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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 10, 2015 9:40:05 GMT
It was a fun, fun evening at the ‘Meet The Players’ event’. Around 80 people attended - far more than expected - and the two Sussex
CCC items donated by the ‘Unofficial Sussex CCC Forum’ sold in auction for…
The Four Canvases: £50
The 2008 Bat: £40
The canvases went to the ‘Cricketers Pub’ general manager Danny Warwick. He is delighted with the purchase and the four pictures
can now be seen hanging on the stairs wall when you venture up to the toilets.
The bat sold to Simon Hemelryk, the brave soul who tweeted to the world during the recent Members Forum that Ben Brown had been
appointed Vice-Captain. Simon is a journalist and presently works for ‘Saga Magazine’ as their deputy Editor. Formerly, he had a long
association with ‘Readers Digest’ from being a sub-editor to later a commissioning editor.
The £90 gained is going towards the two charities of the night - ‘Rockinghorse’ and ‘Sussex in the Community’. A review of the evening
alongside interviews with the various players who attended follows later.
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Post by lovelyboy on Nov 10, 2015 10:08:06 GMT
It was a fun, fun evening at the ‘Meet The Players’ event’. Around 80 people attended - far more than expected - and the two Sussex CCC items donated by the ‘Unofficial Sussex CCC Forum’ sold in auction for… The Four Canvases: £50
The 2008 Bat: £40The canvases went to the ‘Cricketers Pub’ general manager Danny Warwick. He is delighted with the purchase and the four pictures can now be seen hanging on the stairs wall when you venture up to the toilets. The bat sold to Simon Hemelryk, the brave soul who tweeted to the world during the recent Members Forum that Ben Brown had been appointed Vice-Captain. Simon is a journalist and presently works for ‘Saga Magazine’ as their deputy Editor. Formerly, he had a long association with ‘Readers Digest’ from being a sub-editor to later a commissioning editor. The £90 gained is going towards the two charities of the night - ‘Rockinghorse’ and ‘Sussex in the Community’. A review of the evening alongside interviews with the various players who attended follows later. Great to hear this event was so well attended. I look forward to reading the review and IVs |
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 10, 2015 14:32:22 GMT
It was a fun, fun evening at the ‘Meet The Players’ event’. Around 80 people attended - far more than expected - and the two Sussex CCC items donated by the ‘Unofficial Sussex CCC Forum’ sold in auction for… The Four Canvases: £50
The 2008 Bat: £40The canvases went to the ‘Cricketers Pub’ general manager Danny Warwick. He is delighted with the purchase and the four pictures can now be seen hanging on the stairs wall when you venture up to the toilets. The bat sold to Simon Hemelryk, the brave soul who tweeted to the world during the recent Members Forum that Ben Brown had been appointed Vice-Captain. Simon is a journalist and presently works for ‘Saga Magazine’ as their deputy Editor. Formerly, he had a long association with ‘Readers Digest’ from being a sub-editor to later a commissioning editor. The £90 gained is going towards the two charities of the night - ‘Rockinghorse’ and ‘Sussex in the Community’. A review of the evening alongside interviews with the various players who attended follows later. Thanks fluffy and well done: a nice charitable offering from you. |
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 11, 2015 9:26:34 GMT
‘Meet The Players’: Hove ‘Cricketers Pub’: Monday November 9th: 6.30pm-10pm
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Part 1
(pics: Phil Barnes)
“We must work harder,” said the new and determined Sussex CCC Vice-Captain. “Alongside Luke I want to communicate a strong message to the team on what our goals are and what we wish to achieve next season, especially to the younger players. For, I am confident we can quickly return to Division 1, if we can get our message across.” Ben Brown means business and there was complete agreement amongst the players I spoke to that the Wright/Brown combo will not only bring a fresh new energy to the team but revitalise the whole squad. Which poses the question: If the club had shown more dynamism and made the captaincy changes mid-season would Sussex now be in Division 2? Perhaps, an unfair query, given the “ifs and buts” at the time. A Former County Table-Tennis Player Ben Brown is 27 years-old on November 23rd, so a perfect age to take on greater responsibility. Luke Wright is a best friend and with Brown’s batting confidence growing after surpassing 1,000 Championship runs for the first time during the summer, this is no time to rest on his laurels