Mark Robinson, the coach who led Sussex to back-to-back County Championship titles in 2006 and 2007, has returned to Hove as director of cricket, taking on a part-time role at a club still working under England and Wales Cricket Board restrictions after a £1.3m trading loss in 2025.
The 59-year-old, confirmed by Sussex on Thursday, will continue as director of cricket at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA), the club’s state school partner. He fills a post that had been earmarked for Paul Farbrace, who left to become Lancashire’s director of cricket last month, only weeks before he was due to move upstairs at Hove.
A familiar figure at a difficult moment
Robinson spent five years at Sussex as a player after joining in 1997, then a decade as head coach after succeeding Peter Moores in 2005. His first season brought a Championship and one-day cup double. A second Championship followed in 2007, along with the Pro40 National League in 2008 and 2009 and the Twenty20 Cup in 2009.
“I’m delighted to be back at Hove in a position where I can play my part in helping Sussex continue to be one of the most respected clubs in the country,” Robinson told the club website. “We have taken some hits in the last year and as a club have some work still to be done, and I am determined to contribute to ensure a bright future here at Sussex.”
He also pointed to the rebuilding job that followed his arrival as a player. “I first joined this club in 1997, just after the revolution following the loss of most of its senior players and captain. I was just one small building block that helped build an era of unqualified success,” he said. “Work has already started to ensure that we do that again.”
His career since leaving Hove has added to his standing. He took charge of England Women in 2015 and guided them to the 2017 World Cup on home soil, before stepping down in 2019 after an Ashes defeat. At Warwickshire, whom he joined in 2021, he won the County Championship and the Bob Willis Trophy in his first year, and he left Edgbaston in February 2025.
Alex Paterson, Sussex’s acting chief executive, said: “Mark knows Sussex Cricket inside out having successfully played and coached here over more than 15 years, including winning the County Championship twice. I cannot imagine a better person to become our director of cricket.”
Finances shape the job
Sussex needed an emergency bailout from the ECB and were docked 12 Championship points for sustained operating losses, plus a point in each white-ball competition. Under the terms of the rescue, new signings require ECB approval, and in March the BBC reported that the club were expected to remain in special measures until January 2029, with a further £1m loss projected for 2026.
The team responded on the field, winning seven of their 14 Championship matches and finishing third in Division One despite the deduction. The squad has since thinned out. Henry Crocombe signed for Surrey in July, John Simpson joined Nottinghamshire and Fynn Hudson-Prentice has also gone, while Daniel Hughes was among a further five departures confirmed at the start of October.
Farbrace’s exit removed the planned continuity from the structure. He had agreed in July to switch from head coach to director of cricket from 1 November, with Matt Walker, the former Kent head coach, succeeding him in the first-team job. His move to Old Trafford, announced on 6 October, left Walker without the colleague he had expected to work alongside.
What Robinson’s return means
The part-time nature of the post is the clearest sign of the club’s circumstances. Robinson’s knowledge of the county comes without the cost of a full-time appointment, and his BACA role ties directly into the pathway Sussex are likely to lean on while recruitment is restricted.
“Mark has a fantastic understanding of our pathway and the cricketers at BACA and he will continue to provide an excellent segue for the most talented into Sussex Cricket,” Paterson said.
Walker, who will prepare the men’s side for 2027, welcomed the arrival of a coach with “a proven track record of developing players and building successful environments”.
The wider leadership is changing too. Earlier this week Sussex named Beth Barrett-Wild, tournament director of this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup, as their first female chief executive. She starts on 1 January 2027, taking over from Paterson.
Robinson’s task is to help keep a depleted club competitive in Division One while its finances are repaired, with a homegrown supply of players at the centre of that plan. He has rebuilt at Hove before, though not with these constraints.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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