Rob Andrew on the 2020 season, crowds at matches, Dafabet sponsorship and more

Sussex supporters are unlikely to be able to watch their side in person this summer, but every ball of every game, home and away, will be available online for free when the season finally gets underway on August 1.

Fixtures for the Bob Willis Trophy, which will replace the County Championship for 2020, are due to be released next week. Sussex will play their five south-east rivals Surrey, Middlesex, Essex, Kent and Hampshire, with the group winners progressing to a final depending on the outcome of the other two groups.

The Vitality Blast, in which Sussex will play their south-east rivals home and away, is due to begin at the end of August.

Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew would like nothing more than to have some supporters in the ground, and there is still a chance this could happen depending on the outcome of the sporting test events taking place which include Surrey’s two-day friendly against Middlesex at the end of the month.

But even if that’s not possible every ball of every game will be available for free.

“It’s great that we’re preparing for some meaningful cricket when a couple of months ago it looked like we might have to write off the season – it’s a massive bonus,” he said.

“I am slightly surprised, given the nature of cricket grounds, that we can’t operate with some spectators and the advice from ECB and government could still change. We are used to the issues around staging matches changing almost on a daily basis.

“But if it doesn’t happen then our supporters will still be able to watch and listen to the cricket for free. That is a positive.”

The Sussex players have been in training for more than a fortnight and head coach Jason Gillespie is due to arrive in the UK next week ahead of a two-day friendly against Hampshire at Hove. In the meantime, Andrew and his team have been working on the protocol of staging matches behind closed doors.

“There are logistical challenges setting up behind closed doors games but it’s just different, it’s like adapting to queuing up at the supermarket, a new way of doing things," he said. 

At a difficult time for the game’s finances, Sussex were pleased to finally unveil Dafabet as the new sponsors of their one-day and Blast kits this week. For years the county relied on the support of locally-based sponsors so teaming up with a worldwide brand signals a major change. It is Dafabet’s first foray into cricket. They currently sponsor Celtic, Norwich City and Fulham football clubs.

Andrew added: “We think it reflects well on our own profile, locally and globally, and particularly our T20 success. If you think about it, our Blast team has become similar a franchise now because of the quality of the players and the fact that they come from all over the world.”