SUSSEX REJUVENATION UNDERWAY

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1:04Wake me up, wake me up, it's time. Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up. Mom and I wake up. You're up all over. The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup. Shop Folger's cake-up pods and more at your nearest retailer. Hello, welcome to the analyst inside of cricket with me. Simon, he used this podcast like the counterchampage it behind me is supported by Rothsay, protecting the pensions of over a million people in the UK, and also of course helping secure the future of test cricket and counterchampage it as well with the ECB. Rothsay, your future in safe hands. I know England are playing a T20 game against Sri Lanka tonight, but I'm much more interested actually in the climax of the counterchampage here. That's why I've come down here to home today where the title hold is notting them sure

2:06are playing Sussex. Of course, it's really nippin' tough at the top of the table with Warwickshire and also Somerset and really tied at the top of the table there. About five points separates them. I've been keeping an eye on the other games as well. Somerset have bold out Yorkshire, but only for 212 by about T on the first day. Johnny Verstow managed to hold Somerset out a bit with 79. He was dropped actually by James Rue behind the stump when he was on about 20. So Rue will probably Rue that, no pun intended, but at least Somerset bold him out for 212 in the end and now I've started batting. But also in the other game Warwickshire, really dominant against Essex, Ethan Bamber and other six-lookers. I think that's put into the top of the Wichit taking table now in the championship this year. He bold Essex out of 134 Warwickshire. I've got batting as well. So now to this game here at Hove and the Nottinghamshire batsman have struggled a bit against some persistent seam bowling from Sussex and also an interruption from the rain as well

3:10around about lunchtime. So they've been a little bit hampered in their progress getting to about 140 for 6. I'll report to the scores at the end of the day's play. But one of the reasons for coming to Sussex today was, you know, it's one of my favourite grounds of course, I wonder, wonderful venue. But also things are happening here. Things are happening because a few changes going on. A new chair, Ed Warner and some new people brought in to help run the club as well. So I thought we'd talk about the future of Sussex cricket with the men who matter. So I'm with Matt Pryor, of course, a formerly of Sussex and also the new chairman of Sussex Ed Warner. Thank you for joining us, Ed, in the middle of a game. I'm sure you've got the better things to do. But one of the reasons I wanted to come to Sussex today was because it was the place where I first discovered the big time, playing for middle sex in a Gillette car. Where's this going? No, it was a big time. I mean, it's not a sort of dodgy story.

4:10Well, it's a dodgy story in a way, but I was playing for middle sex in the semi-final of the Gillette Cup, 60 overs, like the sort of the last finals day now in terms of its sort of profile. It was a very big day in late August. I think it was a bank holiday weekend. We were playing middle sex playing Sussex here. And it was that great Sussex team with Imran Khan, Garth LaRoum and many other luminaries. I'm in a fantastic side. And I just want to show you this picture on my laptop here, my iPad. This is Imran Khan, bowling to Wayne Daniel, the West Indian basketball of middle sex. I'm the non-striker. You're not backing up, right? I'm absolutely terrified. If you're not watching this on video, the ball has just missed Daniel's head. He's kind of doing a jackknife. The helmet on his head has come off and the ball has just whistled past his nose through to the keeper. Now, I was absolutely bricking it at non-striker and I had to face.

5:12He, of course, he ran. As soon as he got a single, he ran out the other end. So I had to face the next ball and it didn't last long. Imran terrorised us. But it was the wrong thing to do, that particular delivery, because all of Sussex fans, all the kind of faithful were here. I was hoping Sussex could get to the final, but because he absolutely scared the wits out of Wayne Daniel Imran, Daniel bowled the speed of light and bowled you out. I think it took six for twelve. What happened to the fastballers you knew all that day? It didn't exist. It's certainly when Imran was like, I mean, the wicket was quick. Oh my god. I mean, it was running. It was an Imran running down the hill from that far end into the, towards you, the batsman. It was absolutely terrifying. I mean, for somebody who wasn't a very good batsman anyway. And then Garth, a ruckian, up the hill, the other end. I mean, it was absolutely horrific. So that's why I thought I'd show you this picture. Do you remember how you got out? I was fended off the court blind.

