County Championship preview: Sussex

2009 in a nutshell Champions in the Twenty20 and Pro40, runners up in the Friends Provident Trophy, they were all but unbeatable in limited-overs cricket. It all came at the cost of their form in the championship however, and they suffered relegation. LV County Championship Division 1 8th Pro 40 Division 1 Winners Friends Provident Trophy Runners up Twenty20 Cup Winners What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division 2 Clydesdale Bank Pro40 Group A Friends Provident Twenty20 – South Captain Michael Yardy. Seemed ready to settle down to life as one of the circuit's senior statesmen before his surprising recall to the England Twenty20 team after three years out of the side. Still a crafty spinner, but questions loom over his leadership after relegation last year. Coach Mark Robinson. An enthusiast with command of all the management-speak lingo that goes with modern coaching, Robinson was chosen to coach the England Under-19 team in their World Cup campaign in the winter, suggesting that his coaching qualifications are more highly valued by the ECB than his first-class batting average, which was 4.01. Ins and outs In Monty Panesar (Northants), James Anyon (Warwickshire), Luke Wells (youth), Matt Machan (youth) Out Carl Hopkinson (joined coaching staff), Jason Lewry (retired), Tom Smith (Middlesex), Piyush Chawla (Surrey), Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey), Pepler Sandri Overseas player A pair of Pakistan pacemen. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan returns for the start of the season, having reportedly rediscovered his spark playing Twenty20 for Tasmania. Yasir Arafat takes over from him in late May. Sri Lanka's Tilakaratne Dilshan has been replaced by the Kiwi Brendon McCullum. He and West Indies' Dwayne Smith make a formidable pair for their defence of the Twenty20. Key player It is still the two old stalwarts who hold the side together. Murray Goodwin is now 37, and although he endured poor first-class form last year he propped up the batting in limited-overs cricket. If Luke Wright stays in the England squad, the canny all-rounder Robin Martin-Jenkins will be needed to balance the team. Ashes factor Matt Prior's omission from the World Twenty20 is unlikely to affect his place in the Test side. England seem to like Luke Wright without being quite sure why, which is one better than Monty Panesar, who will need to discover new nous and old enthusiasm to get back in contention. Prediction for 2010 First in Division 2. Certain to make a strong defence of their Twenty20 title given the presence of McCullum and Smith, but a team so accustomed to winning will also want to make amends in the championship. If Panesar hits his stride they should manage that.