Sussex Cricket Museum

Was there a cricketer who had more passion for the game of cricket than Derek Semmence? He played for Sussex from 1956 to 1959, and for a year in 1967, during which time he became the youngest player to score a century for Sussex, a record which stood for 66 years. He was the cricket coach at Hurstpierpoint College from September 1967 and then groundsman from September 1975 until retirement in 2003. He played a good deal for Sussex Martlets in the 1980s and he played seniors cricket for Sussex  for the Over 50s, 60s and 70s teams. In this podcast Mark Semmence, Derek's son, Martin Speight, Roger Packham and Desmond Devitt discuss Mark's book 'Breaking Boundaries' a new book about the life and times of Derek Semmence.

In this third podcast about Brightling and its cricket club, Jane Beard, local historian, introduces Keith Ridge to Brightling church, and 'Mad' Jack Fuller M.P. The church is mentioned in Domesday and largely unaltered. Dominating the churchyard is a stone pyramid built by Mad' Jack  for himself. Mad Jack was an amiable and eccentric character who was once sent to the Tower for abusing the Speaker. He lived in Brightling Park where the cricket club is now based and is thought to have encouraged the playing of cricket. The podcast concludes with interviews with members of the “The Late Nighters”.

In this second conversation about Brightling Park Cricket Club, Keith Ridge, Sussex Cricket Museum curator talks to two of the club's players, including the club captain, about what it is like to play for the club.

This is the first of two conversations about Brightling Cricket Club, in which Sussex Cricket Museum curator Keith Ridge talks to Brightling local historian Jane Beard about the issues  facing local village clubs. The Brightling Park Cricket Club is located in a beautiful quiet setting in the High Weald of East Sussex but has a timber pavilion with no glass in the windows and no showers or toilets. How do they cope?

George Cox was a veteran trundler. 100 years ago this month (June 2026),  Cox took 17 Warwickshire wickets for 106 runs in a first-class match. at Horsham at the age of 53. His figures remain the best bowling figures for the county. In this podcast Peter McQuade, author of a recent book on Cox, talks to Adrian Harms, BBC Radio Surrey and Sussex commentator about Cox's cricketing career which lasted from 1895 to 1928.
 

Karen Linfield tells the story of how she acquired a cricket ball that was hit by Viv Richards through the commentary box window, during a match played at the County Ground against the West Indies in 1988.

Frances Low was the first woman to join the Board of the Sussex County Cricket Club in the 1970s. In this podcast she talks to Johnny Barclay about her early interest in cricket and her love of scoring for Rottingdean Cricket Club before going on to talk about her time on the Sussex board.

Adrian Harms, BBC Surrey and Sussex Cricket commentator, talks to Roger Packham, author of 'Cricket in the Park', about the current exhibition on cricket at Sheffield Park  which closes on 23 November after which it will be at the Bluebell Railway Museum, Sheffield Park railway station, where it will stay until the end of January.

Roger Packham, well known cricket historian and author of 'Cricket in the Park' talks in this podcast about Lord Sheffield's passion for cricket and his establishment of one of the finest grounds in England, where in the late 19th century the Australian tourists began their tour of England by playing against Lord Sheffield's XI, captained by W.G. Grace.

In this podcast, the voice of Sussex Cricket, Adrian Harms, talks to Sussex Cricket historian Roger Packham about the Wisden exhibition in the Sussex Cricket Museum.