Rain, rain go away

I finally watched 45 minutes of play at Lords before the heavens opened and I hot-footed back to Hove for the crucial T20 blast game against Kent.

I say hot-footed but once again there was a trespasser on the line at East Croydon so the Gatwick non-Express crawled pitiably and then a decision was made with the  interest of passengers last to turf us all out at Haywards Heath.

The train arrived some 45 minutes late.

Worse was to come when someone called to say the game was washed out.

It means Sussex are sixth and must win at least two  of their remaining  games against Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Middlesex to make the crucial top four that go through from the south division to the quarter finals.

It’s been a dispiriting and depressing few days and I totally endorse the view of fellow Rusters that the Hundred is doomed unless some contingency is made for the English weather. Sussex now have lost out on 4 games of no results because of the weather.

As for Brighton HAFC the words ‘second season syndrome’ are much bandied about. We are only 1000-1 to win the league but Pargie showed me an article in The Racing Post by Stats guru Kevin Pullein declaring that there is no evidence that promoted teams suffer in their second season. We have got in Alreza Jahanbakhsh (I can’t imagine our fans singing his name to the tune “There is only one ….) he was top scorer in Holland but the Eredivisie is not the Premier. Much will depend on the defensive strengths of Lewis Dunk and Shaun Duffy and our home form against our peers.

Above all we have the pragmatic Chris Hughton who expects no more that finishing 3 places above the relegated teams amongst whom there is always one from mid-table and I fancy Bournmeouth and Watford to stutter.

Unlike  Fulham who have splashed the cash – our net spend is £46m.