Sussex CCC was the first First-Class County formed in 1839
The Club has used four cricket grounds in Brighton & Hove - matches were played on a ground donated by the then Prince Of Wales and the ground was fittingly called 'The Prince of Wales Ground (where Park Crescent now lies), Temple Fields (where Montpelier Crescent now lies), Royal Brunswick Ground (where Third and Fourth Avenues are situated) and finally in 1871 the ground in Eaton Road was acquired from the Trustees of the Stanford Estate. Turf from the Royal Brunswick Grounds was transferred and re-laid on the square.
The first County match was played at Eaton Road on 6 June 1872 against Gloucestershire. As well as the County Ground, Hove, the Club's First and Second XI regularly play around the County, the grounds at Horsham, Eastbourne and Arundel Castle playing host to First XI fixtures.
The Sussex crest depicts the mythological bird the Martlet, famous for having no feet! Capped players have six martlets on their sweaters whilst non-capped players have just the club crest on the left breast. When it comes to caps the capped players have a crest with gold trimming whilst non-capped have white trimming.
The Club won its first County Championship in 2003, which was the beginning of an era in which Sussex enjoyed prolonged success, named 'The Golden Decade'
Sussex had tasted one-day success in 1963, 1964, 1978 and 1986 but The Golden Decade is regarded as the most successful period in the long history, with Sussex reclaiming the County Championship in both 2006 and 2007, as well as making 2006 a 'double' winning year, with the County also winning the C&G Trophy in a thrilling low-scoring final at Lord's against Lancashire.
Sussex also embarked on one-day success, winning the Pro40 League in both 2008 and 2009, the latter also inspiring the Club to a first Twenty20 title, beating Somerset on Finals Day at Edgbaston. They became by far the most successful County side of the decade with stars such as Chris Adams, Mushtaq Ahmed, James Kirtley, Richard Montgomerie, Robin Martin-Jenkins and Murray Goodwin to name but a few.
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