6:12I think I'd gloved it down the next side. I mean, so anyway, I mean, it stirred Daniel up and he bowled, rapid and terrorised Sussex and we got to the final and won the final, actually. So it was a mistake that delivery from Imran. What was that? That was 1980, before you were born, probably. Certainly before you were born. It was before. So, you know, it was, part of the reason coming here was Sussex, you know, were an iconic county and an iconic county. Well, I know you want it to be. No, no, we mean, you know, it's a very, it's exciting having this man. It's a very important place to be. Listen, I've got a document on here of the revenues and profits of counties from the last ten years. Sussex, practically one of the only ones, they've made a lot of eight out of ten years. And I think that's really sad. It doesn't mean you're not iconic. No, I've got to find that. I've got to find that. Well, I mean, you've got to stay alive first, I suppose. Just think of me as Imran Carthus. So it's moments, okay? You're shouldering on.

7:13I like the way you're thinking here. But the point is, how are you going to turn it around? I mean, why have you, because you've come from the athletics background? Yes. Matt, we'll let you speak in a minute, because I know this is your first visit to Hove for a long time, actually. So we've come to that. But for you, Ed, come out of the athletics world into the cauldron here. It could be a poison chalice. I mean, what made you want to take it all? Funny enough, look, I live in Sussex. I like my cricket. I haven't hidden from anyone here that I was a middle-sex member as a kid. And I spoke Crystal Palace, which means I'm an enemy territory with Brighton and Hove Albion down the road. But I live in Sussex. I love my cricket. And this is an iconic asset in the world of English cricket. And it has been its financial needs, not on sporting needs. I'm going to fourth in the championship at the moment with a good side pushing on. And having had a 12-point deduction as well, which is very good. It deserves success. And what I'd like to do is lead a team in the ballroom and in the executive and on the field that can deliver success again.

8:13Now, how do you define success when we haven't got 100 franchise and we haven't got test ground status? We need to be the preeminent challenger brand in English cricket. We need to punch above our weight. We need to bloody the noses of those seven. And I believe we can do that if we operate smartly. There's some incredibly devoted fan businesses in the local community that we're not tacking into effect to be at the moment. We're not selling memberships and tickets in the way that we should. We're not promoting the game in the way that we can do. And yet, in spite of all of that, we continue to exist. We thrive on the pitch. We've got devoted members. That's a fantastic foundation on which to build. When I joined UKathetics in 2007, it was in a financial mess just as we are here now. And I joined thinking, what amazing assets, what heritage we've got, you think of all those great athletes at the past, but at the time we had Paul de Rackliffe, for example, Kristina Horagoo. Mo Farrow was just coming through. Things to build on. And I look at this team here behind me and I see that talent coming through. I see the devotion in the stands.

9:14I think, yes, there's something to build on there. It is iconic to pick you up on that phrase. And it wasn't iconic. Maybe I wouldn't be interested, but it is an I. I mean, I suppose what I've always felt about, and having done quite a lot of writing about, you know, cricket grounds and counties and so on, I'm aware that one of the problems is land. Yes. You know, you can't expand here. You know, some grounds like, obviously, utility bowl, for instance, Hampshire, Old Trafford, you know, they can build on sort of different things like hotels and golf courses and stuff. You're slightly restricted here. I mean, you can probably make better use of some bits of the man, but I mean, in a way, that's one of your big costs, isn't it? That's one of your big revenue drains. Yep. And that sounds like a wicket. So as you say, we're talking. Yeah. I mean, six down. Another, another, not the most recent. Yeah, that's when it fails there. Look, I look at this ground and think it's a community asset. Yeah. So in the middle of a lovely part of Hove, you're on the sea front in six or seven minutes, the station, six or seven minutes in the other direction. It's very accessible. It's embedded in the community, yet we don't use it for community purposes around the year.

