A general view of The County Ground, Hove.

News

Members’ Forum follow-up

28 Aug 2026

Thank you to all members who attended or joined online for Thursday evening’s Members’ Forum at The County Ground.

The evening gave members the opportunity to hear directly from Chair Ed Warner, Interim CFO Paul Cooke and Director of Cricket & Head Coach Paul Farbrace, before an open Q&A covering governance, finances, the playing squad and the future direction of the Club.

Ed Warner’s vision for Sussex Cricket

Ed began by setting out three core priorities for the Club:

A clear and credible strategic plan, underpinned by a sustainable financial model.

A competitive cricket team, capable of challenging and winning across formats.

Inspirational leadership for players, members, staff, volunteers and everyone connected with Sussex Cricket.

He also stressed the importance of protecting the Club’s long-term interests and assets, while moving Sussex from a period of stabilisation and rebuilding towards sustainable growth and success.

Board refresh

Ed confirmed that the process to complete the refresh of the Sussex Cricket Board will formally begin next week.

Members and Affiliate Club Members will be invited to put themselves or others forward for election, with nominations to be submitted to the Office of the Chief Executive by 7 October 2026.

Up to five Board positions are due to be filled as part of that process, with the aim of completing the Board refresh during the autumn.

Permanent Chief Executive search

Sussex Cricket has appointed Executives in Sport to conduct the external search for a permanent Chief Executive.

The search will formally begin on 4 September, close on 2 October, with interviews expected to take place during October and the intention of making an appointment in early November.

Financial update

Paul Cooke updated members on the Club’s financial position and the requirements of the current ECB framework.

Sussex is working towards an operating loss of no worse than £1 million for the current financial year, followed by a break-even position next year and sustainable profits thereafter.

The framework also requires the men’s squad spend to reduce from around £2.3 million this year to £1.8 million in 2027. Ed explained that this still leaves Sussex broadly in line with the playing budgets of a significant number of other counties and stressed that the Club remains determined to field a competitive team within that financial framework.

Paul also outlined the stronger financial controls now in place, including improved forecasting, monthly cashflow reporting and greater scrutiny from the Board and Audit Committee.

Cricket update

Paul Farbrace updated members on the continued reshaping of the men’s squad and the transition to the new coaching structure with Matt Walker.

While there is still work to do ahead of 2027, Paul said he remains confident Sussex can put together a competitive squad, while continuing to develop and retain talented players through the Sussex pathway. He also reiterated the ambition to compete at the highest level rather than accept a period of reduced sporting expectations.

The evening concluded with a wide-ranging Q&A with members.

Ed’s overarching message was that Sussex Cricket is no longer focused simply on survival. The priority now is to complete the rebuild, restore long-term financial sustainability and create a Club capable of thriving both on and off the field.

Further details on the Board election process and Chief Executive search will follow shortly.

Back to news home