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Counties - Media Guide to the Grounds
Sussex by Bruce TalbotEmail Bruce on: btalbotbj@aol.com
Hove
Directions Pick up the A27 westbound at the bottom of the A23 on the outskirts of Brighton. Take the first exit (signposted Hove) and pick up the yellow AA direction signs on the second exit signposted for Hove on Dyke Road. The ground is approx. 2 miles from here. Public transport from station - Trains from London Victoria on the Sussex coast line stop at Hove. The ground is ten minutes walk from the station. Turn right out of the station entrance and follow the road round. At the junction turn right into The drive. Walk towards the sea to the traffic lights and turn left into Eaton Road. Ground is approx 200 yards on your left. Ground Facilities Car Parking - Best to ring the club's helpful marketing assistant Hannah Ward (07717 347773) to book a place, particularly for big matches such as Twenty20 although Sam and Mike on the gate will always try and squeeze in polite journalists, although only someone as famous as CMJ gets his car parked for him! On Championship days you can normally park behind the Gilligan Stand by showing your ECB pass. PA and local paper contact The box is named after the doyen of the Hove press corps, the late Jack Arlidge. It is situated next to the main pavilion at the sea end square on to the wicket. It is reached up two flights of steps and offers a great view of the ground. There is a feed from a camera behind the arm into the press box TV but sadly there is no replay facility. Contacts in the box are Andy Arlidge, who has covered Sussex for the Press Association for 25 years. Bruce Talbot is cricket writer for Brighton's daily paper, The Argus. Mike Charman is the Sussex chalker and will always help out with stats etc. if you're polite. The club's pro cricket secretary Simon Dyke (01273 827105) produces an excellent statistical guide available before each home game. There is wi-fi in the box. Refreshments The club issue a daily ticket which can be exchanged for a complimentary hot meal or sandwich in the pavilion. As per the arrangements at Kent CCC, these are distributed by 'the local man' (me). A kettle with milk, tea, coffee and biscuits is in the box. The Argus and The Times both have phone lines, ask nicely if you wish to use them. There are 24 power points and for 2008 the box has been re-painted and some nice photographs on the wall supplied by the club. On warm days the Hove box can get very hot (even with the windows open), but don't worry about the tap-tap-tap on the roof. That's only the seagulls looking for lunch (and tea). The club will be re-locating the press to the sea end when they redevelop the southern end of the ground. The work was due to start in March 2008, but has been indefinitely delayed. Outside London, Brighton has one of the biggest concentrations of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs in the country so take your pick - the choice is endless. Most of the seafront 'chain' hotels, which are used by visiting journalists, get pretty good reports and all have gyms and swimming pools. You can normally negotiate a rate if you are staying for more than one night as you might anywhere else. The nearest hotel to the ground is the Courtlands in Third Avenue. It is owned by the notorious Nicholas van Hoogstraten, but don't let that put you off. It's clean and comfortable, has its own small(ish) pool and is a five-minute stroll from the ground. Smaller boutique hotels such as Tops (recommended by Ivo Tennant) are popular too. Leisure The same applies to entertainment and food. There are restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets on nearby Church Road - the main drag in Hove itself - while a short hop on the bus or a cab will get you into Brighton and the Laines, seafront and as many restaurants, pubs, cinemas and bars you could shake a stump at. Take your pick. There is generally something good on at the Theatre Royal where most companies stop off before heading to the West End. But it is unheard of in the Hove box for a journalist to utter the phrase: "I saw a really good play at the Theatre Royal last night." Golf is available locally at East Brighton, Brighton & Hove and Waterhall - a council-owned course off the A27 heading towards Lewes. Contact the clubs for details of tee times and green fees. OutgroundsSussex's two regular outgrounds are Horsham and Arundel. Horsham play at Cricketfield Road, not far from the town centre and the ground is well signposted during Festival Week off the A24 and A264.
Parking in the ground is on the outfield of the adjacent second ground. Press facilities are in a marquee at the church or town end. Press used to be housed at the end of the pavilion, but after the infamous incident when the late Christopher Wordsworth 'broke the only phone at Horsham' (it's mentioned in his Wisden obit). At Arundel, it's a similar scenario with a marquee at the Castle end, which is nearest the town. Once again, Sussex provide power, a phone line and refreshments. There are a couple of hotels in both towns. The Norfolk is the main hotel in Arundel but tends to get booked up quickly. There is a smaller hotel nearer the station and in Horsham a Travel Inn opposite the station. Both towns have good pubs. Try the Malt Shovel in the centre of Horsham or at Arundel a couple of miles away in Houghton is the George and Dragon which offers decent ales, good food and fabulous views across the South Downs. |
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