Highest Individual Innings for Sussex in One-day Cricket (List A)

Martin Chandler | 2:41am BST 20 October 2019

Published: 2019
Pages: 8
Author: Epps, Norman and Barnes, Phil
Publisher: Sussex Cricket Museum
Rating: 3 stars

I am a little ashamed to say that while the events of the Ben Brown/Chris Jordan booklet may have passed me by, I do recall hearing about the two innings that are celebrated in this booklet. My shame is at the implication that white ball cricket is more memorable than red ball cricket. For the record I do not believe that for one moment.

Nonetheless there was some excitement when Luke Wright scored 166 against Middlesex at Lord’s in the Royal London Cup at the end of April of this year to record the highest innings by a Sussex batsman in List A cricket and even more when, a mere five days later, David Wiese beat Wright’s record by scoring 171 against Hampshire.

Not unnaturally the booklet begins with a description of both innings, the most remarkable fact being that Wiese’s effort was in a losing cause. The authors then go on to give further brief accounts of the other four individual innings of more than 150 that have been recorded for Sussex over the years, those responsible being Chris Adams, Murray Goodwin, Michael Bevan and the rather less well remembered Raj Rao.

There is then a page highlighting the role played in both Wright’s and Wiese’s innings by Ben Brown, very much the junior partner, but whose unselfish contributions must have been invaluable. That is followed by a look at those one day innings for Sussex that contained the most sixes, a table in which, unsurprisingly, both Wright and Wiese take their place.

The six hitting details conclude another excellent booklet and, of course, both batsmen have signed their photographs on the front cover of each of the numbered edition of 60 copies. The only criticism I would make of this one is that it describes itself is as No.8 in an occasional series of papers. I am glad I am not the only essentially numerate man whose arithmetic can sometimes be unreliable as when I went to check that I had the previous seven publications in the series I found to my surprise that in fact I had eight, that number having already been allocated to the splendid Rupert Webb souvenir that I reviewed here.