When it comes to leather on willow I respect your opinion old boy (as with everything else), so is the there a clear positive way forward with Sussex or were the glory years in effect like the middle distance running era of Coe, Ovett and Cram, it was great whilst it lasted but it’s never coming back?
I think there's been a real change in Sussex cricket over the last 10 years. There's much more of a connection between Sussex CCC and the clubs now, they're keeping a closer eye with what's happening in grassroots cricket. I hope that the days when Crane and Vince sign for Hampshire are gone (I know Muyeye went to Kent but he had strong links there and was only at school in Sussex).
The club scene is very strong in Sussex and is growing, My own club had two adult teams four years ago; it now has three Saturday teams, a Sunday social group of misfits and a women's team. We have teams in every year group up to 16 year olds (and three girls teams too). We've acquired a second pitch (and hire another one for odd games), just bought new astro strip and a new roller. There's little sign of a decline in cricket there.
And Sussex's policy in concentrating on youth will pay dividends in the long run. We have the youngest team in the CC and we're going to a bit of a battering this season but there are some good players there