Tony Greig's Café opening at The 1st Central County Ground

Sussex's Phil Salt, Ben Brown & Luke Wright sample the menu at Tony Greig's Café

The Tony Greig Lunch Room, which provided the dining facilities for players at The 1st Central County Ground for many years, was a big reason why county cricketers of a certain era always looked forward to a trip to Hove.

But since the demolition of the facility in 2000, the legendary Sussex and England captain’s name has been absent from the ground he called home from 1966 to 1978.

That will all change at 9am on Monday 25th February when the existing café under the Jointing Tech South West Stand is renamed Tony Greig’s Café to coincide with the venue’s reopening following a major refurbishment.

Opening on non-match days as well as when there is cricket at the ground and with an extensive menu of freshly-prepared food and drink, Tony Greig’s Café is sure to become a popular destination in Hove for both cricket fans and non-cricket fans alike, as James Ravenhill, Sussex Cricket’s conferencing and events general manager explains: “In the past our café has lain dormant outside of the cricket season, however we have given the café a modern and homely refurb to provide year-round service to the people of Hove and beyond.

“We can’t wait to welcome everyone for our reopening on Monday February 25th. We’ll be open between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday on non-matchdays with extended opening hours during the cricket season.

“Tony Greig’s will serve a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches, coffees, cakes and snacks. Our offering on matchdays will be more extensive and always open to adaptation dependant on our guests’ wishes.

“We look forward to welcoming one and all to our café soon.” 

Sussex Cricket chief executive, Rob Andrew added: “Following his sad passing in 2012 and his tremendous contribution to Sussex cricket and the game in general over the years it feels entirely appropriate to honour Tony by naming our café after the great all-rounder.

“The old Tony Greig lunch room is still talked about fondly by past Sussex players who always enjoyed the excellent food and warm hospitality on offer, even if it did make running about in the afternoon session a bit of a struggle.

“I’m sure visitors to Tony Greig’s Café will enjoy the same pleasures without having to worry about charging-in up the slope at the Sea End afterwards!”

Tony Greig played a total of 364 first-class and List A matches for Sussex, scoring 12,845 runs and 718 wickets. He captained the county between 1973 and 1977.

In 80 Tests and one-day internationals for England, Tony scored 3,888 runs and took 160 wickets. He captained his country in 17 matches between 1975 and 1977.