List of Sussex County Cricket Club grounds explained

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]

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.[5] [6] 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.[7] In 1872, the land of the Royal Brunswick Ground was required for the expansion of the town,[8] so the club relocated to the County Ground, which continues to be the main ground for Sussex Cricket Club.[7] [9] The County Ground was the venue where Sussex claimed the 2003 and 2007 County Championships.[10] [11] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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. Eastbourne cancelled its proposed fixture in 2001 and did not host another county match until 2017,[14] [15] whilst Horsham was not awarded any matches for the 2016 season, due to financial difficulties.[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of Sussex's matches in 2020 and 2021 were played at the County Ground.[17] [18] In 2020, Hampshire played some "home" fixtures at Arundel, as the Rose Bowl was being used by England.[19]

The County Ground and Arundel Castle are the only two grounds to have hosted Sussex Twenty20 matches.[16]

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.

NameLocationFirst-classList ATwenty20
FirstLastMatchesFirstLastMatchesFirstLastMatches
Brighton– – – – [20] [21]
Lillywhite's Ground
Brighton– – – – [22] [23]
Hove– – – – [24] [25]
Petworth Park New Ground
Petworth– – – – [26] [27]
Priory Park

Chichester– – – – [28] [29]
Horsham– – – – [30] [31]

Lewes– – – – [32] [33]
St Leonards-on-Sea– – – – [34] [35]
Central Recreation Ground
Hastings– – 0[36] [37] [38]
Eastbourne– – – – [39] [40]
Hove–
still in use 		–
still in use 		–
still in use 		[41] [42] [43] [44]

Eastbourne– – [45] [46] [47]
Cricket Field Road Ground
Horsham– – [48] [49] [50]
Manor Sports Ground
Worthing– – – – [51] [52]
Arundel Castle Cricket Ground
Arundel–
still in use 		–
still in use 		–
still in use 		[53] [54] [55] [56]
Pagham Cricket Club Ground
Pagham– – – – [57] [58]
Horntye Park
Hastings– – – – [59] [60]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A brief history of Sussex. Sam. Collis. ESPNcricinfo. 5 August 2012.
  2. Web site: First Class Matches Played By Sussex. CricketArchive. 24 March 2016.
  3. Web site: List A Matches Played By Sussex. CricketArchive. 24 March 2016.
  4. Web site: Twenty20 Matches Played By Sussex. CricketArchive. 24 March 2016.
  5. Web site: Remembering Yorkshire County Cricket Club's out grounds. Andrew. Glover. BBC News. 10 April 2013. 24 May 2015.
  6. Web site: Out of town but not out of favour. Edward. Stockton. ESPNcricinfo. 13 June 2006. 26 June 2015.
  7. Web site: Sussex County Cricket Club. Encyclopaedia of Brighton. 24 March 2016.
  8. Web site: Gray. James. Photographic archive. Regency Society. 29 December 2013.
  9. Web site: County Ground. ESPNcricinfo. 29 January 2015.
  10. Web site: Sussex win title. BBC Sport. 4 February 2016.
  11. Web site: Lancashire go down fighting as Sussex secure title. ESPNcricinfo. 4 February 2016.
  12. Web site: One-Day International Matches played on County Ground, Hove (1). CricketArchive. 5 August 2012.
  13. Web site: First-class records - Sussex - Lowest match aggregate . CricketArchive. 18 March 2024.
  14. News: Saffrons off Sussex fixture list. The Argus. 31 March 2016.
  15. Web site: Sussex at Saffrons are 'hottest seats in town'. Eastbourne Herald. 29 June 2017.
  16. Web site: 2016 Fixture List released. Sussex CCC. 31 March 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160410092155/http://www.sussexcricket.co.uk/news-1/fixtures-2016-fixture-list-released. 10 April 2016. dmy-all.
  17. Sussex postpone outground visits until 2021. The Cricketer. 17 June 2020. 23 March 2021.
  18. News: Pandemic sadly means another summer without outground visits. Sussex CCC. 23 March 2021. 23 March 2021.
  19. Hampshire to prepare for delayed new season at Arundel. The Cricketer. 1 July 2020. 23 March 2021.
  20. Web site: Royal New Ground, Brighton . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  21. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Royal New Ground, Brighton (49) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  22. Web site: Lillywhite's Ground, Brighton . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  23. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Lillywhite's Ground, Brighton (1) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  24. Web site: Royal Brunswick Ground, Hove . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  25. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Royal Brunswick Ground, Hove (64) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  26. Web site: Petworth Park New Ground, Petworth . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  27. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Petworth Park New Ground, Petworth (4) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  28. Web site: Priory Park Ground, Chichester . CricketArchive . 15 September 2011.
  29. Web site: First-Class matches played on Priory Park Ground, Chichester (19) . 5 August 2012.
  30. Web site: E Tredcroft's Ground, Warnham Court, Horsham . 5 August 2012.
  31. Web site: First-Class Matches played on E Tredcroft's Ground, Warnham Court, Horsham (3) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  32. Web site: Dripping Pan, Lewes . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  33. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Dripping Pan, Lewes (1) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  34. Web site: East Sussex Cricket Ground, St Leonards-on-Sea . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  35. Web site: First-Class Matches played on East Sussex Cricket Ground, St Leonards-on-Sea (1) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  36. Web site: Central Recreation Ground, Hastings . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  37. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Central Recreation Ground, Hastings (228) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  38. Web site: List A Matches played on Central Recreation Ground, Hastings (14) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  39. Web site: Ashford Road, Eastbourne . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  40. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Ashford Road, Eastbourne (2) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  41. Web site: County Ground, Hove . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  42. Web site: First-Class Matches played on County Ground, Hove (1,222) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  43. Web site: List A Matches played on County Ground, Hove (399) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  44. Web site: Twenty20 matches played on County Ground, Hove (96). CricketArchive. 18 November 2020.
  45. Web site: The Saffrons, Eastbourne . Cricket Archive . 18 November 2020.
  46. Web site: First-Class Matches played on The Saffrons, Eastbourne (226) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  47. Web site: List A Matches played on The Saffrons, Eastbourne (35) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  48. Web site: Cricket Field Road Ground, Horsham . Cricket Archive . 5 August 2012.
  49. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Cricket Field Road Ground (101) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  50. Web site: List A Matches played on Cricket Field Road Ground, Horsham (35) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  51. Web site: Manor Sports Ground, Worthing . Cricket Archive . 5 August 2012.
  52. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Manor Sports Ground, Worthing (43) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  53. Web site: Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground . Cricket Archive . 5 August 2012.
  54. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground (29) . CricketArchive . 18 November 2020.
  55. Web site: List A Matches played on Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground (19) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  56. Web site: Twenty20 matches played on Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground, Arundel (5). CricketArchive. 18 November 2020.
  57. Web site: Pagham Cricket Club Ground . Cricket Archive . 5 August 2012.
  58. Web site: First-Class Matches played on Pagham Cricket Club Ground (2) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.
  59. Web site: Horntye Park, Hastings . Cricket Archive . 5 August 2012.
  60. Web site: List A Matches played on Horntye Park, Hastings (5) . CricketArchive . 5 August 2012.

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