The Sussex County Cricket Club had a lot to prove in 2001 after being demoted in 2000. Coach Peter Moores sums up a mighty successful year.

Peter Moores, Sussex County Cricket club coach.

Obviously it was a great year coming back from finishing at the bottom of the table last year to finish on top at the end of this season. That was a great achievement.

One of the nicest things for me was to see some of the younger players come through to the first team and cement their place.

Players like Matt Prior, Michael Yardy, Bas Zuiderent, and some others like Tim Ambrose and Carl Hopkins who came in later on.

But that younger element really gave everyone else a bit of a boost.

We had a good opening partnership with Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin who did really well in most innings and they were backed up by Chris Adams who had a really good season coming in at number 3.

Of the bowlers, Kirtley had another outstanding year, taking more than 100 wickets in all competitions. Jason Lewry, his opening partner had another good year, he's a very solid professional now.

They were backed up by Mark Robinson who had his best season and when Robin Martin-Jenkins played, he showed that he's got potential to become a genuine all rounder.

What are your plans for 2002?

First division cricket is going to be quite tough and the plans are to build on what happened last year. We signed Paul Hutchinson from Yorkshire to strengthen the bowling unit a bit.

Mark Robinson is going to take more of a back seat next year as he's going to start to coach the second team.

We're looking towards the youngsters to keep pushing and develop themselves.

They're all working hard at the moment, both technically in the nets and physically. They're getting there.

It's all about preparation and some players have started already. Most are getting themselves ready physically, some are already doing technical work and then after Christmas they will be geeing themselves up and getting ready for the new season.

What were your personal highpoints?

Personally, it was a bit of an interesting year for me. I had the pleasure of taking the England A tour to the West Indies. I learned a bit from that and I came back with new energy and we changed a couple of things here. Chris Adams and myself were confident we were on the right track and even though we finished poorly the year before, it was just a case of tweaking a few things and hope we were going to get success.

We got a trophy the year before that but we felt we on the right road so we were telling people it was a blip and we were going to come back. We did and we just hope that trend could continue this year and we keep improving.

What are your expectations for the young Sussex cricketers in 2002 You got to be realistic with young players. They're not as consistent as senior players and that's because they're still learning their craft.

We're going to have Tony Cottey back fit, he was injured all of last season so it will be a bonus to have him back.

The thing with the youngsters is no one can guarantee anybody a good year. I think they're all working hard which is the main thing, there's a strong work ethic.

There will be inconsistency through lack of experience and lack of knowledge but providing they're working hard, they will learn quickly and the cream will rise to the top, the best will make it.

What will you be doing for Christmas?

Home with the family, I'll be home for the Xmas, I spent last Christmas Day at home but we shot off straight away to the West Indies so it will be nice to have a couple of weeks to see the kids and the wife.

On the women's cricket front sussex was outstanding, producing three players who will represent England in India. One of those outstanding players is 20-year-old Caroline Atkins from Burgess Hill.

"I made a step up to senior international cricket stage this year against Australia and, although I would have liked to have scored my runs, it was great to be involved."

What are your plans for 2002?

"I want to compete well on tour to India with England and score off 50 per cent of the balls I receive. Then I want to help Sussex succeed at the County Championships and be involved in a triangular series against New Zealand and India in this country."

How do you intend to spend Christmas?

I will be home for a normal family Christmas, apart from the fact that I will have to include malaria tablets in my diet in preparation for India."