Club history
County Ground
Brighton & Hove Cricket Club was founded on 22 August 1945, as an amalgamation of Hove Cricket Club (founded in 1918) and Brighton Nondescripts Cricket Club (founded in 1920). The club was based at the County Ground in Hove, Sussex, although all Sunday games had to be played away from home.
Withdean Stadium
By 1955 it was clear that the club could not remain at the County Ground and in the following year it moved to a very small ground next to the Withdean Stadium in Brighton. Here the club enjoyed a good family atmosphere, but the facilities were primitive and the use of the ground as a rugby pitch during the winter, and even as a collecting ring for a horse show, made playing-conditions dangerous. The Club found a temporary refuge at Longhill School in 1969 before moving to Horsdean.
Horsdean
At Horsdean, too, there were problems with the use of the playing surface for rugby during the winter, and the clubhouse was hardly suitable to be used as a cricket pavilion. But the square was improved until it became one of the best in club cricket, and this helped the club to achieve an increasing amount of success. The high point came in 1979 when the club won both the first and second eleven competitions in the Sussex League.
At the end of the 1990 season, however, a long-standing threat from the construction of a road bypass became a reality. With no sign of a replacement ground, the club spent 1991 without a venue, playing all Sunday matches away, but fulfilling its League fixtures thanks to the kindness of Brighton Polytechnic, on whose pitch they were allowed to play. [2]
Nevill Ground
Towards the end of the 1991 season, the club was offered the use of the Nevill Ground by Hove Borough Council, which was in the process of renovating the clubhouse. Ironically, this was one of the grounds the club had considered moving to in 1956 and rejected. The club eagerly accepted the council's offer, work began on the square that autumn, and since then the club enjoyed a happy collaboration with Hove Borough Council. Improvements at the Nevill Sports Arena provided the club with excellent facilities for the 2009 season.
Brighton is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the city of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located 47 mi (76 km) south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.
Hove is a seaside resort. It is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, England.
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Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Sussex. Its limited overs team is called the Sussex Sharks. The club was founded in 1839 as a successor to the various Sussex county cricket teams, including the old Brighton Cricket Club, which had been representative of the county of Sussex as a whole since the 1720s. The club has always held first-class status. Sussex have competed in the County Championship since the official start of the competition in 1890 and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England.
Eastbourne United A.F.C. is a football club based in Eastbourne, England. They were formed in 2003 after a merger between Eastbourne United F.C. and Shinewater Association. In 2009 they were the Sussex County League champions for the first time in 53 years, 18 years after leaving the Isthmian League. They are currently members of the Southern Combination Premier Division.
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The Sussex Senior Cup is an annual association football knock-out cup competition for men's football clubs in the English county of Sussex and is the county senior cup of the Sussex FA. Its official name is the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup. For sponsorship purposes, from 2012 to 2018 it is also known as the Parafix Sussex Senior Cup after a new three-year sponsorship deal was agreed in 2015.
Gehan Dixon Mendis is an former cricketer who was an opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire between 1974 and 1993. He was part of the Lancashire team that won the 1990 Benson & Hedges Cup and 1990 NatWest Trophy. Mendis scored over 21,000 runs in his first-class career.
Thomas Edwin Reed Cook was an English sportsman. He played professional football, playing as a centre-forward and additionally had a substantial career in First-Class cricket primarily as a batsman.
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East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex.
Brighton Cricket Club was based at Brighton, Sussex and was briefly a top-class team, playing seven matches between 1791 and 1814 which have been given first-class cricket status. It is often seen as being representative of Sussex as a county.
Thomas Box was a famous English cricketer who is remembered as one of the most outstanding wicketkeepers of the 19th century.
Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, highways, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority.
Philip Dean Salt is a professional cricketer, who plays internationally for England and domestically for Lancashire County Cricket Club, and previously for Sussex. Primarily an aggressive right-handed opening batsman, he sometimes keeps wicket and, less frequently, bowls right-arm medium-pace. Salt made his international debut for England in July 2021. Born in Wales, he moved in his youth to Barbados and then to England. Salt was part of the England team that won the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup.
Sport in Sussex forms an important part of the culture of Sussex. With a centuries-long tradition of sport, Sussex has played a key role in the early development of both cricket and stoolball. Cricket is recognised as having been formed in the Weald and Sussex CCC is England's oldest county cricket club. Slindon Cricket Club dominated the sport for a while in the 18th century. The cricket ground at Arundel Castle traditionally plays host to a Duchess of Norfolk's XI which plays the national test sides touring England. The sport of stoolball is also associated with Sussex, which has a claim to be where the sport originated and certainly where its revival took place in the early 20th century. Sussex is represented in the Premier League by Brighton & Hove Albion and in the Football League by Crawley Town. Brighton has been in the Premier League since 2017 and has been a League member since 1920, whereas Crawley was promoted to the League in 2011. Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. play in the FA Women's Super League from 2017. Sussex has had its own football association, since 1882 and its own football league, which has since expanded into Surrey, since 1920. In horse racing, Sussex is home to Goodwood, Fontwell Park, Brighton and Plumpton. The All England Jumping Course show jumping facility at Hickstead is situated 8 miles (13 km) north of Brighton and Hove.
Cricket in Sussex refers to the sport of cricket in relation to its participation and history within Sussex, England. One of the most popular sports in Sussex, it is commonly believed that cricket was developed in Sussex and the neighbouring counties of Kent and Surrey. Records from 1611 indicate the first time that the sport was documented in Sussex; this is also the first reference to cricket being played by adults. The first reference to women's cricket is also from Sussex and dates from 1677; a match between two Sussex women's teams playing in London is documented from 1747. Formed in 1839, Sussex County Cricket Club is believed to be the oldest professional sports club in the world and is the oldest of the county cricket clubs. Sussex players, including Jem Broadbridge and William Lillywhite were instrumental in bringing about the change from underarm bowling to roundarm bowling, which later developed into overarm bowling. For some time roundarm bowling was referred to as 'Sussex bowling'.