10:18So why couldn't we have medical diagnostic fans there that you come and have your PSA test? You have your mammogram? Well, we're going to trial that next week. Which, hey, I was quite shocked. I was quite shocked. Could you come for a pharmaceutical gig here on Saturday in the middle of winter? Why can you have a... Your CA is very good, by the way. It's fantastic. There's all sorts of things you could do that get football coming through, the generate rental income that also create new fans. You could come in, oh, well, you know, I bring my kids to a nursery here. Oh, there's cricket going on. Oh, there's kids cricket. They could get engaged there. So let's embed ourselves in the community more, rather than just being placed here in Hove. How do we... In Mesh ourselves? Then we build our fan base over time from there. And by the way, there are many cricket clubs here as there are in Yorkshire. In fact, I think there are more. Is that right? Yep. We have a port going better for the Nottinghamshire, we're in shirt number 16. Ben Hutton. Right. Let's see how long Ben Hutton lasts. Let's hope not too long. We've got a lot of great community cricket. Not that it's part of Bret Hutton. Yeah. Ben Hutton. Ben Hutton, by the middle sex. He said the PA was very good, but there we go.

11:21So we've got a pathway of talent. Let's build on that too. And let's be sure that we're delivering our share of England cricketers for the future. Because we all know there's an ecosystem here of, you know, we get money from the ECB because England cricket is successful, TV rights, et cetera, et cetera. We need to feed them, do our parts feed it. And if we can build the revenues, then we can hold on to that best talent, rather than lose a Henry Crockum to Surrey, which we've had to do. Let's be sure in future we can hold on to those players for longer because they not only want to be here, but we can afford to employ them here because we're more financially successful. That's the dream. And I think we can get there. I like the, you're actually about the community thing because, probably enough, I staged charity match with my kids at the weekend of my club, Ealing. And it's my son against my daughter's 11. And it's absolutely fierce, sibling rivalry. You know, my son's sledging my daughter and always, you know, more docks than a Dalmatian and this kind of stuff. I mean, it's quite ferocious, but they bring all their mates. And afterwards we have a barbecue, you know, me cooking and getting blinded by the smoke.

12:24But it's had loads of people out there and, you know, the bar was full and the ground was full. They were playing keypups till 10 o'clock at night. And it reminded me of my sort of youth, actually, clubs where it was a community thing. And you went down on a Friday night and you were there till 10 o'clock at night and your dad and mum were in the bar. And, you know, there was this great feeling of sort of being bringing everyone together and using the space. You got amazing space here. You know, people should be playing vibe as I cricket or kind of kids cricket or quick cricket on a Sunday morning or whatever. You know, all of those things and above. And one of the things we might do is turn around to the community, broadly defined here and say, come and have a look. Tell us how you would use this space. And it may be that someone's got the perfect idea that comes with everything, but it may be we pick something from here, something from there, somewhere else. And it's a 365 day year thing. We play, I think it's 50 days of cricket here every year, not all men's first team, clearly, women's clubs, schools, disability cricket. We could do more of that, but actually what about all the rest of the days in the year?

13:26It can't just be weddings and conferences because there's hotels here that will do both. We're competing in a very tough market. There's things we can do because it's a big green space that are different to your local hotel. And that's what we need to do. Now, this may sound unambitious, but actually if you see where we're starting, we only need to lay out some revenue on top we've got at the moment. And it's that old Macalber principle. If you're losing the sixpence or whatever the number is, you're in misery. If you're making sixpence, joy. We've got to get the right side of break even and then drive on from there. And so much else will come from that in terms of the players we can hire, overseas players we can bring in and retain in the good talent that comes through the Sussex pathway. Now, Mac, you have come here today for the first time since? Well, it's the first time I've ever been invited into the boardroom ever. So that's a special day for me, actually. I'm considering I'll play for the club since I was 11 years old. It's been a few years since I've actually been back to watch anyway.

14:26So yeah, it's been good and my great mate and ex coach Bruce Frange. There's also, for the first time in a long time, come to a cricket ground. I believe he's on the cusp of becoming president at Trent Bridge, and so yeah, been able to catch up with him and a few others. It's been awesome. We didn't plan it, but it happened. No exactly, exactly. It's so indefinitely. Absolutely, yeah. And what's your take on the opportunity then? How are you going to get involved? What's my take on the opportunity? I believe and have believed for a long time, and I'm 100% in agreement with Ed. Sussex County Creek Club is an iconic Creek Club. I hate it when people talk about us being a small club. Because I played in an era where we beat the big clubs. We won nine trophies in six years. We created a culture and an environment that flourished on overperformance. We were all nourished on beating the big clubs, the Surries, the Lancashire.

