The upheaval at Sussex shows no sign of abating as the club have now lost their T20 captain after Luke Wright stepped down after four years in the role.
Wright, 37, has been a mainstay of the Sussex side for almost 20 years and although his reasons for relinquishing the job are not completely clear, it is yet another change at the unsettled club.
Sussex are also without a permanent captain for their four-day side after Ben Brown resigned last year and has become another player to join the exodus from the county by moving to Hampshire at the end of last season.
It has been a difficult time for Sussex on the field in recent years and there is disquiet among the members and some of the players with what they allege is a dysfunctional management team as well as substandard performance, particularly in the County Championship.
Sussex finished last in the bottom division in the conference-based County Championship last season and will start this season in division two of the resurrected promotion and relegation format. They have spent the majority of the past decade in division two. There has been more success in the T20 Blast in recent years coming close runners-up in 2018 and making it to the knockout stages in all of the past four years under Wright’s captaincy.
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Rob Andrew has been chief executive of the club since 2017 having previously spent ten years as an administrator at the Rugby Football Union with varying success. The former England rugby union fly half has been credited with keeping Sussex financially afloat through the pandemic. The 59-year-old is also leading ambitious plans for the development of the South side of the County Ground, which will further boost the coffers.
Sussex are not a rich county but they have managed to remain financially sustainable and have a strong commercial team who try to maximise non-cricket revenue. They also have a strong academy and development system, which is producing young talent such as batsman Tom Clark, young spinner Archie Lenham and James Coles who recently featured for England in the Under-19 World Cup.
Andrew must also be given credit for appointing Sarah Taylor as the first woman to coach a men’s first-class side. Taylor, a former England player, is a specialist wicketkeeping coach at the county. They have also boosted the expertise on their cricket committee with the appointments of former players Chris Adams and Tony Cottey and both Mike Yardy and Grant Flower have recently joined the coaching staff.
However, there has been a worrying exodus of senior and experienced players over the past two or three years leaving the club with a wealth of young talent but little experience. Last year they used 26 players in the county championship – three were still at school and ten were university age. As well as Brown, the county have lost Laurie Evans, Danny Briggs, Reece Topley, Luke Wells, Chris Jordan and Phil Salt from their squad.
Former England and Sussex wicketkeeper Matt Prior has been particularly vocal in his criticism of the management, accusing them of mistreating players and mismanaging the process of renewing contracts,
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“I am absolutely furious at what has gone on and is going on at Sussex,” Prior said at the end of last year. “The truth will out at some point and I think people will be shocked. I have no personal agenda, I am not after a job. I only care about Sussex being the best it can be which right now it is so far from that it is unbelievable. I keep getting called by players and being told what is going on and how they’re being treated and it is not right.”
Although it is understood Wright will continue playing for the club, his resignation as T20 captain is a blow. He has a wealth of experience across the global T20 franchise world including stints in the IPL, the Big Bash League, the Hundred and the Pakistan Super League and that breadth of knowledge was a key component for Sussex’s T20 potential future success.
“We respect Luke’s decision to step down as captain and we will work with him to move forward and focus on the future with his successor at the helm,” Andrew said. “Luke has been a fantastic captain, leading the team to the knockout stages of the T20 Blast in five of his seven seasons as captain, including two finals day appearance in 2018 and 2021. The experience and knowledge he will be able to share with his successor will be invaluable.
“We look forward to watching Luke continue to entertain sold-out crowds at Hove over the next couple of seasons, whilst further cementing his place as the leading domestic T20 run scorer in England.”
It is unclear who might succeed Wright – there are barely any players left at the club with captaincy experience. It is also unlikely that Sussex will see much of Jofra Archer for much of the season as he will be carefully managed by England as he returns from the elbow surgery that has seen him sidelined from playing since early last year.