especially when he and Chris Nash are flying to Cape Town, South Africa, early next year to join the ‘Gary Kirsten Academy’ for a month. “I am really excited by the prospect,” Ben enthused. “Kirsten is one of the best coaches in the world. Chris and I will focus on improving our batting techniques and hopefully return better batsmen for the experience.” Chris Nash, meantime, will play various games for a local Cape Town side when over there. Ben was visibly hurt when asked about his recent lack of OD cricket. “I was upset and frustrated I didn’t play more,” he said. “I understand that someone had to step down for the overseas player but all I wanted was to get involved.” Did it help him to improve his Championship batting? “No, I don’t believe so.” As Vice-Captain, it is unlikely a similar fate will occur next season. Understandably, the players were a little defensive over the team relegation pointing to various reasons from bowler injuries to bad luck. Chris Nash admitted they should have won the Middlesex match accepting that “In Division 1 there are no easy games. You must be on the ball all the time, otherwise the opposition punishes you.” Will Beer was the first to arrive and stood resplendent in a bomber jacket. He is excited about bowling alongside Danny Briggs. Due to ‘England Lions’ commitments, Danny has barely set foot at Hove yet. “He will offer me an edge to improve and create a dog-fight for a Championship place,” smiled Will adding, “We should complement each other in the white ball tournaments.” Will is, perhaps, the most controversial of the Sussex players, stirring up passionate parts of supporters others cannot reach. But Will is Will and with the signing of Briggs, red ball cricket is, perhaps, even more of a distant horizon than before. Even so, signing a new two year contract on Tuesday proves that the club see an important role for him in the future. Mags cueing for the hatrick Of the Sussex players Steve Magoffin is one of the most relaxed and easy-going. Not only is his personal life rosy and complete but his cricketing career has soared to new heights since joining the club. He will be 36 years-old on December 17th but still believes there are two more years left in those old seam legs. “It was a complete fluke I came to Sussex,” explained Steve. “Their assigned overseas fell through at the last minute and a video sent by my agent happened to touch down on Mark Robinson’s desk a few days later.” The rest, as they say, is history. Steve readily agrees that it is the English conditions that have helped him improve as a seamer. “Back in Australia the pitches didn’t suit my bowling and the Kookaburra wasn’t helpful either. In England I have learnt to bowl fuller and trust the pitch to do the rest.” We talked about his previous injuries for back in Australia, sadly, he had been viewed as a washed up player. Coming to England was a last chance saloon to continue his career and regaining his physical confidence after a serious injury was the greatest challenge. “I needed to learn what the new normal was. What my body could achieve without breaking down again.” Cool, Calm and Collected Steve is best mates with Jimmy Anyon and the Queenslander is passing on all the experience and knowledge he gained from getting over his own serious injury. “I am helping Jimmy in every way I can. I know what it’s like to be in his place. Confidence and self-belief is key to a successful recovery.” Steve “still” awaits his official UK citizenship but is confident it will be rubber-stamped and secured in the next few months. He aims to become a bowling coach after retiring. Steve’s already attained a Level 4 coaching certificate.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 11, 2015 9:39:18 GMT
‘Meet The Players’: Hove ‘Cricketers Pub’: Monday November 9th: 6.30pm-10pm
_______________________________________________________________Part 2
(Pics: Phil Barnes)Meanwhile, each player had their sporting penchant during the evening. Jimmy Anyon was the ‘Phil Taylor of the oche’. Steve Magoffin and Will Beer showed prowess at Pool and Ben Brown and Chris Nash stole the honours at table-tennis. As with many professional sportsmen they are multi-talented and Ben played for his county as a table-tennis youngster. The only person to match him was media officer Adam Matthews. My attempt at taking on Ben led to an embarrassing 11-4 thrashing but the excuse was, I hadn’t played for 10 years. Being a community night, the club’s ‘CSR & Partnerships Manager’, Faye Russell, attended. She has worked at the club for two years and along with Tim Shutt is at the forefront of the pioneering work Sussex are achieving. Faye Russell  The Club’s greatest success has been this Summer’s ‘LGBT Festival’ or for the uninitiated ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender’. “We were approached by the most prominent gay cricket club ‘Graces’,” explained Faye. “They suggested the festival and we agreed to put one on. We are the first county to organise such an event.” Around 8 teams took part in a ‘Kwik Cricket’ tournament at Hove. ‘Graces’ put forward two teams. Not surprisingly they both reached the final. There was a trophy, medals, BBQ, friends and family were invited and given Brighton is renowned as the UK Gay capital alongside its ‘Pride March’, this is a far cry from when the ‘St Peter’s Vatican Cricket XI’ chose to play ‘Brighton St Peter’s Cricket XI’ last Summer at Preston Park . For, during the match the Vatican Manager, Father Eamonn O’Higgins, explained to me, “We have chosen Brighton because our cricket tour is about bringing light and reminding people of the loving power of God.” Father Eamon paused, “And we felt Brighton needed us.” You get the gist! The ‘LGBT’ festival was such a success that it has inspired Middlesex CCC to plan a similar event at ‘Lords’ next year. Who are they smiling at?  Another area of Sussex CCC Community work are the various disability days held at Hove. These have been running for 5 years which include a special roadshow alongside an introduction to playing disability cricket, particularly for the visually impaired. An average event may attract up to 400 people. They travel from all over the county. This year due to bad weather, the tournament carried on inside the club’s indoor nets facility. A Video About The Sussex CCC Community Work www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sfvRT-yX2YThe one disappointment was the promised Q&A which never materialised, although those lucky winners of the £1 per raffle ticket revelled in some stunning prizes. The evening was also a sad farewell to the ‘Cricketer’s Pub’ assistant manager of 3 years, Matt Janzen, who is off to Clapham, London, to run his own hostelry ‘The Calf’. www.thecalfclapham.co.ukThe evening raised £570 for the two charities and the Sussex players enjoyed themselves so much the club have decreed that ‘Meet The Players’ is to become an annual event. Matt Janzen & Danny Warwick Celebrating their Auction Win And to end on an even higher note Ajmal Shahzad is back in the nets and bowling again. An injury-free team and Sussex should canter Division 2 next season alongside new head coach Mark Davis. Perhaps, Luke and Ben can martial their troops by sending a determined message, demanding the club accrue more than the winning 264 points tally set by Surrey this season. 
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 11, 2015 9:42:08 GMT
Excellent write-up s and f. I wonder what Sussex will do if we get to spring 2016 and the Home Office is still dragging its heels?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 9:49:03 GMT
Nice piece, s&f.
Interesting that Magoffin still hasn't got his UK citizenship. I hate to say 'told you so', but when it was reported that he was 'eligible' for citizensip in June and that Sussex could therefore sign another O/S player, I did point out that in my experience it would take many more months after the eligibility date and that in my view there was no way he would get it before the end of the season.
No cleverness on my part; simply hard experience from assisting my daughter-in-law with the bureaucratic and protracted process a few years ago.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 11, 2015 11:52:39 GMT
‘Meet The Players’: Hove ‘Cricketers Pub’: Monday November 9th: 6.30pm-10pm
________________________________________________________________
Part 3 (Pics by Phil Barnes)
     
 
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 11, 2015 15:28:59 GMT
I received a lovely email from Tim Shutt today, Head of Sussex CCC Cricket Development and the community projects. I sent him a link to the 'Meet The Players' reviews.  Thanks and a general note of thanks for your support to our Community ventures. It is very much appreciated, particularly given
the message board audience of highly dedicated (and evidently intelligent) Sussex cricket followers. |
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 11, 2015 15:34:53 GMT
I received a lovely email from Tim Shutt today, Head of Sussex CCC Cricket Development and the community projects. I sent him a link to the 'Meet The Players' reviews. Thanks and a general note of thanks for your support to our Community ventures. It is very much appreciated, particularly given
the message board audience of highly dedicated (and evidently intelligent) Sussex cricket followers.Perceptive chap, that Tim Shutt. |
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 12, 2015 12:53:48 GMT
THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS (and it’s only Thursday!)
