2005 Twenty20 Cup (1) – 2009 Second XI honours Second XI Championship (3) – 1978, 1990, 2007 Second XI Trophy (1) – 2005 Notes Earliest cricket Sussex, along with Kent, is believed to be the birthplace of cricket. It is believed that cricket was invented by children living on the Weald in Anglo-Saxon or Norman times. The first definite mention of cricket in Sussex relates to ecclesiastical court records in 1611 which state that two parishioners of Sidlesham in West Sussex failed to attend church on Easter Sunday because they were playing cricket. They were fined 12d each and made to do penance. Cricket became established in Sussex during the 17th century and the earliest village matches took place before the English Civil War. It is believed that the earliest county teams were formed in the aftermath of the Restoration in 1660. In 1697, the earliest "great match" recorded was for 50 guineas apiece between two elevens at a venue in Sussex. Matches involving the two great Sussex patrons Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet were first recorded in 1725. The earliest known use of Sussex in a match title occurred in 1729. From 1741, Richmond patronised the famous Slindon Cricket Club, whose team was representative of the county. After the death of Richmond in 1751, Sussex cricket declined until the emergence of the Brighton club at its Prince of Wales Ground in 1790. This club sustained cricket in Sussex through the Napoleonic Wars and, as a result, the county team was very strong in the 1820s when it included the great bowlers Jem Broadbridge and William Lillywhite. Origin of club On 17 June 1836, the Sussex Cricket Fund was set up to support county matches, after a meeting in Brighton. This led directly to the formation on 1 March 1839 of Sussex County Cricket Club, England's oldest county club. Sussex CCC played its initial first-class match versus Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord's on 10 & 11 June 1839. Sussex crest The Sussex crest depicts a mythological, footless bird called the Martlet, and is similar to Coat of arms of Sussex. Capped players have six martlets on their sweaters, and the crest with gold trimming on their caps; uncapped players instead have only the club crest on their left breast, and white trimming on their caps. Sussex grounds In total, Sussex CCC have