Sussex County Cricket Club played in Division One of the County Championship and Division Two of the Totesport League in 2005. The 2003 County Champions started the season at 6–1 to retake the title.

After a draw against the Loughborough students, Sussex started their season at the Oval. It was a fixture seriously curtailed by the rain, which made a draw a certainty, though they were able to pick up 9 points. The next Championship game saw a close draw against Hampshire: a game which might have been won, but for negative play by their opponents at the crunch. They then beat Derbyshire in a thriller in the Sunday League, before a four-day loss to Nottinghamshire. The next day they went down to Yorkshire, and then on the May Day Bank Holiday their game with Durham was abandoned halfway through. On 4 May they easily beat Bedfordshire to progress to Round Two of the C&G Trophy.

They then beat Warwickshire in the totesport League, before securing a convincing innings victory against the same team in the County Championship, and then going on to beat the Bangladeshi tourists by an innings and 226 runs. On 18 May they beat Nottinghamshire to reach the Quarter-Finals of the C&G Trophy. There was then a draw against Middlesex which left them sixth in Division One of the Championship at the end of May. They then drew with Division One whipping boys Glamorgan in a game reduced to 3 days because of rain.

10 June saw an easy win against the Scottish Saltires, before drawing another rain-ravaged match with Nottinghamshire. In the National League on the following Sunday, they won a top-of-the-table clash with Durham, sending them within two points of the Northern lads. In the Twenty20 Cup, there were two meetings with Essex, each team winning one – in between, there was a rained-off match with Hampshire, in which both teams scored a point. Sussex then lost two successive matches, which was thought to permanently damage their quarter-final chances, but they recovered with wins over Hampshire and Kent which sent them into third place of the South Division. However, because they had fewer wins than Derbyshire in the North Division, they were knocked out as the worst third-place finisher.

Following on from their disappointing Twenty20 Cup exit, they lost by 35 runs to Hampshire at the Rose Bowl in the Championship, but recovered to beat Surrey Lions by 48 runs to go top of the National League. A low-scoring draw with Gloucestershire followed, which left both sides struggling in the relegation zone.

August began with an 11-run win over Somerset Sabres in the National League, which gave them a four-point lead in that competition. Following that, Sussex enjoyed a five-wicket win over Surrey in the County Championship which saw them jump past Surrey in the table. A loss to Leicestershire Foxes in the National League followed, however, but they carried their good Championship form into the return match with Gloucestershire to win by 226 runs. However, they lost yet again in the National League, as the Division Two title battle with Durham tightened.

The third week of August saw Sussex thump Middlesex inside two days, beating them by an innings and 232 runs – the highest margin of victory in the entire season – to temporarily go top of Division One, only 18 days after they had been precariously positioned in the relegation zone. However, the week ended with another loss to Leicestershire in the National League, which meant that Leicestershire also involved themselves in the title battle in Division Two. Three days later, Sussex beat Warwickshire in the same competition, mainly thanks to figures of 6–27 from Michael Yardy. In the County Championship, however, they lost to Warwickshire, before finishing August with two National League victories over Scotland and Surrey.

September began with a two-day victory over Glamorgan, which kept their slim Championship title hopes alive, but those were well and truly killed by Nottinghamshire's victory over Kent. However, other teams lost in the National League to give them promotion in that competition, and their fourth National League win in a row – over Kent Spitfires at St Lawrence Ground – left them in control of the race for the Division Two title. Sussex finished the Championship season with an eight-wicket victory over Kent, leaving them third in the Championship, and a win over Yorkshire Phoenix gave them the National League Division Two title.

Players Mushtaq Ahmed Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Tim Ambrose Mark Davis Murray Goodwin Sean Heather Carl Hopkinson James Kirtley Jason Lewry Robin Martin-Jenkins Richard Montgomerie Chris Nash Matt Prior Neil Turk Ian Ward Luke Wright Michael Yardy Tables

Championship

+ 2005 County Championship – Division One Pos Team Pld W D L Pen BP Pts 1 Nottinghamshire 16 9 4 3 0 94 236 2 Hampshire 16 9 4 3 0.5 92 233.5 3 Sussex 16 7 6 3 0 102 224 4 Warwickshire 16 8 3 5 0.5 86 209.5 5 Kent 16 6 7 3 8.5 99 202.5 6 Middlesex 16 4 7 5 0.5 98 181.5 7 Surrey 16 4 9 3 8.5 97 180.5 8 Gloucestershire 16 1 5 10 2 72 104 9 Glamorgan 16 1 1 14 0 71 88.5

totesport League

+ 2005 totesport League – Division Two Pos Team Pld W L NR T Pts 1 Sussex Sharks 18 13 4 1 0 54 2 Durham Dynamos 18 12 4 2 0 52 3 Warwickshire Bears 18 10 6 2 0 44 4 Leicestershire Foxes 18 10 7 1 0 42 5 Derbyshire Phantoms 18 9 7 1 1 40 6 Somerset Sabres 18 9 8 1 0 38 7 Surrey Lions 18 7 10 1 0 30 8 Kent Spitfires 18 6 10 2 0 28 9 Yorkshire Phoenix 18 5 13 0 0 20 10 Scottish Saltires 18 2 14 1 1 12

Match details

Sussex v Loughborough UCCE (9–11 April)

Match drawn

The first day of this match, which was played at Hove, saw Loughborough dismissed for 237. Sussex then reached 15 for no loss at close. Sussex batted through the second day, adding 352 in the 105 overs available, after both Ian Ward and Richard Montgomerie both got centuries. Sussex were finally dismissed for 490 on the third and last day. This did not leave them enough time to dismiss Loughborough UCCE a second time, and they were 103 for 5 at the end of the match. (Cricinfo scorecard)

