlier or later, Andrew would not be at the County ground today.
His desire to leave the world of Rugby after reaching the management pinnacle as Director of the RFU was part political, part personal and the need for a fresh challenge. Cricket has always been a second love, where his decision to choose rugby over cricket as a profession had left him with an unrequited ambition to fulfil both sports.
For Andrew was a talented cricketer, gaining a Cambridge blue after making 17 first-class appearances for the University team in 1984 and 1985. He also played five times with the Combined Universities in the OD format.
A left-handed batsman and right arm off-break bowler, he made one first-class century, scoring 101* against Nottinghamshire in July 1984. Andrew also made a few appearances for the Yorkshire Second XI, and on one occasion dismissed future England captain Mike Atherton (then aged 17) for a duck.
www.thecricketer.com/Topics/international/interview-sussex-ccc-chief-executiv-rob-andrew.htmlYet, the reaction to his Sussex CEO appointment was one of incredulity and amazement from both supporters and the media. Why would someone of his experience and talent choose a small 2nd Division Club, on the decline and with little money, especially when his rumoured annual £250,000 RFU salary had now been slashed to around £90,000 at Hove? Yet, Andrew easily dismissed this question by stating that money had never been a priority, where his love for the job was more important.
After ending the interview, my overall response to the man was someone who is blessed with affability. So many successful people are infused with this attribute. It doesn’t matter whether they interact with Lords and Ladies, Heads of Industry, shop-keepers or dustbin collectors, their energetic interaction creates an overwhelming feeling of “What a nice chap!”
This was immediately put to good effect when Andrew set out to meet and chat with supporters, Club VIPs and the like on a major ‘get to know me’ campaign during his first summer at Hove. This included charity events, giving speeches and meeting the people who had sway and influence. Never afraid to make contentious decisions, Coach Mark Davis was soon asked to leave and while all the talk was about Chris Adams as a potential replacement, Andrew amazed everyone by persuading Jason Gillespie to take the helm. Sussex were no longer a declining back-water County.
The primary problem that quickly surfaced then was expectation. The first season under the ‘dream team’ leadership showed an immediate improvement. Reaching the Final of the T20 tournament and missing out on Championship promotion by one place. Therefore, expectations for 2019 went up several notches, especially when there were three places up for grabs.
But like the musician’s second album, the season was fraught with disappointment. No new signings during the Winter due to the Andrew mantra of focussing on the youngsters - a noble belief and one to be admired - but if you don’t have the emerging talent, one which can quickly fall foul.
Travis Head will have a Major Positive Effect
Three months after such a disappointing season, perhaps, it is time to reflect.
The two questions of why a majority of the younger batsmen went backwards in their run-scoring ability (only Phil Salt shone) and is Ben Brown the right Captain remain. Now that Gillespie has signed a new three year contract this gives him time to rebuild. Travis Head will be an enormous boost for the Club in 2020 and with Luke Wright remaining as T20 Captain for several more years and the addition of the highly experienced Ravi Bopara alongside present players like Phil Salt who continue to gain experience from playing in Franchise tournaments around the world, the Club’s best and likeliest chance of a trophy is the T20. Gillespie’s opportunity to pick the cream from his BBLs
Adelaide Strikers is a huge bonus for Sussex too and those like Alex Carey and Rashid Khan raise the standard to another level.
The Championship though remains an enigma. Judging from last season, the rebuilding process has barely started and it is not clear which of the youngsters who have come through the Academy are good enough to be a consistent first team player. Meanwhile, apart from Travis Head, a major disappointment is the lack of new top-notch signings. Is it down to lack of finance or is Andrew sticking stubbornly to his youngster mantra?
Yet, it is off-the-field where our CEO’s influence is best felt. His ambitious plans to transform the Club with a new apartment block, offices for staff, and generally elevating the supporters experience has been met with a mixed response, not forgetting there is still the question of whether the local Council will accept all of the present architectural plans.
Then there is Andrew's determination to attract a growing number of top level women's cricket matches to Hove including the group's T20 Final, various England International matches, and now the supreme accolade of holding the new Women's
100 Final next summer.
Meanwhile, the coming men's
100 competition shall have a huge effect on the 18 counties, but with Andrew at the helm, a strong advocate of the tournament, a debt-free Sussex are in an excellent position to financially benefit, where there is no-one better to astutely use the annual £1.3m “lottery money” to enhance and improve the Club.
The Future New-Look County Ground Entrance
But there remains that question-mark over Rob Andrew himself. Gillespie may have signed a new three year contract, but does Andrew hold a similar loyalty to stay alongside him, determined to win future trophies and help produce a team good enough to gain promotion and then remain in Division 1?
For our former famous rugby player and administrator has an opportunity to go down in the annals of Sussex CCC as the greatest CEO in the Club’s history. For that to happen, on-the-field success not seen since the 2000s must occur.
