In pictures: Sussex and Berkshire delight huge Horsham cricket crowd

With the great and the good in attendance - including ex-chair Jon Filby and non-playing members of the Sussex squad including Sean Hunt, Oli Carter and Danial Ibrahim - and the club’s sizeable bar and servery working non-stop throughout the game, this was a sight to behold for everyone involved at Horsham and Sussex.

On the field, Sussex’s batsmen unleashed their full range of shots in an emphatic display. A top three of Daniel Hughes, Tom Haines and James Coles all struck half-centuries, with local boy Haines’ milestone receiving the best reception as he retired and made his way back to the very familiar pavilion.

A total of 226-6 for Sussex reflected the quality of the wicket, lovingly prepared by Head Groundsman Alex Ellis and assistant Alfie Haines, brother of Tom.

It proved a pitch conducive to Tymal Mills’ skills, too, making the ex-England man look just as zippy as his usual 90-mile-per-hour readings suggest. Danny Briggs bowled well on his return as a Sussex player, taking 4-35 from 3.4 overs, while Fynn Hudson-Prentice cast aside some demons in T20 cricket with figures of 3-36.

Berkshire skipper Johnny Connell took the plaudits, with 121 runs from 53 balls, to again highlight the quality of the pitch and demonstrate that some textbook batting could reap rewards.

With over 400 runs scored on a breezy afternoon, both teams could be pleased with their warm-up to a busy month of white ball action. And it had proved that Horsham was very much capable of putting on a well-organised and well-attended day, with every spectator leaving with a smile on their face.