Sussex skipper Jack Carson: Happy to be on home turf – after 20 hours on the bus

We’ve spent 20 hours on the bus this week - playing home games again for Sussex will be like walking through my front door, and the more Sussex family we see, the better

We trained Tuesday as a squad - and then travelled, after training, to Neath. We played Wednesday against Glamorgan - and got on the bus straight after the game to Birmingham, where we stayed overnight, then travelled up on Thursday to get to Durham. After Friday’s game against Durham, back on the bus down south.

Travelling to Neath was four and a half hours with stops, travelling to Birmingham was three hours with a stop, travelling to Durham was four and a half hours with stops, then eight hours travel back. So that’s more than 20 hours.

It's difficult, you find yourself eating at service stations when you’re trying to get something decent for your body. It’s not ideal! You’re never eating home cooked food. You’re looking for something that’ll help nutritionally but it can be tough to find on the middle of a motorway. You don’t want to be caught somewhere where there’s just a petrol station.

As a cricketer, there can be a lot of time away from family, kids. Jack Leaning for example, his wife, she's pregnant and due to give birth soon.

I’m on the floor of the bus a lot of the time, just laying on the middle. Some people are jealous that I can sleep so long on a bus! Sean Hunt and George Thomas play video games. There’s card games.

But it’s like any scenarios in professional sport, the more you do it, you get better at it and you find a way.

When you’re back at home, you have your own bed. You can see familiar faces on the gate, waiting to get into the ground. You have that sense of being back at home like when you step through your front door.

You have positive memories of doing well at the ground. And you have the feeling of your crowd cheering for wickets, runs, boundaries and dot balls. It helps you pick yourself up and keep going when it’s difficult.

At Sussex, you see familiar faces, you get to know them over the years, that connection builds and you feel their support and you want to do everything you can to make sure they're leaving the ground happy and having enjoyed their day at the cricket. The more we see, the better.

Captaincy has driven me on and we need to replicate youngsters’ energy - including special story of newcomer Ollie Kirtley, son of Sussex legend James

I’ve enjoyed the responsibility, it has driven me on. I've enjoyed the chats around the games, trying to create an environment where we are learning as much as possible.

It was nice for me to start by scoring runs, especially at the start of a comp, but it doesn't really matter when you don't win. Hopefully we can build in the next few games.

I said in the huddle the other day, our new, young players are going to bring in enthusiasm and energy - and we all have to match that energy as the rest of the group. When I had my debut I felt like I could run about for days without stopping, you have so much adrenaline and excitement that it fuels you. It's good for us to have people coming in who are fresh and it does give you a new energy.

It’s important that when we have talented young players they develop into people like James Coles, Tom Clark, Oli Carter, who become established first team cricketers because that's how we're going to compete as a cricket club by developing those players.

But I joked with (recent teen academy product) Ollie Kirtley (son of Sussex legend and coach James) the other day at training, asking him ‘do you listen to your dad?’ because I know if my dad was coach, I wouldn't listen! But, on a serious note, it must be very special for those two. It’s really nice to see.

It’s helpful for Ollie to have that. James has seen so much from over the years. And he’ll know what his instincts and skills are as a cricketer, his character, what fires him up, what helps him keep calm, and things like that.

James had such an amazing career for Sussex - and so many Sussex fans will have so many fond memories. So hopefully in 20 years’ time we're looking back on Oli's career fondly too.

James has a lot of experience with Sussex, he was Sussex his whole career and he's done his coaching yards throughout the pathway before joining the first team, so he's got bundles of experience. He’s been in a team that won the Championship and knows what it takes to win the Championship.

Matt Walker’s appointment as head coach is exciting, we are encouraged he’s talking about building for trophy challenges in the long run

It’s an appointment that's really exciting for us as a group. I've only had brief interactions with him so far but he has been a really sound, solid guy, a really nice man. That’s a great starting block and it'll be really exciting to get to know him.

When you look at his time at Kent, winning the Blast and the years they spent in Division One, he probably overachieved there as a coach in a lot of facets.

He did work with us in the winter a couple years ago and the boys who were around spoke really highly of him, the relationships he could build quickly.

It’s encouraging to hear him talking about building towards challenging for trophies. As a player, over 200 first class games, he's been there and done it.

He’s been at Warwickshire as batting coach - high quality players there, a really good team - and those years as batting coach probably energised him for a head coach role.

Going to cricket at Arundel is a bucket-list moment for cricket fans around the world - this Wednesday is a fixture I’ve been looking forward to from the start

I've played at Arundel once, last year, and was lucky to watch Archie Lenham getting us over the line and getting a good win against Kent - and that was an amazing crowd that day. They really got behind us and created a great atmosphere.

It’s such a beautiful cricket ground, it's really exciting to go back there again this year.There's some games that, when the fixtures come out you look at and this is one.

It’s one of those places that has cricket fans around the world ticking it off as a bucket list type ground to go and see. I know that my brother, he lives in London, he pencilled it in pretty much straight away when he saw the fixtures. He was there last year with mates and they loved it so he’s booked himself in again!

It’s definitely one of those places where you have to catch a game of cricket if you're a cricket fan.

One thing about Arundel is the hospitality you receive from everyone involved with the cricket club, it’s second to none - playing second team fixtures there as well, it's no different. You really get looked after and I'm sure that hospitality transfers across to the spectators as well and the whole feel of the ground.