Sussex aiming for hat-trick

Sussex won the championship title in 2003, 2006 and 2007

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Sussex go into the 2008 season looking for their third consecutive LV County Championship title, but Jason Lewry and Chris Nash know it will be a tough ask for their tight-knit squad.

The last two teams to complete three titles in a row were Surrey in 1956/57/58 and Yorkshire in 1966/67/68, so numerically the odds on Sussex achieving the feat in 2006/07/08 are good.

However, Lewry, who is in his 15th season with the club, admits that Sussex have not spoken about the possibility of a hat-trick.

“It hasn’t really been talked about, what we can and can’t achieve on the pitch,” he told ecb.co.uk. “I don’t think it is talked about very often these days.

“I think we just get on with it and take each day as it comes. There is just an underlying confidence amongst us.

“We know what we can do and we just try to do that each game.”

Lewry made his debut for Sussex in 1994 and has hinted that 2008 will be his last season at the club with whom he has spent his entire professional career.

But he is determined for one last hurrah.

Jason Lewry is hoping to take 600 wickets © Getty Images

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“It is genuinely a privilege to play in this side at the moment, especially because we weren’t that successful when it was all new to me,” he admitted.

“To see the transition and the steps the club has taken, and to appear where we are now from where we were when I started, it’s not something I want to let go of too easily.

Lewry has taken 570 wickets in 166 first-class matches for the club during his lengthy stint and he is keen to reach the magical 600-mark this season.

“I don’t look at personal aims now that I am in my 15th season,” he said. “But I suppose I am trying, and would like, to take 600 first-class wickets for Sussex.

“That would be a great achievement for me personally, but I would just like to be part of this team for one more year.

“Let’s hope we can do three in a row as that would genuinely be a piece of history if we can.”

At the other end of the spectrum, opening batsman Nash secured a place in the Sussex team last year, having come through the ranks at junior level and is relishing his opportunity in what promises to be young and vibrant side this season.

“It is always nice to come into a successful squad,” he told ecb.co.uk. “It is hard to break into, but the hardest thing is to stay in.

“I was happy with some aspects of last season, but there are several things I have still got to do and improve on.”

Chris Nash is keen to convert his scores © Getty Images

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With the retirement of Richard Montgomerie at the end of last season, Nash has the perfect opportunity to cement a spot at the top of the order.

“Last year I had a solid year opening, making 800-odd runs and scoring seven fifties,” he said.

“But I’d like to convert a few of my fifties into hundreds and really push on to well over that 1,000-run mark and become an established player.”

However, Sussex have made some shrewd signings over the winter and there is plenty of competition for places among the youth brigade.

“We’ve got a lot of new guys in and a lot of youngsters, and I think that has breathed new life into the squad,” Nash confirmed.

“When you do win things it is nice to bring new people in and new challenges. It is great to have competition.”

The 37-year-old veteran Lewry agreed with his 24-year old colleague, saying: “We don’t tend to make bad signings at this club. We have been very fortunate over the years.

“It is fantastic to see all these young lads. It makes me feel very old sat there looking round the changing room, but it is great to see them doing so well.

“Chris Liddle, the left-armer, is full of promise. I’ve got high hopes for him and I hope he can go on and have a successful career with Sussex.”

But Lewry does not intend to give up his spot in the side to Liddle just yet, confessing: “I just want to go round one more time.”

And a fourth championship title in six years would be the perfect send-off for Sussex’s most loyal servant of the last decade and a half.