STATS
113
Years’ wait for Sussex to win
the County Championship. It
came in 2003, after entering the
competition in 1890. Further titles
followed in 2006 and 200734,378
Most fi rst-class runs by a Sussex
player – John Langridge. He has been
described as “one of the best English
cricketers never to play a Test”2,211
Most fi rst-class wickets taken by a
Sussex player - Maurice Tate. The
seamer played 39 Tests, and is not to
be confused with his father Fred, a
famous ‘one-Test wonder’ (he took
1,306 wickets with his o -spin)344*
Highest fi rst-class score by a
Sussex player – Murray Goodwin
v Somerset at Taunton in 2009490
Highest fi rst-class stand by a
Sussex duo - Ted Bowley (a career-
best 283) and Langridge (195)
for the opening wicket against
Middlesex at Hove in 19337 9
Most Test caps won by a Sussex
player, Matt Prior. Pipping Ted
Dexter (62) and Tony Greig (58)RIGHT
John LangridgeWomen’s cricket
at Sussex
The women’s game at Sussex
is fl ourishing, with the Sir Rod
Aldridge Cricket Centre at the heart
of it. The facility was built at the
cost of £1.8m, privately donated by
Sir Rod Aldridge, founder of Capita.
Alexia Walker played two ODIs for
England women in 2001, against
Scotland at Reading. She became
director of cricket at the Aldridge
Cricket Academy in 2013. She is
the former performance analyst to
Leicestershire men, and assistant
coach of Loughborough MCCU, and
was previously director of cricket
at Brighton College, the fi rst female
coach in the independent sector.
“The Aldridge Foundation took
over the sponsorship of the
two schools, Brighton Aldridge
Community Academy and Portslade
Aldridge Community Academy.
There was an initially talk of a small
pavilion, which has morphed into
this centre. In England we spend
more time indoors than outdoors,
so it’s really important for us.
“MCC come to play us. We play
as many private schools as we can,
including Gordounstoun in our fi rst
fi xture at the centre. We’re an MCC
Foundation Hub as well, so we hope
we’re providing more opportunities
to state-educated kids from
non-traditional cricket backgrounds.
“The academy is open to sixth-
formers and we have 25 kids enrolled
in cricket at the academy. It’s drawn
50/50 from the two schools.
“I went through Loughborough
University with Jimmy Anyon. We
were both infl uenced by Graham
Dilley and his principles – to stay
strong at the crease, and we’ve
got a couple of 15 or 16-year-olds
who are quite slippery, getting the
ball through. So I’m quite wary
about overprotecting bowlers, and
learning the art of fast bowling.
“The pathway has changed in
women’s cricket, and it was diffi cult
to know precisely where things
stood last year. The KSL did take
away quite a lot of players, and it’s
expanding as a tournament so we
have to manage things very closely.
“I was playing for Sussex when
Sarah Taylor fi rst came into the
system as 12th man. She would
sneak into the pavilion and eat all
the Haribo. We go way back. She will
say that Sussex played a huge part
in her development.
“I’ve known her for a decade now,
and I’m delighted that she’s starting
to relax and enjoy her cricket.
“We actually got relegated into
Division Two last season. We beat
the top two teams [Lancashire and
Yorkshire] but lost other crucial
matches when we were weakened
by absences. Cricket is growing
nationally for girls, so counties are
getting stronger. We’re only going to
get stronger.
“It’s amazing to think where
the women’s game is now. I think
it all started when we started
to get Lottery Funding. Now the
opportunities are great, and an
11-year-old can look at cricket and
think it’s for them.”LEFT
Alexia Walker,
the director of
the Aldridge
Cricket
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