Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English
County Championship, representing the
historic county of
Sussex. Although Sussex representative sides had been playing cricket since the mid-eighteenth century and had also played
first-class cricket matches since 1815, the County Cricket Club was established on 1 March 1839.[1] They have played first-class matches since 1839,
List A matches since 1963, and
Twenty20 matches since 2003.[2][3][4][a]
Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s.[8][9] In total, Sussex have played first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket at 17 different
grounds across the county.
The club's first fixture was played at the
Royal New Ground,
Brighton.[1] The ground was Sussex's main ground until 1848, when the
Royal Brunswick Ground in
Brunswick, Hove became the main ground.[10] In 1872, the land of the Royal Brunswick Ground was required for the expansion of the town,[11] so the club relocated to the
County Ground, which continues to be the main ground for Sussex Cricket Club.[10][12] The County Ground was the venue where Sussex claimed the
2003 and
2007 County Championships.[13][14] It is also the only ground in Sussex to have hosted international cricket; in the
1999 World Cup, a
One Day International between
India and
South Africa was played at the ground.[15]
In 1849, the club used a venue outside Brighton for the first time, when they played a first-class match at
Petworth Park New Ground; the match against
Surrey is notable for being one of Sussex's lowest aggregate scoring matches of all time, with only 287 runs scored.[16] It was also the only time that Petworth Park hosted a Sussex match. Sussex have frequently used out grounds to host some of their matches, typically as part of cricket festivals. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, their main out grounds were the
Central Recreation Ground in
Hastings,
The Saffrons in
Eastbourne, the
Cricket Field Road Ground in
Horsham, and the
Arundel Castle Cricket Ground (from 1972). After the Central Recreation Ground was demolished in 1996, Sussex also played two List A matches at
Horntye Park, Hastings' other cricket ground.[b] Eastbourne cancelled its proposed fixture in 2001 and did not host another county match until 2017,[17][18] whilst Horsham was not awarded any matches for the
2016 season, due to financial difficulties.[19] Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, all of Sussex's matches in 2020 and 2021 were played at the County Ground.[20][21] In 2020,
Hampshire played some "home" fixtures at Arundel, as the
Rose Bowl was being used by
England.[22]
The County Ground and Arundel Castle are the only two grounds to have hosted Sussex Twenty20 matches.[19]
Grounds
Below is a complete list of grounds used by Sussex County Cricket Club for
first-class,
List A and
Twenty20 matches. Statistics are complete through to the end of the 2020 season. Only matches played by Sussex County Cricket Club since its establishment in 1839 are included in the table. Matches abandoned without any play occurring are not included.
^First-class cricket matches are designed to be contested over multiple days, with each team permitted two
innings with no limit to the number of
overs in an innings.[5] List A matches, also known as limited overs or one-day matches, are intended to be completed in a single day and restrict each team to a single innings of between 40 and 60 overs, depending on the specific competition.[6] Twenty20 matches restrict each team to a single innings of 20 overs.[7]
^
abExcludes the match on 26 May 2008 between Sussex and Essex where no plauy was possible.
^Excludes matches played by Sussex before it became a County Club.
^Excludes 1853 Gentlemen of England v United England Eleven match, two matches played by combined Surrey and Sussex team, one match played by combined Kent and Sussex team, and 1871
Gentlemen v Players match.
^Excludes 1882 United Eleven v
Australians match, 1886 Lord March's Eleven v Australians match, and 1889 South v North match.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible, 39 matches played by the South team, 17
England XI matches, seven
Gentlemen v Players matches, two
AE Stoddart's XI v The Rest matches, two matches played by a combined
Surrey and Sussex team, 1899
Home Counties v The Rest match, 1902 match played by a joint
Kent and Sussex team, 1903 The Rest v
Lancashire and
Yorkshire match, 3 Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South matches, 1912 Gentlemen of the South v
South Africans, 1923 Capped v Uncapped match, two
Lord Cowdray's XI vs The Rest matches, 1949 Over 30 v Under 30 match, 1951 Over 32 v Under 32 match, 1957
LEG Ames' XI v
West Indians, and 8 matches hosted by
AER Gilligan's XI.
^Excludes three matches where no play was possible.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible, two matches hosted by the South team, three
England XI v
Australians matches, 41 matches hosted by
HDG Leveson-Gower's XI, five matches hosted by the Gentlemen of England, 1922
RAF v The Rest match, two matches hosted by
Harlequins, four matches hosted by
DR Jardine's XI, two matches hosted by
LC Stevens' XI, and eight matches hosted by
DH Robin's XI.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible. Includes
Unicorns v Sussex
2010 Clydesdale Bank 40 match, where Unicorns were home team, and Sussex were away team.
^Excludes one match where no play was possible and two matches hosted by
Sussex Cricket Board.
Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English
County Championship, representing the
historic county of
Sussex. Although Sussex representative sides had been playing cricket since the mid-eighteenth century and had also played
first-class cricket matches since 1815, the County Cricket Club was established on 1 March 1839.[1] They have played first-class matches since 1839,
List A matches since 1963, and
Twenty20 matches since 2003.[2][3][4][a]
Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s.[8][9] In total, Sussex have played first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket at 17 different
grounds across the county.
The club's first fixture was played at the
Royal New Ground,
Brighton.[1] The ground was Sussex's main ground until 1848, when the
Royal Brunswick Ground in
Brunswick, Hove became the main ground.[10] In 1872, the land of the Royal Brunswick Ground was required for the expansion of the town,[11] so the club relocated to the
County Ground, which continues to be the main ground for Sussex Cricket Club.[10][12] The County Ground was the venue where Sussex claimed the
2003 and
2007 County Championships.[13][14] It is also the only ground in Sussex to have hosted international cricket; in the
1999 World Cup, a
One Day International between
India and
South Africa was played at the ground.[15]
In 1849, the club used a venue outside Brighton for the first time, when they played a first-class match at
Petworth Park New Ground; the match against
Surrey is notable for being one of Sussex's lowest aggregate scoring matches of all time, with only 287 runs scored.[16] It was also the only time that Petworth Park hosted a Sussex match. Sussex have frequently used out grounds to host some of their matches, typically as part of cricket festivals. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, their main out grounds were the
Central Recreation Ground in
Hastings,
The Saffrons in
Eastbourne, the
Cricket Field Road Ground in
Horsham, and the
Arundel Castle Cricket Ground (from 1972). After the Central Recreation Ground was demolished in 1996, Sussex also played two List A matches at
Horntye Park, Hastings' other cricket ground.[b] Eastbourne cancelled its proposed fixture in 2001 and did not host another county match until 2017,[17][18] whilst Horsham was not awarded any matches for the
2016 season, due to financial difficulties.[19] Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, all of Sussex's matches in 2020 and 2021 were played at the County Ground.[20][21] In 2020,
Hampshire played some "home" fixtures at Arundel, as the
Rose Bowl was being used by
England.[22]
The County Ground and Arundel Castle are the only two grounds to have hosted Sussex Twenty20 matches.[19]
Grounds
Below is a complete list of grounds used by Sussex County Cricket Club for
first-class,
List A and
Twenty20 matches. Statistics are complete through to the end of the 2020 season. Only matches played by Sussex County Cricket Club since its establishment in 1839 are included in the table. Matches abandoned without any play occurring are not included.
^First-class cricket matches are designed to be contested over multiple days, with each team permitted two
innings with no limit to the number of
overs in an innings.[5] List A matches, also known as limited overs or one-day matches, are intended to be completed in a single day and restrict each team to a single innings of between 40 and 60 overs, depending on the specific competition.[6] Twenty20 matches restrict each team to a single innings of 20 overs.[7]
^
abExcludes the match on 26 May 2008 between Sussex and Essex where no plauy was possible.
^Excludes matches played by Sussex before it became a County Club.
^Excludes 1853 Gentlemen of England v United England Eleven match, two matches played by combined Surrey and Sussex team, one match played by combined Kent and Sussex team, and 1871
Gentlemen v Players match.
^Excludes 1882 United Eleven v
Australians match, 1886 Lord March's Eleven v Australians match, and 1889 South v North match.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible, 39 matches played by the South team, 17
England XI matches, seven
Gentlemen v Players matches, two
AE Stoddart's XI v The Rest matches, two matches played by a combined
Surrey and Sussex team, 1899
Home Counties v The Rest match, 1902 match played by a joint
Kent and Sussex team, 1903 The Rest v
Lancashire and
Yorkshire match, 3 Gentlemen of the South v Players of the South matches, 1912 Gentlemen of the South v
South Africans, 1923 Capped v Uncapped match, two
Lord Cowdray's XI vs The Rest matches, 1949 Over 30 v Under 30 match, 1951 Over 32 v Under 32 match, 1957
LEG Ames' XI v
West Indians, and 8 matches hosted by
AER Gilligan's XI.
^Excludes three matches where no play was possible.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible, two matches hosted by the South team, three
England XI v
Australians matches, 41 matches hosted by
HDG Leveson-Gower's XI, five matches hosted by the Gentlemen of England, 1922
RAF v The Rest match, two matches hosted by
Harlequins, four matches hosted by
DR Jardine's XI, two matches hosted by
LC Stevens' XI, and eight matches hosted by
DH Robin's XI.
^Excludes two matches where no play was possible. Includes
Unicorns v Sussex
2010 Clydesdale Bank 40 match, where Unicorns were home team, and Sussex were away team.
^Excludes one match where no play was possible and two matches hosted by
Sussex Cricket Board.