{"id":703244,"date":"2026-07-21T11:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/703244\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:16:09","slug":"matt-walker-sussex-appoint-new-head-coach-to-succeed-paul-farbrace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/703244\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Walker: Sussex appoint new head coach to succeed Paul Farbrace"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Walker said: &#8220;Sussex is a club I have always admired and one with a proud history. The opportunity to work with this group of players and staff, alongside Paul [Farbrace], was one that really excited me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;There is already a strong foundation in place and I&#8217;m looking forward to building on that as we strive to help Sussex compete for trophies. I can&#8217;t wait to get started.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Farbrace said Walker possessed the &#8220;experience, energy and enthusiasm&#8221; that the club had been looking for. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;m really looking forward to working alongside him as we tackle the challenges in front of us and build a team capable of competing for trophies,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sussex <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/articles\/cn7yrd6p02mo\" class=\"ssrcss-1fqyhkk-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">returned to Division One<\/a> as champions in 2024 under the guidance of Farbrace, before finishing fourth in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The club were then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/articles\/cy8pzlkx2ygo\" class=\"ssrcss-1fqyhkk-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hit with a 12-point deduction for the 2026 season<\/a> after &#8220;sustained operating losses&#8221; in the previous financial year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Walker and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/articles\/cg534919ld5o\" class=\"ssrcss-1fqyhkk-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">new club chairman Ed Warner<\/a> will have to work within tight financial restrictions going forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The club is under a player salary cap until 2028, and need to provide the ECB with a three\u2011year business plan, and deliver sustainable year\u2011on\u2011year operating profits for the same period. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Young fast bowler Henry Crocombe is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/cricket\/articles\/cqj19pnxwe5o\" class=\"ssrcss-1fqyhkk-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">joining Surrey in 2027<\/a>, and BBC Radio Sussex understands that John Simpson, Tom Clark, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Danny Lamb and Charlie Tear are all out of contract at the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sussex interim chief executive officer, Mark West, said the revamped management team would be key to the club turning the corner following their recent financial problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Matt&#8217;s appointment is another important step for Sussex Cricket as we continue strengthening the club both on and off the field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;He is joining a talented group of players and staff, and we believe he is the right person to help drive the next phase of our cricket programme&#8221;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walker said: &#8220;Sussex is a club I have always admired and one with a proud history. The opportunity&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-703244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}