15:30And that wasn't just on the pitch. That was off the pitch as well. There was a community around. Now where I would say we are a small club, and where it is a benefit, is that we can have a culture here. Where the other director created the chairman, or the man at the gate, or a member, you can all be intertwined into what we're trying to achieve as a cricket club. And that's not just winning trophies. That's about building, as I say, a culture around it, of everyone being engaged, not just invested with the sponsors invested financially, but actually invested emotionally into what is going on here and what we're trying to build, what we're trying to achieve. For too long, I believe there's been a focus on survival rather than success. And for me, it's about creating an attitude and an environment here that is actually not hold on a minute. We aren't just an also run. We need to start stepping up, standing on our own two feet, not just relying on the ECB for handouts, but actually go be proactive and put in place something that allows us to move forward.

16:32Now of course, the financial freedom is the first thing that we need to achieve, and then prosperity after that. And of course, Ed's just mentioned a number of reasons why, and all ways, of trying to establish that. And of course, it is a huge challenge, absolutely. But it is what it is. We shouldn't run away from that challenge. We should meet it front on and sort of go, okay, actually we are surrounded by some outstanding businesses, some outstanding people who want to help. That's the important thing. They actually want to help. And I don't believe they've been allowed to for too long. But actually, if we engage in that group of people, of which there is a big group, I think there's huge opportunity. But as I say, the environment, the atmosphere, the culture, the belief, should not be about survival or should be about success. Cricket, as a sport globally, is growing. The financial is growing hugely. It's a phenomenal space to be in, if you are at the arrowhead. And if you are putting yourself building a product that people want to be part of and want to invest in,

17:32then the world's your oyster, quite frankly. And I just think that that's a big shift in attitude that needed to come. And the few conversations that Ed and I have had so far, I mean, you can tell how he's talking now. I mean, I'm fully behind it. And this is the most excited I've been about Sussex cricket since I retired, genuinely. Because of the attitude that it has brought already to this cricket club, which has been a long, long time coming. I saw you come out of the boardroom there. Is there an old chair in the boardroom still? Because I've reasoned I asked because... I've been a literary chair, I've heard it's a very old chair, because I was invited, middle sex actually won the championship here in 1990. And I bowled the last over and got the wickets to finish. And we then were invited by Sussex into the committee room to boardroom to sort of have some champagne. Very nice for Sussex to give us some champagne for winning the championship. It will be English sparkling these days. From to Shantaray. And I'm sure that would be a good change.

18:33But anyway, I was exhausted having bowled about 28 overs. And so I went and sat in this old chair in the corner of the room. You're actually talking about a literal chair. A literal chair? And someone, someone, one of the committee members said, you can't sit there, that's Rangit Singes chair. Well that might be in the museum now. It's possible. I went to look actually. It was in the museum. When it was raining this afternoon, I went to look and I couldn't sit. So anyway, a silly story. But so what about... I just didn't want you sitting in it. It wasn't Rangit's. Yeah, probably. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. With Apple Card, you earn unlimited daily cashback on everyday purchases, like groceries, merch, or tickets to the game. Plus, it can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted. No matter your team, no matter where you shop, Apple Card is here to help you tackle game day. Apply in the wallet app on your iPhone today.

19:33Subject to credit approval. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch, terms and more, at AppleCard.com. Low energy, unfocused, foggy. You might be dehydrated. Gatorade zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body, with a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration, no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade hydrates better than water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration, consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist.

20:39Ed, going back to you, this dirty word, all the word that sort of banded around a lot of fairest counties, my county middle sex, Yorkshire, Colin Graves, talking about it the other day, demutualization. Yeah. Where do you sit on that and perhaps you could explain to people a few idiots like me what it actually means as well? Well, the vast majority of counties are owned by their members, so you don't buy a season ticket, you renew your annual membership, which means you continue to get a vote at the AGM on who the directors are, approving the accounts, etc, etc. And if anything was to happen structurally for the ownership of the club, it has to be voted on by the members. I think 15 of the 18 counties are structured that way, including us. It's quite difficult to bring new money in to a club that's owned that way because the members haven't got the money to stump up and if someone from the outside is thinking of putting money in, there's, well, where's my vote? I can't have these members out voting me when I'm putting millions into the club. So a way around that is to break down the, persuade the membership to give up their voting

