The Wicked Cricket Column

Our new CEO is lucky too. As Napoleon famously said: "I would rather have a general who was lucky than one
who was good." Sussex CCC have both! 

Sussex CCC‏ Twitter

Chief Exec Rob Andrew, donating his signed @mushy_online picture, won at @chrisnash23 benefit lunch,
to the club earlier today.

I learnt last week that Zac Toumazi decided to outsource the club catering to Centerplate before he stepped down from his Chief Exec
job and not Rob Andrew. I wonder why? It turns out Sussex CCC have been carrying out their in-house catering since 2007, so why
would Zac want to change this important club business relationship close to his retirement late last December?



Speaking to members of the club catering staff last week, there is some confusion over what exactly Centerplate's role will be. At present,
while the food purchasing and distribution is changing, everything else remains in place. The club caterers still decide on the menus; the
chefs still cook the food; and the staff still serve it.

Meanwhile, the news of the deal was made official… finally... yesterday! A Press Release quoted Jim May: “We are very proud of the quality
of our offering, which was recognised by winning the Best Place to Entertain Clients at the 2016 Sussex Business Awards. However, in view
of the need to invest in the business we looked at options last year and decided that a partnership with Centerplate was the way forward.”

And Rob Andrew added: “We are proud of our achievements to date in catering and hospitality events, but we must strive for greater levels
of excellence across all parts of our business. We also need to expand our non matchday business and we believe our partnership with
Centerplate will allow us to do this.”

One presumes that when the actual season begins at Hove on April 14th when Sussex play Kent, then Centerplate’s role will become more
clear and the changes made more apparent.

I wonder if any of these girls and boys will go on to play for Sussex CCC?

Aldridge Cricket Academy Twitter

Congrats to @southwaterja_PE who are the Primary Indoor County Champs!
Harlands (2nd) & Our Lady QofH (3rd). Thanks to @aldridge_CA





www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZIFl8CjrM

'Jim May - A Much-Needed Steady Hand at the Helm Through a Period of Great Club Change'
__________________________________________________________________________ 



A new Sussex CCC Chairman will be appointed this week not by the Sussex Members but by a Club Board of 12 people. In the past, such a role was viewed by some as an opportunity for self-importance, self-gratification and self-grandiosement but today that has changed. Being a Chairman of a county cricket club, while still remaining a voluntary position, brings with it greater responsibility and pressure than ever before; for as the English cricketing arena expands and rapidly changes, this attracts more challenges to resolve. And with the CBT starting in 2020, each county will have to grasp financial riches not held before; and why the new Chairman must not only have a positive chemistry with CEO Rob Andrew but participate in making the right decisions on how to spend the annual £1.3m dividend from the competition while continuing to expand the club’s off-field activities. For, Sussex are in a very strong financial position compared to other counties with no debt and a ground already redeveloped. And why the right choice for a new Sussex CCC Chairman has never been so important. I await with bated breath on who that man or woman may be.

As for our previous chairman, Jim May, who stepped down from the role on Tuesday at the AGM, it is time to reflect on his 8.5 year governance.

I believe history will view him as one of the best Chairmen Sussex have acquired. His business CV is impressive having worked in the banking profession for many years culminating in being appointed the MD for RBS Commercial Banking South between 2001 and 2005 before the bank collapsed. May is also a former Liberal Councillor and most famously helped oust the Sussex CCC Committee via the Members Rebellion in 1997.







Unlike May’s predecessor, David Green, who oversaw the club’s on-field golden decade, and is described by one longstanding Board Member as “having the midas touch for success”, May was not so fortunate. Being appointed as Chairman in 2008 after Green suffered ill-health, apart from his first year of tenure when the Club won both the 40 over and T20 tournaments, some supporters blame May for the following and unnerving demise of the county’s standing over the next 7 years. Some might say that his timing was unlucky, becoming Chairman at a period when the wave of success was about to crash on the beach. Others might suggest he lacked decisiveness and an inability to think out of the box.

A final legacy



Yet, May’s greatest success was off-the-field. Supported by an excellent team that included Zac Toumazi, David Bowden and Tim Shutt, Sussex not only increased their revenues by 30% but created Sussex Cricket Ltd and the Sussex Cricket Foundation, alongside his personal association with the Aldridge Cricket Academy. May had the knack of appointing the right CEOs at the right time; whether it was Dave Brooks to redevelop the Hove ground or most recently Rob Andrew; an appointment that has not only delighted supporters but offers great promise for the club moving forward.

And at the root of May’s governance was a genuine love for the club. He is a true fan and a proper gentleman whose great strength is his pragmatism; best seen last month when after carefully looking at and listening to both sides of an evolving argument, he persuaded the Sussex Board to change their initial opinion over the CBT and to now support it.

As the dust settles, history may view Jim May as an integral part of the club’s rich and developing history and for a man who remains vital and ambitious there is still, I suspect, more to come.

unofficialsussexccc.freeforums.net/post/23304/thread

In the new issue of The Cricketer Magazine there is an excellent 20 page special preview of the County Championship
2017. So, how does Sussex fair, remembering that last season the magazine predicted the club would be a shoo-in for
immediate promotion.

A year on, still promotion but this time 2nd behind Nottinghamshire with Durham 3rd, Worcestershire 4th and rather
surprisingly, Kent only in 5th. Meanwhile, The Cricketer decrees that Yorkshire will win Division 1 with Middlesex 2nd
and Surrey 3rd. As we know with Mystic Meg predictions, even when based on form, they rarely play out. My personal
outside bet for the Championship Trophy are Surrey.

The preview of Sussex is at the end.

Also, there is a fascinating look at how many Test players have been produced by each county since 1997. Have a guess
how many from Sussex? Surprisingly, only three and we lie below Leicestershire with four! I honestly believed the club
had offered more cricketers. The only player Derbyshire has produced over 20 years is 1 and that is, you've guessed it,
Chris Adams.

It really does depend on what is meant by "produced". Adams won his Test caps after he moved to Sussex and blossomed with the responsibility, though he learned his cricket with Derbyshire. Panesar came to Sussex as an ex-Test player, regained credibility as a bowler with control as well as incisive spells and played more and better Tests. Kirtley and Prior learnt all their cricket in Sussex of course, but Jordan certainly matured only after he came to Sussex and was trusted as a spearhead bowler. Salisbury won further Test caps as a Surrey player, though he was "produced" by Sussex, as was Ambrose who had his short Test career as a Warwickshire player having been finally displaced by Prior. And I think that Naved Ul Hassan also started playing Test cricket in his first spell with Sussex. So which 3 out of these 8 are the Cricketer's choice?