Hastings stumped by county cricket

Sussex released their provisional fixture list for 2005 on Monday and, for the fourth year running, no home matches had been allocated to the town.

There are still three games without a venue but Thayre has been informed by the county that Hastings will not be hosting a first XI game of any description next summer.

Arundel is the only out-ground to be allocated a tie so far, although Thayre believes regular hosts Horsham will be added to the revised list. And the almost total absence of any out-cricket seems a tacit admission that Sussex are going down the route marched by the likes of Derbyshire in possessing one solitary central base in Hove.

Thayre said: "There will be no county cricket at Hastings next year. Sussex are looking at spending about 6million at Hove and, quite frankly, they don't want to go anywhere. I would like to think we will get something in the future, maybe some 20-20 stuff or even one day stuff but I don't think that four day cricket will ever come back. Even if there was money put up I don't think they would want to come."

Derby clashes involving Sussex and Kent were a regular event at the old Central Ground for decades until the 1970s but those halcyon days now seem long gone.

The only Sussex first XI matches to have been played in the town since 1988 have been one day contests against Zimbabwe and Kent in 2000 and 2001 respectively, which attracted more than 5,000 spectators in total. Then Sussex chairman Don Trangmar was quoted in the build-up to the former contest as saying: "The club is looking forward to the prospect of one day cricket returning to Hastings, one of its traditional homes in the county. The fact that we now have a fourth out-ground helps us to spread the game to all parts of the county."

How times have changed! Now Thayre, who maintains that Horntye have done everything they can to bring county cricket back to the town, admits to having "no idea" whether Horntye will even play host to a second XI fixture in 2005. The 4.5 million complex successfully laid on two second string encounters this year.

Thayre added: "Nothing was said about second XI cricket. I would like to think we will get a couple, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't. There were no problems last year, everyone was happy and we've done nothing to upset anyone."

The showpiece occasion for Hastings' cricket lovers in 2005 will be the 1066 Sporting Club Cricket Challenge tie-breaker between Hastings Priory and Lashings All-Stars, which is pencilled in for Thursday July 28.