21:43rights. They just become season to get hold of, like football and an outside owner owns it in the way the Hampshire clearly, you know, were rescued by Rob Brown's Grove and so on. When I look at it, I think you can only sell your family silver once and you could then live to regret it. You could sell to an individual, a corporation that loses interest in cricket, turns out to have bad intent, goes bust could be an individual who gets divorced and their wife doesn't like cricket and she wants to build a load of flats on the break up finances. Who's to say you could get an out and stand for the situation in which someone turns out to be a wrong man. And then where have you left the club, where have you left the membership? So what I'm interested in is where there are ways that we can structure the ownership possibly in which you can bring in that outside money alongside the members where ultimately the members have that final vote. German football has that one. They're Munich, barn Munich. The German model is 2951, isn't it? Exactly. So is that a solution for county cricket, possibly?

22:44I'd also want anyone investing to either be such a dyed in the wool, Sussex person that they demonstrably have got the interest of this club at heart long term or if they're not, they're bringing something on the cricketing front to the party. So people say to me, are you can get money from India or America or all sorts of parts of the world? Yes, but what do they bring on the cricket pitch as well as bringing that money and could we then structure something in which there's, you know, player exchanges, talent exchanges, coaching knowledge, cross-promotion, who's to say, but it isn't just about saying we need a few million quid. Once we've stabilized the finance of this club and we're almost there, we'll build a stable platform and then we'll look at these things because then you're in a position where you're not a fourth seller, you can create your own story, you can persuade someone to look at you because there's very good reasons why you're growing, you're successful and they want to be on that train. Right now anyone calling me up is probably a bit of a chance at who's thinking there's

23:45a county in special measures, they've been docked 12 points, they borrow money from the ECB, now's the time. I don't want them, I want to go to people from a position of strength and talk our story and we will do that in due course but ultimately we will do nothing that jeopardises the health of this club, our inheritance here, the status of this icon. So in a way you're not worried about a lot of people banding around saying, you know, there are seven or eight hundred franchises, including the MCC and then there are the other counties, the ten other counties and they're going to fall by the wayside, you're determined to prove that won't be the case. Well, some of us might win the championship this year, I was going to say. But if you go, some of us it being model actually. Yeah, both one day competitions are going to be won by non-100 test match ground counties. The reason for that, one of the reasons for that and you'll notice was a student of the finances of the game is no one is spending up to their salary cap across the counties and the county's spending is bunching a very narrow ban. Now that says to me, those big seven actually, they're not investing all they could in winning

24:48the county championship. Well, more for them because our members care about Red Bull cricket. They want us to be in division one, they want us to be challenging, they want to be able to be any team that we start the first day against. And if other people aren't spending all they can, even though they've got a test match ground and hundred muddies, great, thank you. That gives us a chance to compete and we will do that. So I'm not worried about them. The one thing I'm worried about is at the moment the hundred is blocking us playing more cricket in the height of summer. And so I think the 11 non-100 counties have got to put a lot of pressure on those other seven and on the ECB to open up the calendar for us because I want kids and families to come watch good cricket here in the height of summer in the school of the championship cricket. Could be white ball championship, blue ball, red ball, green ball, yellow ball, I don't really care. I want them to come watch some great cricket in July and August and not. So this year we have four days of men's first team cricket out of 46. That's a school holidays. That's not enough. So enough, yes we've signed to get some money left on deposit for us from the hundred

25:50franchise so that's a one off. We're the cricket team. Our product is professional cricket so we need to put it on, we need to get people to come and see it. And that's where the lock, so what I worry about is at the moment there's that block we got to find our way over it round it through it, lobbying the ECB so you can't do it. Okay, we'll keep asking and we'll find other ways to ask and find other products put in place here. So I said early on, why can't we have a triangular T10 competition, our 16-ket? Yeah. Nox off the table. I'm not saying that's the right idea, it's an idea. There'll be lots of other ideas but don't keep knocking us back. If you're confident enough in your hundred products, I'm not challenging you by putting on a short form competition because Premier League football doesn't stop all other football taking place when a Premier League match kicks off. It's the other way around. Three o'clock on a Saturdays protects the other lower competitions. Well, why does the hundred need protecting from little old Sussex?

