Sussex have bucked the trend by announcing a profit for the third year running even though players' wages topped £1m for the first time.

As county clubs struggle to balance the books, Sussex will announce a pre-tax surplus of £36,277 at their AGM in three weeks' time.

But chairman Don Trangmar has warned that they could struggle to stay in the black.

He said: "The financial outcome for the past year has been achieved by prudent management of the club's affairs.

"However, it is unlikely that this trend will continue against a background of rising costs and cricket's inability to generate increased levels of income, despite continued efforts."

Although income from subscriptions fell by £15,000, match receipts, boosted by the visit of Australia, increased by £29,000 and marketing increased by more than £53,000 to £355,446. Administration costs also rose sharply and cricket salaries climbed to £1,002,216, an increase of £22,000.

Encouragingly, Sussex made a surplus at each of their three outgrounds even though match receipts at Arundel fell because the game against Derbyshire only lasted until just after lunch on the third day.

The accounts once again reveal the extent to which counties rely on their annual handout from the ECB as their share of TV revenue and ticket sales for international matches.

Last year it amounted to more than £1.3m, an increase of £117,000 on 2000.