Sussex has been a prominent cricket county since the 17th century and teams representing the county have generally been regarded as important or first-class. The earliest known move towards a permanent county organisation happened 17 June 1836 when a meeting in Brighton established a Sussex Cricket Fund to support county matches. It was from this organisation that Sussex County Cricket Club was formally constituted on 1 March 1839. The club played its initial first-class match against Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's on 10 & 11 June 1839. Sussex CCC is England's oldest county club, one of eighteen that play in the County Championship at first-class level. The player appointed club captain leads the team in all fixtures, except if unavailable, and the following 48 cricketers have held the post since formation of the county club in 1839.
Eight Sussex-born players have captained the club in first-class cricket, as follows:
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Gloucestershire. Founded in 1870, Gloucestershire have always been first-class and have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club played its first senior match in 1870 and W. G. Grace was their captain. The club plays home games at the Bristol County Ground in the Bishopston area of north Bristol. A number of games are also played at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival at the College Ground, Cheltenham and matches have also been played at the Gloucester cricket festival at The King's School, Gloucester.
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.