Bas Zuiderent's World Cup experience can set him up perfectly for his make-or-break domestic season with Sussex.

The 25-year-old batsman has joined the rest of the Dutch squad in Cape Town for their pre-tournament training camp knowing in the back of his mind that events back in England this year could be pivoital to the rest of his career.

His contract expires at the end of the summer and if he has another year like 2002 there is no guarantee it will be renewed.

Losing his place after appearing to have established himself was bad enough, but that was nothing compared to the despair Zuiderent felt when he was told that his best friend Umer Rashid had drowned on Sussex's pre-season tour in Grenada.

Zuiderent is not sure if he had been able to cope better with the shocking news had he still been in the Caribbean. Instead he had flown to South Africa after spending the first week with the squad to join Holland's World Cup training camp.

Now he had to board a plane back to London to attend the funeral of his closest friend.

"It was a big blow as people who know how close I was to Umer can imagine," he said. "One moment we were on the beach in Grenada, talking and making plans which we were always doing and the next thing I know I am coming home to bury him."

It was an emotional time for Zuiderent who was given his friend's place in the home dressing room when the players reluctantly turned their thoughts to the season which was just about to start. Except that it never really got going for Zuiderent.

In 2001 he had missed just three games as Sussex won promotion in the Championship, making his maiden first-class hundred against Nottinghamshire a few days after scoring his first one-day century against Hampshire.

Last summer he had to wait until July, when Sussex were suffering an injury crisis, for an opportunity against Warwickshire in the Championship. Short of confidence and form, it was no surprise that he scored nought and ten. He played just seven one-day games, scoring 134 runs.

"I was quite happy to leave 2002 behind me," he admitted. "It was a bit of a struggle after what happened to Umer. I was averaging 40 in the seconds but I knew things weren't right with my batting."

Zuiderent began the task of rebuilding his confidence and his batting technique with Sussex coaches Peter Moores and Keith Greenfield.

When things click Zuiderent is a delight to watch. No one at Hove plays the cover drive better and now he is confident his game can stand up to the sternest examination of all when he faces the best bowlers on the planet in next month's World Cup.

"It has been a lot of hard work, but I believe it will pay off in South Africa," he said. "We have found a way of making sure my trigger movement, which is my first movement when the ball is bowled, is consistently the same.

"I never felt I was doing the same thing twice last season. It's not all technical coaching, I have watched videos from the 2001 season when I was playing well. Now I seem to have found a method which is working well although I know it's going to be tested over the next few weeks."

He has also been working on a better mental approach to batting.

Zuiderent now regards Brighton as home and is desperate to carve out a long career in the game, preferably with Sussex.

"Last year, with everything that happened, was the low point for me but I'm happy to have left 2002 behind. I know one thing, it will make me appreciate the good times when they happen and hopefully that will be this year."