Lewes FC
A tough first season
then for boss Darren
Freeman, saw Lewes
relegated from the
Ryman Premier
League with only 6 wins
from 46 league games after
finishing 17 points adrift of safety.
Though after a difficult start to the season
(no win in the first 8 games), there were
definite signs of optimism for the future as
the Rooks finished unbeaten at home in
2016. Rooks Striker Jonte Smith finished
as top goal scorer with 10 goals from 15
appearances, having only joined in January
and scoring 2 goals on his debut in the 3-1
win at home to Canvey Island. One can
only imagine how different things might
have been had the 21 year old former
Sutton United and Crawley Town player,
and current Bermuda International, been
part of the plans from the beginning.
A special mention as well for 20 year
old forward Alex Laing, who finished the
season with 6 goals and 11 assists having
made the step up from the Development
squad.
So what was the highlight of the season?
Sussex Cricket Club
With Luke Wright
beginning his first
campaign as Skipper
and new coach Mark
Davis charged with
getting the Sharks
back in to Division one,
the 2016 season should be an interesting
campaign at the very least.
Off the pitch activity saw some fairly
significant contract extensions for Chris
Nash, Steve Magoffin, Craig Cachopa and
England bowler Chris Jordan, although the
latter’s one year extension was not all good
for Sussex fans as news broke that CJ had
signed for Royal Challengers Bangalore
in the Indian Premier League and was
unlikely to be involved with Sussex until
June at the earliest. However, Davis said
“It is an exciting opportunity, and one
that he mustn’t turn down, we hope the
experience he will gain will benefit us when
he returns.”
On the T20 Blast front, Bangladesh’s leftarm seamer Mustafizur Rahman will be
arriving at Hove for the 2016 competition.
He made his ODI debut against India
last summer and became only the tenth
bowler in the history of the game to take
a five-wicket haul on their debut. His best
My choice would be winning 4-0 away at
eventual Champions Hampton & Richmond
Borough in September, which was not only
their heaviest defeat of the season but also
provided the Rooks’ first win of the 2015/16
campaign. That game also reflected the
only time this season where the Rooks
have scored four goals in a league game.
As Freeman begins to put his plans in
place for next season, Rooks fans will be
delighted at the news that former Brighton
& Hove Albion player, and supporters’
Player of the Season, Steve Brinkhurst has
put pen to paper for next season’s Ryman
League South campaign. Also committing
to the future is goalkeeper Chris Winterton
and a few days afterwards it was also
confirmed that midfielder Lloyd Cotton
has signed for a further season. He will be
joined in the squad by former Peacehaven
& Telscombe and Burgess Hill Town wideman Josh Jones. Manager Darren Freeman
said “We know that to be challenging at the
top end of the table we will probably need
half a dozen players who will score double
figures for us next season and I can see
Josh doing that. Lloyd has always given
110% for me and the club and it is brilliant
news that he will be in the red and black
shirt next season once again.”
ODI haul of 6 for 43 came in the next
match against India. News of the first
ever Bangladeshi international to play for
Sussex followed the earlier signing of New
Zealand batsman Ross Taylor as their
overseas player for the first half of the 2016
season. Taylor, 31, averages 45.99 in Test
cricket and in November, made his highest
score, 290 against Australia in Perth.
reply! I’m sure his number’s changed!
Former Sussex batsman, Murray Goodwin
re-joined the Club as the batting coach for
the 2016 season, having spent 12 seasons
with the club as a player. He was a key part
of the Sussex team which won the County
Championship in 2003, 2006, and 2007,
the C & G Trophy in 2006, and the Pro40 in
2008 and 2009, along with the Twenty20
Cup, also in 2009!He scored over 24,000
runs for Sussex in all formats, including
nearly 14,500 first class runs with 48
centuries and an average approaching 50.
He made two triple centuries, as well as
scoring the runs which won the County’s
first Championship in 2003, and hit a six
off the final ball of the match to secure the
2008 Pro40.
Returning to action on the pitch, Sussex
resumed cricketing life back in The County
Championship Division Two without
Captain Luke Wright, who, at the time
of writing, has been unable to play due
to a wrist injury picked up playing in the
Pakistan Super League over the winter.
Ben Brown has been deputising as skipper
and at the time of writing, the opening
three matches had ended as three draws
against Northamptonshire, Essex and
Leicestershire respectively, the latter largely
thanks to a tenacious and battling 144 runs
from Chris Nash.
With stats like that, yours truly was
delighted with the news and having spoken
with and interviewed ‘Muzza’ many times,
then proceeded to send a congratulatory
text message to him, to which I know
some of you won’t be surprised by, I got no
In other news Bowler Jimmy Anyon called
time on his Sussex career due to persistent
knee injuries having kept him out of most
of the 2014 season as well as the entire
2015 season. Anyon had joined Sussex in
2010 and took 199 wickets in 63 first class
matches.
This was then followed by another rain
affected draw at Derbyshire where Lewis
Hatchett was the highlight of the Sussex
bowling attach as he took 5 for 58, and
Luke Wells (116) and Ed Joyce were the
stars with the bat, the latter hitting a career
best 250, including 36 boundaries.
105