The Wicked Cricket Column

Monday, February 25th was a special day. Apart from returning to the bosom of the Club after 5 months of being in the county cricket wilderness, catching up with friends, supporters, feeling, sensing the changes surround, some subtle, some not so, the frisson at the Hove County Ground, missing in past years, is as vibrant as ever, for under the command of Rob Andrew, expect the unexpected.

Masterplan Overview and Phase 1




The proposed redevelopment "Masterplan" is not so much a plan but a master stroke of genius... flexible, audacious, financially astute, it is a cunning feat first concocted by Andrew early on in his tenure, now passed over to Club COO, Ian Waring and us the supporter, to play-doh and mould into an exciting vision of the future, where Sussex CCC can stand proud as a business enterprise, to be respected and revered. Sussex Cricket Ltd has come of age "if" this Masterplan is executed fully to its visionary ambition.

On another thread 'coolbox' has delivered an excellent prece of the proposals, so I'll offer a few more insights.

ECE Planning MD Chris Barker



I spoke with Worthing-based 'ECE Planning' MD, Chris Barker, whose primary role is as a planning application consultant. He comes with impressive experience including the AMEX, Brighton Metropolitan College and Kingsway House. An obvious candidate for Andrew to contact after his light bulb moments.

Flexibility is presently the key as the plans are no-more than 50% in stone. Asking the public in a PC age of diversity and non-binary fluidity is to be applauded. Sussex and the Community is increasingly a Club brand name, so asking supporters for ideas is a no-brainer. That left-field little gem may appear on a comment sheet and turn a weakness into a Captain Marvel moment and while the Club may gain the plaudits, as a community, we will all enjoy and benefit.

The Three Amigos: Phil, Brenda, Sam



There are four redevelopment phases, where the key to the whole project is Phase 1.

The idea is based on the Chelmsford, Essex CCC business model. Build an apartment block, sell all the flats and with the profit, move on to Phase 2 etc.. I hold mixed emotions as the victim is The Cricketers Pub. Yet, the timing is perfect. The Club should have regained the Pub lease back in 2014, but due to a legal cock-up, Ember Inns signed up for another 5 years. Now, it's goodbye to all those happy drinking and eating memories, watching the Sussex lads sharing a success at the bar, the 'Meet-Up with the Players' evening... instead demolition and, hey-ho, a 40 room apartment block boasting one, two and three bedroom flats... a building as high as Ashdown and advancing back to approximately the 'Matt Hobden Memorial garden'. Essex have enjoyed great success with their building, so why not Sussex?

A property crash or a Brexit disaster, the one real downside is that none of the apartments will look over the playing area, unlike the properties at Taunton, where the money asked per apartment cannot be at a premium or advertised as "elegant pitch-side luxury".

And as for the time period? Chris Barker explained, "We aim to start the block next year and this will be a 20 month build. The 4 phases we hope to complete within 5 to 8 years." Adding, "This is a once in a lifetime project for the Club, so we must get every aspect right.” As for the four phases Barker continued, “They are not necessarily in the order shown on the Masterplan. Phase 4 could become Phase 2 and vice-a-versa.”

Yet, no planning permission for Phase 1, no redevelopment. One relief is that planners are determined to keep the Club individuality and those deckchairs are being allotted a special area within the Northern part of the ground.

Note the Club Additions






I then spoke with Ian Waring whom, not surprisingly, is “very excited” by the plans. “They are manageable, not over the top, and I believe it’s possible to keep hold of and dove-tail the ground’s historical essence.”

Ian told me of the strengths of moving the present Boundary Rooms to a brand new build close to where the Newberry outlet and present Staff offices are located. The old Newberry, that awful eyesore, thankfully, will be knocked-down for this blaze of elegance which includes a spanking new modern office block for the staff.

“The present Boundary Rooms are too noisy, especially in the late evening, when people leave and shut their car doors and start the engine,” explained Ian. “The West side of the ground away from Ashdown is far more appropriate.” Umm, but won’t this build described as "a new 5-star conference and event space", create similar noise problems for the residents of the new apartment block?

There is so much more to comment on, but the Club website have all the details and the comments book is open for the next few weeks before the initial application is passed over to the local Council in mid-March.

Fingers crossed.

PS: Sad news, the Matt Hobden Memorial Tree in that small garden space in-front of the Club shop has died. Shouldn’t a replacement be found?

sussexcricket.co.uk/news/masterplan-revealed-future-sussex-cricket

How does that famous saying go? "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

www.thecricketer.com/Topics/news/durham_launch_new_name_and_new_logo_ahead_of_2019_season.html

fred,

Of your 52 posts, the vast majority are of a moaning nature. There will always be a crossover of threads. That is the nature of Forums. 
My previous post on the Sussex CCC Masterplan also included photos pertaining to other aspects of the Club. If you find it difficult to
navigate between threads, then can I suggest you stick with the Inner Circle Forum. Perhaps, their MB is more simple for you.

This is how The Oval looked exactly a year ago when the 'Beast from the East' was raging.

I was invited on to LoveSport Radio this morning and chatted with hosts Ian Stone and Richard Lee. After the increasingly higher scores in ODIs, the question now being put by classy journalists like Michael Atherton is... has it gone too far? Is there too much emphasis on the batting and are the public getting bored of watching too many sixes being scored?

Imho, bowlers should be given more leeway, where various regulations and rules should be dropped to offer them more flexibility. I used the example of the batting 'switch-hit'. Why can't a bowler be allowed to carry out a 'switch-ball'? There are a number of ambidextrous bowlers who can bowl both left and right arm. It seems unfair that a batsman is allowed to move from right to left-handed but not the bowler.

We also discussed Jos Buttler's amazing 150 knock in 77 balls during Wednesday's match where his second 50 was scored with just 15 balls. Interestingly, Chris Gayle holds the record for the fastest 50 in any format with 12 balls during a T20. Therefore, logic suggests, it will be sooner rather than later when someone scores 50 with 9 balls (7 sixes/2 fours or 8 sixes/2 runs). Then what happens? Will this be the point when the public become bored of the OD formats? At present, polls suggest not.

Not sure if it’s the quality of the ball but there’s very little, if any, swing in the first few overs and because we now use 2 balls, there’s no reverse-swing at the end. There’s more attention on ball tampering , quite rightly, but this has also had an effect. 
The only time I’ve seen real swing in an ODI is with the pink ball under lights. 

Interesting to note that ESPNCricinfo received no ECB cricket journalism awards for their 2018 coverage with only one commendation, after previous years of an annual shoo-in. I wonder why?

Could it be because one of their most visible journos spent the last year criticising the ECB to kingdom come about the '100' with special attention on their Chairman? As the phrase goes, "Don't bite the hand that feeds!"

www.ecb.co.uk/news/1082827/ecb-domestic-cricket-journalism-awards-2018-winners-announced