Some of you may have known already but it's official now:
No one is better qualified to talk about the dramatic changes in Sussex cricket than Neil Lenham.
The county’s supporters may still coming to terms with the departure of Chris Adams after 11 years as captain but Lenham’s longevity at Hove goes back all the way to 1974 when he first played for one of their junior sides.
He reckons his father Les, whose own association with Sussex as player and coach stretches more than 50 years, first took him to the ground when he was a few weeks old.
Neil had 13 years as first-team opener before injuries forced him to retire in 1997 but he made the smooth transition from whites to a smart suit and since then has been the main man in the club’s commercial operation, most recently as corporate sales manager.
But his 35-year connection with Sussex is about to end, although he won’t be leaving the County Ground as such.
He has been appointed managing director of Newbery, the cricket equipment company based in the old chalet next to the Sussex Cricketer pub. A group of City-based investors brought the company last month from Tim and Nick Keeley.
Lenham said: “The majority of the investors are city-based and I know quite a few of them. They were interested in getting into a quality cricket brand and have invested to help Newbery expand and develop.”
Len Newbery started making cricket bats in 1919. His son John, who died in 1989, took over the firm and struck up a friendship with Lenham, who made his first-class debut in 1984 and used their equipment throughout his playing career.
“When Tim and Nick Keeley took over I was the instigator behind their move to the County Ground and I have always had a close association with them,” said Lenham.
“Nick and Tim are the bat makers and they can concentrate on developing the products and maintaining the quality without worrying about the business development side.”
Sussex and opposition players wandering down to the Newbery chalet during the summer to try out various bats are as familiar a sight at Hove as seagulls and deckchairs.
Most of the Sussex players use Newbery and Lenham happily reels off the names of several Test stars who use Newbery willow festooned with stickers from their existing bat sponsors.
Strictly off the record of course. Getting them on board as ambassadors of the brand will be one of Lenham’s jobs.
The ECB have revealed that participation in the game increased by 27% last year so Lenham is keen to develop Newbery’s strong reputation for junior bats. There are also plans to develop a range of hockey equipment.
Lenham added: “The business has expanded but it has to grow and be pushed further into the marketplace so more people know just how good Newbery are.
“Newbery has always had a reputation for producing top-end material and that will continue. We can compete with the best rival companies have to offer but we won’t be going mass market.”Lenham’s move into cricket equipment is a touch ironic given that his playing career is remembered as fondly for his unique canary-yellow helmet than the fact that he scored more than 10,000 first-class runs including 20 centuries.
After a prodigious schoolboy career at Brighton College, he played in the great but largely unfulfilled Sussex team of the early 1980s alongside Imran Khan and Garth Le Roux.
But his fondest memories are of 1993 and Sussex’s run to the final of the NatWest Trophy and in particular their memorable semi-final win over Glamorgan at a packed Hove when his 47 off 43 balls and a century by Alan Wells took Sussex home with four balls to spare.
Even losing that infamous final, when Sussex lost to Warwickshire despite scoring 321-6, had its compensation for 'Pin' whose 58 off 51 balls remains the quickest half-century in a Lord’s final.
He said: “I have loved every minute of my 35 years with Sussex. There have been so many changes to the county and the game in that time but I‘m leaving with Sussex in a great position both cricket-wise and off the field as well. The whole club is strong with some excellent people in charge.
“Of course I will miss it but the great thing about this job, apart from the challenge of expanding the Newbery business, is that I will still be part of Sussex. And it does save me about 30 yards every day in petrol money!”
Full article:
http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/4039302.Sussex_stalwart_says_farewell/
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Topic: Newbery Taken Over (Read 4893 times)