26:51They think we're a small brand. Well, let us play some cricket, then we'll prove you wrong. That's where we need to get to. And you like the sound of all that, don't you? How do you feel about being here, being involved? What can you bring, do you think? Well, I think, first and foremost, I played for those clubs since I was 11 years old. Because my career finished as it did with injury, I wasn't able to do the Alistair Cook or the Jimmy Anderson where you finish your international career and then go back and play for your club and maybe caps in the club for a couple of years and also give something back as they say or leave the cap in a better place than you found it. I didn't have that opportunity. And that's always something that sort of sat badly with me. I've always wanted to try and influence this cricket club in a positive way. And it's been really hard to watch. It's been going on for the last seven, eight years. This is not a new thing. This isn't just the last six months, 12 months. It's been seven years in the making. And now, as I said earlier, I see it, you know, with Ed coming in, the board that he's

27:58going to put together, the people that are very excited about being involved or will be very excited about being involved. I see it as a great opportunity for Sussex Cricket. And just to take up that point around the hundred, I'm not answer the hundred anyway. I never have been. I think the amount of money it brings into the game and brings into, you know, women's cricket. It's a huge success. And the standard. It's the standard. The name, the players that is bringing it over to this country, I think it's a fantastic asset. I think it's a fantastic thing. And its purpose is to grow the game of cricket. So why, while you're doing that, can you not allow the counties to be playing? Because actually they are not in competition. We're all part of the same sport. We're all part of the same and as ECB is the leadership of grow the game, nurture the game, look after the game. Well, you've also got to look after the clubs that are trying to, their hardest to survive with what is quite frankly quite a tricky business model quite now right now. So I'm all for that. I'm not, as I say, I'm not anti the hundred.

28:58I'm not, I don't see it as the big bad monster. I suppose you see it as a great opportunity to bring a lot of money into this country, into the game itself. That will feed down to grassroots to women's crickets, say, and the rest. But there is a blocker at the moment and we've got to try and find a way to build that bridge where both parties can coexist and hopefully have success. You know, if the 100 success will, then English cricket should be successful. English cricket should thrive of which the counties, all of them, should be, should be part of that and should enjoy that, that upside. Where do I come into it? I'm, I'm, I'm a passionate Sussex fan, first and foremost. Obviously, one club, man. One club, man. Always played for this cricket club. And I learn everything I knew, not just from catching and hitting a cricket ball, but from the dressing room, from a culture that breeds success. We won nine trophies in six years. Peter Maugh's, I still think, is the best coach I ever played under.

30:00What he did today with not. He is, yes. And what he did at this cricket club, and it wasn't just about what went on in the dressing room, it was what he built around the whole ground. When we won here on a Friday night, this place was pumped, there were only 5,000, 6,000 here, but it felt like there was 40,000. And everyone be into the crickets, including the players, including the sponsors. We had, everyone was part of a win, a loss. Everyone knew very clearly what we were trying to achieve at this, at this cricket club. And I hope that maybe I can try and bring some of that back, try and remind people of where this cricket club used to be, and where we need to get it back to, to have days like that again, because I believe that we can do. Absolutely. There are too many good people around here. There's too much talent out on that pitch, for it not have a very, very good chance of saying it. And I'll keep repeating, it's not survival, it's success. And so, as I said earlier, I'm very, I'm sat here now, for the first time in a long

31:03time, very excited about what can happen down here on the South Coast. And some of the set, you know, if they win the championship, would be an amazing way to come up with it. Yeah, yeah, no, they've never won it. I mean, and it would be an uplift to the people like you actually wouldn't it, in a way. Yeah, entirely. I'm a fan of the 11, because I'm one of them and I have to be. You mean the 11 not only? Exactly, exactly. I want us all to be so seated. Yeah, absolutely. And it's, look, Hampshire look like they're going to go down, let's see, we're playing them last game. That's, yeah, it's a challenge for us because they're only next door, they bring supporters and so from a financial perspective, that's not great. But I step right back for it and look at it and say, well, actually, one of the non-7s going to come up and fill that place. It's good for the game, the fluidity is good for the game. And everyone wants jeopardy in sport. What we don't want is to be like Spanish football, where there's only a couple of clubs competing, not at all.

