Sussex sports
Our dear friends at Crystal Palace, by beating Cardiff, kept the Seagulls up as we appeared to be sleepwalking into relegation.
Sussex Sharks lost yesterday by 116 runs to 4th place Gloucestershire at the Saffrons Ground, Eastbourne. I went to the match.
I like the outer grounds of Sussex, especially Arundel.
Hastings is no more a cricket ground and Horsham dropped. Eastbourne slipped off the cycle sometime ago. It was rumoured that visiting players did not like the facilities.
The ground is adjacent to the football one. Eastbourne punches above its weight sporting-wise with Devonshire Park attracting many tennis players and fans pre-Wimbledon and the elite speedway team the Eagles.
It is true that the Saffrons is not awash with facilities but they set up a hospitality marquee where I was sat. It was chilly with a biting wind and I do not enjoy watching cricket whilst cold.
Lunch was the traditional formula of comic MC, the game ‘heads and tails’ and silent auction. Presumably these do make money but in my lifetime little changed in format.
Gloucestershire won the toss and chose to bat.
They posted a big score of 335 which Sussex were never going to overcome.
To do so you need to set a platform of runs and no loss of wickets but after 23 overs the Sharks were 90-4. They amassed 219 falling 116 runs short. It seems unfair that one of our most prolific batsman Phil Salt was summoned to the England T20 squad in Wales but did not play. We could have done with him. Just imagine the furore if in football 3rd place was playing 4rh in the premier and a starlet was called up for his national team two days prior to the key match and not played.
Sussex cricket is highly social. When the cold got to me I went inside the marquee and met someone I knew. Everyone is happy to stop and chat over a pint of Harvey’s.
