Chris Jordan
The player
“The nucleus of the squad hasn’t
changed dramatically. In four-day
cricket last season I don’t think we
were far off at all. I think if we had
turned a couple of bad losses into
draws it could have been different,
and that comes down to a little bit of
game management in key moments.
Instead of having a collapse, maybe
making a partnership deeper, or
heightening your concentration
in a bowling spell, key moments...
our season could have been very
different. In T20 we missed out
by run-rate, and there were a lot
of rain-affected games, so I don’t
think we were far off at all... so
we need to keep working at it.
Obviously the expectation has been
heightened. We are all here to win,
to win trophies, but it’s important
we take one game at a time, one
moment at a time, and keep building
like that. We have a new coach in...
It’s a great appointment, he comes
with a vast amount of experience,
both internationally playing, and
coaching. He’s just come off the
back of a very good campaign with
Adelaide Strikers – I enjoyed my
time with them (2016–17). He’s
a very relaxed character, a calm
influence on the dressing room.
He allows players to go out and
express themselves. All things point
towards it being good campaign, so
hopefully we can turn around and
execute his plans. He can only put
the instructions in, we have to take
the responsibility to execute them.” Getty ImaGesRob Andrew
The chief executive
“I can’t hide the fact, I don’t want to
hide the fact... we were very pleased
to sign Jason. It surprised a lot of
people, probably including me and
Jason. As Jason said, I don’t think he
expected to be back in the English
game as quickly as this. All coaches
want to make a difference and he
genuinely believes in young players
- he’s done that with Yorkshire
and Adelaide. He sees we have
something here. It’s not quite right,
it needs to be better, but it is a squad
with potential. Coaches like to turn
potential into the real thing. We are
clear on that direction of travel.”
On the future – with a guaranteed
£1.3m per year from the ECB for
allowing them to proceed with The
100, but with potentially fewer
Blast games per year.... “None of
that is finalised... there is still
work to be done, whether it’s five
or seven T20 matches. Yes we want
to protect the interests of Sussex
going forward. We will just see how
that plays out. I am not convinced
[that the new competition will get
all the attention]. We will still sell out
all our Blast fixtures here. It’s a massive
part of our business plan. We still
need to work out a balance between
white and red-ball cricket. How much
red-ball cricket is played, what the
County Championship looks like. That
debate needs to be had. I still think the
18-county model can be very successful,
while accepting that there is a new
competition that is driving revenue to
help the game overall.
“The club is in a strong position
financially, no debt. We don’t have any
spare cash. Spen Cama’s legacy [£7m]
has been spent. We are developing a
longer term operational and financial
strategy now we have greater visibility
on our finances until 2024. We will
continue to develop our own players
where we can and feel we have a squad
with a good balance of youth and
experience. During 2018 we will also
create a masterplan for the next stage
of ground development at Hove.
“Over the medium term, the club
expects to make operating profits
having budgeted for a deficit in 2018. It
would be nice to have another £2.5m to
spend on the ground... for some of the
non-Test match grounds to be offered
some money as well to help develop
their grounds.”
Chairman Bob Warren added: “Given
that, in general, finances in cricket
remain challenging I am pleased that
Sussex Cricket is continuing to ensure
that the club’s finances are being
managed in a responsible manner.
This careful management, led by our
treasurer, Ed Putnam and the in-house
finance team, means that we can
continue to invest in our squads and
our facilities.”74 | thecricketer.com