______________________________________________________________________________ What a week it’s been. After the highly successful ‘Meet The Players’ event on Monday evening at the ‘Cricketers Pub’ where seven Sussex CCC players met and interacted with supporters to play pool, darts and table-tennis, on Tuesday it was announced that Will Beer had signed a new two-year contract, delighting the many ‘Beero’ fans. By Tuesday afternoon, cricket journalists like George Dobell and Lizzy Ammon were circulating rumours that Mark Robinson had got the England Women’s job and an official announcement would be made on Wednesday morning. Lo and behold, the journos were proven correct and Sussex supporters experienced the one two thrust of Robinson leaving the club after 10 years at the helm and his assistant, Mark Davis, being promoted to the top job. New Head Coach Immediately, Forum members discussed the merits of promoting from within the ranks, even though it is a common policy of the family ethos. One wishes Mark every success but only time will tell, particularly when there were potentially stronger candidates from outside. The logic being, it worked with Robinson. Although, while a strong team structure had already been lain by Peter Moores before leaving, the present squad still requires a fair amount of tweaking and nurturing. On Wednesday morning, Chief Exec, Zac Toumazi, was interviewed by ‘Radio Sussex’ and commented it was a bitter sweet moment for the club. The sadness of Mark Robinson leaving but delight for his England appointment. It is unclear for how long Sussex knew of Robinson’s desire and how many staff and hierarchy were aware. Was this another reason why he didn’t attend the Members Forum? And what of Keith Greenfield - will he go with Robinson as his assistant? Zac says in the interview below that if Robinson had not been appointed, the coaching staff would still have been restructured, stating a new ‘Director of Cricket’ position would have been created. audioboom.com/boos/3800148-sussex-chief-executive-zak-toumazi-on-coaching-changesSteve Hollis suggests in ‘The Evening Argus’ that Robinson may continue at the club in an advisory role but Mark Davis during an interview today makes it clear he is his own man. Davis says, “I would be silly not to keep in touch with Robbo on the phone to ask his opinion on certain things as he has so much knowledge and experience. But I am most definitely my own man and I know that I will live and die by the way I want the team to play. The good thing is that I already know the players so there is that continuity but that doesn’t mean we’ll carry on doing things the same way. He continued, “I am a very different character to Robbo and combined with Luke Wright taking over as the new captain it is very much the start of a new era at the club.” www.theargus.co.uk/sport/14025133.Davis__I_ll_run_it_my_way_as_Sussex_coach/?ref=macMeanwhile, are there still changes to come? How open is Davis to improving the coaching staff and allowing new blood to enter? Is There Now Room for Chris Adams to Join the Club as a Specialist Batting Coach or even as the Club's Director of Cricket?  Robinson was very much about holding on to the status quo and keeping a cosy environment. Is there a space now, for Chris Adams, for example, to return as a part-time specialist batting coach? A move that would be seen by some supporters as the final piece of the jigsaw? Or even as the newly created position of 'Director of Sussex CCC Cricket'? Certainly, it is a brave new world for the club. Perhaps, being relegated is a good thing at the early stage of any new era. The much needed “new energy” and “gust of fresh air” has occurred, as hoped, and whilst some Members may desire a different coach, there is much to look forward to. Quite rightly, expectations are high for 2016 with promotion an almost given, considering how weak Division 2 is after the loss of Surrey and Lancashire; and having spoken to some of the players on Monday, the self-belief and desire is there to achieve an immediate return. We live in exciting times on the south coast.
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Post by flashblade on Nov 12, 2015 13:31:55 GMT
Interesting that, in Zac's interview, he says that if Robinson had stayed, he would have been asked to carry out a different role. This role is presumably now vacant?