32:03And at the moment, anybody can beat anybody, give or take. And that's what I like. And what can rock and that deliver? You're hearing passion here. I think this project, it's a passion project with discipline. And maybe a number of counties, including us in the past, have allowed passion to run away with themselves that hasn't been a discipline. So it's melding financial and business disciplines with a real sort of break the stick of rock and through the middle of it is Sussex Cricket and the passion of Sussex Cricket. That's Brian and Rob. I like it. Yeah, everyone here keeps talking about the outlaw being. I'm saying, well, who are you talking about? It's the palestest you said, Brian. But anyway. Yeah, you're not supposed to, you're not allowed to say it's Brian. No, you're very kind of protective about. Well, that's what I do. But we've got to meld those two things. And we will. And we're building a team of people, the leadership team and the officers here behind us, and the fellow's board members that will I believe deliver on that passion project?

33:08Actually, I also, I read your blog that you read a week ago where you said, because you're obviously a bit of a history man as well, because you put an order out to paint the ground yellow in memory of John Wisden, who 200 years ago was born just down the road. Yeah, exactly. John Wisden founded the Wisden Cricket All, Cricket and his own and that of course. He had actually, John Wisden, he played for Susie. I mean, he was a love as well. He was an underarm bowler. And he took a thousand first class wickets. He did. He took a thousand first class wickets. Average about 12 bowling underarms. Well, sort of round arms. Yeah, hard to keep wicking too. On covered pitches, you see. On covered pitches at the time. He's been it. Yeah, he spun it. And he took. I'd read somewhere. I've got a book about it. I'm in a sad, you know. When you arrive travelling around on trains, you read this kind of crap. He took all ten in a game, bowling these off-cutters under arm off-cutters, all-bold. And it's the only time in first class cricket quotes in about 1862 or something,

34:14when all ten were bold by the same person, all-bold. I mean, you worry about the technique and the real new. It's quite a legacy though, isn't it? But he's been it. Wisden as the Cricket of the Allman Act. If you think about it, it's going to be his on that yellow book. He's about every year with his name. Yeah. It's quite something to lead behind. Yeah. That is a legacy. Sussex man. Well, so we painted the ground yellow in the Corbyd Rain all day. Until the day the moment the umpires called it off, the sun came out. Hey, Ho, what can you do? That's cricket, isn't it? About 245 in the afternoon. So quite early, the ground was sun and the sun poked through. So we had yellow cupcakes delivered. We had wisdom umbrellas given out. We had 200 wisdom umbrellas. They all went because we had a couple of hundred people came in. Got their umbrella sat there for a bit and then it was raining and off they went. And they've got their wisdom umbrella. People were queueing at 20 to 9 in the morning for 10 to 30 start to get in. So knew the first 200 people were getting a number and it was pouring the rain. That's cricket for you.

35:14I love that commitment. That's the passion project. They came for their umbrella in the rain. And then they'll be back the next day. We had a 1200 I think in day two. I can highly recommend the fission chips actually at the bar as well. I thought they were very good and they were slightly yellow as well. Yellow better. Yellow better. Anyway, listen, thank you. I don't want to keep any more of your time but good luck with it. Well, team of organ calls for that, you see. So you know, he's bothered about the best of his invitation. Well, good luck to Sussex in the grand ambition. They've been hung up a bit so afternoon by a very stubborn night for getting stand for notting him. Brett Hunt was just gone to his 50 as he and Jarls are put on. 75 for the ninth wicket to take. Nottingham should pass 200. But they've faired better than their other two rivals at the top of the table. Warwickshire collapsed to 151 for nine against S6. They've rolled out 134. So they've only got a 17 land need. And some are said that they're even worse. They're 68 for five in reply to yours. It's 212.

36:14So really struggling there. All the batters struggling. Not many bonus points knocking around or batting bonus points. At least one is on the verge of being achieved by nottinghamshire. They've had the best of the day of those title contenders in this penultimate round. And matches will be back on Friday to review the matches overall. If this podcast of course is brought to you by Rothsay, sponsors of both the Test Cricut and the County Championship. And protecting the pensions of a million people in the UK. Rothsay, your future in safe hands. You can't do it. You can't do it. You can't do it. Yamabah Resort and Casino at Sandman Well is bringing the biggest laughs to the stage. Break Taboos with Ali Wong on August 28th and 29th.

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