Surrey v Sussex (13–16 April)

Surrey (12pts) drew with Sussex (9pts)

Sussex won the toss at the Oval and elected to bat. Mark Ramprakash captained Surrey as Mark Butcher has still not recovered from the injury that saw him miss England's winter tour. Only 49 overs could be bowled on the first day, as rain delayed the start till after lunch, and bad light brought an early conclusion. Cloud cover helped the bowlers, but Sussex, thanks to Michael Yardy's 44 not out, finished the day on 171 for 4. The second day saw 61 overs. Yardy, again under cloud-covered skies, progressed to 111, which will have gone a long way to helping him cement a regular first team place. Rikki Clarke, who took 4 for 91, appears a yard quicker than last season, and to have improved after his poor season last year. Sussex finished the second day on 370, and Surrey on 6 for 1.

Only 13.3 overs were possible on a rain-affected third day, as Surrey moved to 33 for 1, with a draw a virtual certainty. The day was enlivened by the sight of a fox on top of one of the famous gasholders. It presumably went onto the top when the gasholder was low, and was trapped as the level rose. On the fourth day, Surrey's stand-in captain Ramprakash made an impressive 152, as Surrey elected to prolong their first innings until they reached 402 for 5 declared, to claim maximum batting points. The game ended there as a draw.

Sussex v Hampshire (20–23 April)

Sussex (9pts) drew with Hampshire (9pts)

Hampshire finished the first day on top at Hove. Sussex, despite a century from Michael Yardy, were all out for 252, with Chris Tremlett taking 6 for 44. In reply, the visitors reached 67 for 1. Only for the position to be reversed on the second day, as they were dismissed for 280, with James Kirtley claiming 4 and Robin Martin-Jenkins 3 wickets. Sussex finished on 101 for 2.

The game remained evenly poised on the third day, but with Sussex slightly in the lead, with rain predicted for the fourth. Sussex took their score on to 312, thereby setting a target of 285. Hampshire were on 89 for 3 at the end of day three. With rain predicted on the fourth day, the game could have gone any one of four ways. Kevin Pietersen (61), assisted by Sean Ervine (57), took the challenge to Sussex – and the game was always in the balance. When the eighth wicket fell, the score was on 256 for 8. And with 29 required off 34 balls, the game looked set for one of those exciting finishes that only the longer form of the game can provide. Disappointingly for the crowd, Hampshire captain Shane Warne ordered his batsmen to shut up shop. Sussex were unable to take the final two wickets, and on 267 for 8, the game was drawn. Hampshire finished the day second behind Warwickshire, but the ten points given up here had crucial repercussions later on in the season. (Cricinfo scorecard)

Sussex v Derbyshire (24 April)

Sussex (4pts) beat Derbyshire (0pts) by 2 runs (D/L method)

A close game at Hove saw the Sharks defeat the Phantoms by 2 runs, after Tom Lungley went for, and failed to get, a six of the last ball to win the game. It was a high scoring affair, and halfway through their overs Sussex looked on target for a big total approaching 300. However, Derbyshire did well to peg them back to 254 to 8.

Rain delayed the restart, and left the Phantoms with 205 to win off 32 overs. They were always behind par, but never quite gave up. Indeed, Graeme Welch nearly won it for them with 42 off 24 balls, which included three huge sixes. However, wickets tumbled, leaving Tom Lungley with the last ball to score six. To his credit, he went for it and could have won, but fell short and was run out. (Cricinfo scorecard)

Nottinghamshire v Sussex (27–30 April)

Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Sussex (6pts) by ten wickets

Only 36.3 overs were possible on the first day at Trent Bridge. Sussex batted first and, despite losing 2 early wickets, were 116 for 2 at close, with Michael Yardy (38) and Murray Goodwin (33) the not out batsmen. Yardy went on to make a half-century, as did wicket-keeper Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins, but no-one went further than 66 on the second day, as Sussex were dismissed for 379. Nottinghamshire progressed slowly, and were 32 for no loss off 15 overs at close.

The third day was all Nottinghamshire's. Jason Gallian made his highest score for the county, 199, while Stephen Fleming, who took over as captain from Gallian this season, made 111. Both were run out by precise throws from Ian Ward and Mushtaq Ahmed respectively. David Hussey (89) and Chris Read (45 not out) gave good support as Notts reached 488 for 6 at close.

On the fourth day, Nottinghamshire declared after 5.5 overs on 509 for 8, a lead of 130. If they were to win, they'd have to dismiss Sussex quickly. This they did. Ryan Sidebottom took 4 for 15 as Sussex were dismissed for 159, despite a two-hour 49 from Martin-Jenkins. Darren Bicknell and Jason Gallian only needed 5.5 overs to knock off the 30 runs needed to win. (Cricinfo scorecard)

Yorkshire v Sussex (1 May)

Yorkshire (4pts) beat Sussex (0pts) by 3 wickets

Richard Dawson and Craig White took 3 wickets apiece to help dismiss the Sharks for 157, as Sussex lost the last 7 wickets for 55 runs. Despite tight bowling from Mushtaq Ahmed on a damp pitch, the Phoenix eased to a win with 3 wickets and 27 balls remaining. Anthony McGrath (37) and Ian Harvey (30) shared a fifth-wicket stand of 63. (BBC scorecard)

National League: Durham v Sussex (2 May)

No result – Durham (2pts), Sussex (2pts)