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 12, 2015 13:54:49 GMT
Fb,
You were spot-on with your 'Director of Cricket' prediction. Interested to see
if there are any further changes afoot within the coaching structure, especially if
Keith Greenfield becomes Mark Robinson's assistant.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Nov 17, 2015 13:15:44 GMT
The Sussex CCC off-field revenue streams continue to build given the 5 new office builds in the North-East corner of the Hove ground should be completed by mid-January. Referred to as ‘The Martlets Offices’, already, three have been reserved and if the two others are rented out, the present snack and drinks bar is to be converted into a sixth outlet. Local letting agent, Phil Graves, of ‘Graves Jenkins’ commented, “There has been strong interest and we are confident all six will be let.”  The excellent news is each office will be rented out for an inclusive £30,000 pa which includes all rates and utilities. Any business can participate so long as they don’t represent the leisure or retail industry. The offices comprise of a gross internal area of 678 sq ft. Premise space includes a modern kitchen and fully fitted toilet. There are 2 designated car parking spaces for each outlet plus visitor parking. Each one includes a small terrace area with pitch facing views. Office features include double glazed doors and windows along with air conditioning. Meanwhile, the recently created outlet snuggled between the Club shop and Newbery has also been tenanted - this time by one of the club’s major sponsors ‘Santander’. The agreed annual rentable sum is 'believed to be' around £25,000 pa. The premise will be for local events and charitable causes - in particular education. During the summer the outlet was used for a variety of pursuits from yoga and aerobic classes to the Rugby World Cup transport team. This is all superb news for Sussex CCC who should - potentially - enjoy an additional annual revenue stream of over £200,000. Congrats to the club for using a major part of their ECB £1m soft loan on such a lucrative project. For further queries, please contact Graves Jenkins on: 01273 701070.www.gravesjenkins.com/property/16981966/martlet-offices-sussex-county-cricket-club-hove/#ad-image-ContentMain_repGallery_hlLargeImage_0Martlet-suites-brochure-v9 190815.pdf |
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Post by hhsussex on Nov 17, 2015 14:14:00 GMT
The Sussex CCC off-field revenue streams continue to build given the 5 new office builds in the North-East corner of the Hove ground should be completed by mid-January. Referred to as ‘The Martlets Offices’, already, three have been reserved and if the two others are rented out, the present snack and drinks bar is to be converted into a sixth outlet. Local letting agent, Phil Graves, of ‘Graves Jenkins’ commented, “There has been strong interest and we are confident all six will be let.” The excellent news is each office will be rented out for an inclusive £30,000 pa which includes all rates and utilities. Any business can participate so long as they don’t represent the leisure or retail industry. The offices comprise of a gross internal area of 678 sq ft. Premise space includes a modern kitchen and fully fitted toilet. There are 2 designated car parking spaces for each outlet plus visitor parking. Each one includes a small terrace area with pitch facing views. Office features include double glazed doors and windows along with air conditioning. Meanwhile, the recently created outlet snuggled between the Club shop and Newbery has also been tenanted - this time by one of the club’s major sponsors ‘Santander’. The agreed annual rentable sum is 'believed to be' around £25,000 pa. The premise will be for local and charitable causes and events. During the summer the outlet was used by a variety of pursuits from yoga and aerobic classes to the Rugby World Cup transport team. This is all superb news for Sussex CCC who should enjoy an additional annual revenue stream of over £200,000. Congrats to the club for using a major part of their ECB £1m soft loan on such a lucrative project. For further queries, please contact Graves Jenkins on: 01273 701070.www.gravesjenkins.com/property/16981966/martlet-offices-sussex-county-cricket-club-hove/#ad-image-ContentMain_repGallery_hlLargeImage_0Martlet-suites-brochure-v9 190815.pdf Very good news indeed s and f and congratulations to the club for successfully going through with this project. It has been a concern walking past the empty shopfront for such a long time and wondering whether the appetite for the office pods would be fulfilled, but £200k is about 50% of the membership revenues and so it is a very significant revenue stream in its own right. Maybe the next step will be for the club to look at other commercial opportunities, both cricketing and business-related, to try to fill the gaps left by dwindling support at the outgrounds. If the club does decide that they cannot be subsidised and are not worth pursuing then it will lose the right to be called the Sussex County Cricket Club; it can still be a major force in Brighton and Hove but its relevance and influence for good as well as for entertainment will diminish. |
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