But he will be cheered by the county's capture of Kent youngster Will House on a two-year contract.

House scored a hundred on his First Class debut three years ago for Cambridge University against a Derbyshire side which included Adams.

"I saw Chris before I went away and I had a good chat with him," House said.

"He has always struck me as a very impressive cricketer and I was impressed with the way he talked about the club and their plans."

House had his first net session at Hove yesterday after putting pen to paper.

Sussex have been pursuing him since the end of October, when they sent a letter to Kent requesting permission to open negotiations.

Kent were reluctant to let the 23-year-old prospect go, even though he has been starved of opportunities in their Championship team.

House decided he wanted to leave at the end of last season. His bid to have his status changed from List One to List Two, and thereby improve his prospects of a move to another county, was opposed by Kent and rejected by the ECB's registrations panel in November.

But House won his appeal against that decision last month and he is happy that Hove will be his new home.

"It's nice to be here," he said. "I see Sussex as a club that is heading in the right direction.

"They are a young, competitive side which is exactly the sort of set up I want to be part of.

"I love the ground, the facilities and the floodlights, but the bottom line is I see it as a club I can prosper with.

"It would have been great if Kent had just thanked me for my services and allowed me to move on, but they treated me like a prized possession.

"In a way it was flattering how hard they fought to keep me, but it was pretty frustrating for me there last season and I came to the conclusion it was the right time for me to move on.

"I played a lot of one-day cricket, but I couldn't force my way into the Championship side, even though lots of other players seemed to get a chance. That hurt a bit."

House, a Cambridge double, was voted Kent's most improved player and the University's player of the year in 1996.

He is a left-hander capable of batting anywhere in the order between one and six and made 11 National League appearances for Kent last season as a pinch-hitter.

Although primarily a batsman with a First Class average of 35 in spite of his limited opportunities, House is also a useful right-arm medium pace bowler.

Sussex rate him so highly that chief executive Dave Gilbert was in favour of signing him, even if he had stayed as a List One player.

"Chris Adams was very pro bringing him here before he went on the England tour," said Gilbert. "He played against our Second team and the coach Keith Greenfield felt he was the best opponent they came across last season.

"He opened the batting for Kent in the National League, but he only played one Championship game for them in the last two seasons, so he has been horribly blocked.

"He was with Robin Martin-Jenkins and Umer Rashid at Cambridge University and we have done our homework on him.

"He has a very good attitude and is an in-your-face sort of cricketer."

House's move is sweet revenge for Sussex after losing out to Kent in a battle to sign Leicestershire wicket-keeper Paul Nixon.

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