The end of the season is nigh and with it comes the usual end of term festivities.

Traditionally, we have a party for the players to celebrate the successes of the season and an evening for the other halves, to thank them for putting up with the dirty jockstraps and moody husbands for another year.

As social chairman this year, the organisation of events has been up to me. This has been a particularly daunting task as I follow in the footsteps of the great (and I don't use that word lightly) Mark Robinson, whose five years of chairmanship will go down in the annals of Sussex history as legendary.

The players' and wives' evening took place at the new Rendez Vous Casino at the Marina. As is the tradition it was a fancy dress evening although the theme, James Bond, gave people the option of coming in black tie, a la Bond himself in Monte Carlo. I'm glad to report that most people took up the challenge to come up with something original.

There were a number of Bonds, the best of whom was Will House's Roger Moore, complete with gold rimmed dark glasses, black polo neck under a white jacket. There were plenty of Miss Money Pennys and there was Pussy Galore from the wives.

But the best costumes undoubtedly came from the villains. Chris Adams' Jaws won points for painting his teeth silver. Please don't be alarmed if he smiles at you in the crowd this week as the paint hasn't quite brushed off yet.

Tony Cottey's NikNak was possibly the best look-a-like but Tim Ambrose's Odd Job was, I'm afraid, way off the mark. With a black suit and bowler hat unable to hide his boyish face, he looked for the entire world like the man from the Home Pride sauces. He just needed an umbrella and he could have also starred in the Bradford and Bingley advert.

Peter Moores nicked his daughter's white toy cat for the evening and stroked it whilst saying things like: "Good evening Mr Bond, I've been expecting you."

James Kirtley and Mark Robinson both came as the nasty piece of work from Live And Let Die who wears a skeleton outfit and mask. It was only halfway through the evening, when he took it off, did we realise James was actually wearing a mask.

These last two were tremendous but they had to come in joint second place to the worthy winner, Paul Havel.

Hav arrived in a red and white skydiver's outfit complete with Biggles goggles and back pack. Quite what the rest of the casino thought as he played the tables in this get up I don't know but it was certainly enough to win himself the best- dressed award.

A final note to say farewell to Will House, who has retired from cricket this week. The squad will be poorer for his absence but we understand the frustrations that came with non-selection for the first team and wish him well in his future career in London.

Luckily, he will continue to live in Brighton and so we will very much keep in contact with him.

His was a fitting finale on Tuesday night and Chris Adams played along with the script by unselfishly letting him come in to hit the winning runs against Hampshire!

It was appropriate, too, that they were hit with a mighty blow over the ropes for six. Style and panache, the kind of thing we expected from Housey. Roger Moore himself couldn't have done it better himself.

Thursday September 5