Flight of the Martlets - the Golden Age of Sussex County Cricket Club

The history of Sussex CCC, the oldest of the county cricket clubs, is nothing if not dramatic. In 2003, they seized the Championship title for the first time. Since then, they have been the dominant force in the domestic game. This is the story.

That first Championship in 2003 was the subject of the critically acclaimed "The Longest Journey". Now authors Paul Weaver and Bruce Talbot return to explain why this has been the richest period in the club's already vivid history.

Going behind the scenes, the authors talk to players and coaches, old and new, to explore the big questions surrounding the club. Why, they ask, did a club with some of the most exciting players in the game find the big prize so elusive for so long?

Why, they ask, did a club with some of the most exciting players in the game find the big prize so elusive for so long?

And how, after a revolution in 1997, did the club embark on one of the headiest voyages in the history of county cricket. Note the story ends in 2008.

About the Authors

Paul Weaver became a junior member at Sussex in 1968 and has followed the county ever since. He became cricket correspondent for The News of the World (1979), The Daily Mirror (1986), and joined Today as a senior sports writer in 1989. He has been a leading sports writer for The Guardian since 1992.

Bruce Talbot has been reporting on Sussex cricket for 19 years, first for The Mid-Sussex Times, and then since 1994 for  The Brighton Argus where he is the deputy sports editor. He saw his first county cricket match in 1979 and has been watching Sussex for a quarter of a century.