The England prospect every county wants

It has put him on the England radar. Crocombe’s raw attributes have earned him a place in Lions programmes before (he toured South Africa in 2024), but he appears, alongside Lancashire’s Mitchell Stanley, to be among the big quicks England are keen to invest in. It would be no surprise if he received an ECB pace-bowling contract at the end of the summer. He did not play the first match against South Africa A so he could get some T20 Blast exposure and have a week off the red-ball treadmill.

Speaking when announcing his Test squad, England director of cricket, Key, said: “There’s Crocombe, who we’ve watched a lot of this year, who we know a little bit about, but has really kicked on, and has been excellent for Sussex.”

It is not the numbers, though, that have England excited and will have directors of cricket reaching for their phones next week. Crocombe is raw, but big, strong and quick, averaging around 85mph according to the iHawk speed guns worn by umpires. These are the attributes England crave, and that counties want too, as they can crack open games on the sort of flat pitches the early part of the season was played on.

Counties cannot officially arrange meetings with Crocombe until June 1, when out-of-contract players can be approached by rivals. It is expected that every county based at a Test ground will reach out to Crocombe and his representatives. It is understood there have been admiring glances already this summer from Surrey, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire power brokers, among others, but movement will begin next week.

The identity of Crocombe’s home county, Sussex, makes him an especially enticing target. Sussex are under special measures with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who therefore have oversight of their budgets and any contract offers they make.

Sussex’s interim chief executive and finance officer have weekly meetings with the ECB and have presented a cricket budget to the governing body for 2027, but as of Wednesday, the club were not in a position to offer contracts. Sussex need to cut approximately £400,000 from their men’s playing budget before next season, having overspent. This earned them points deductions in all three county competitions. The ECB, meanwhile, is devising profit and sustainability rules to stop counties overspending.

As a result, Sussex are sitting ducks for other counties. Most of their best talent – including Ollie Robinson and James Coles – is under contract until the end of next season, but Crocombe leads a group of fine players whose deals expire this summer. The evergreen wicketkeeper John Simpson, the all-format batsman Tom Clark, and bowling all-rounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice are the other key out-of-contract players, but Danny Lamb and Charlie Tear, who have both played their part this season, also have deals up.

Sussex want to make an offer to Crocombe, among others, but cannot while they remain in ECB limbo and a state of general chaos. That could change in the coming days, but it seems almost certain he will make it to June 1 without having signed a new deal.

Their financial position has been known since the turn of the year, but that budgets have not been resolved is understood to be causing concern and fear at the county, as June 1 looms. Sussex should be in Division One next year, but there is concern that if some players leave now, with the bulk of the squad out of contract in 2027, the squad could be decimated.

Paul Farbrace, the head coach, said he would be leaving at the end of the season, but is understood to be weighing up an offer from the club to stay on as a part-time director of cricket, managing recruitment and retention, among other issues, and working with a new head coach.

Crocombe also has a very interesting decision to make. He is a local lad, and is said to like home comforts. If he chooses to stay at Sussex, his loyalty will no doubt be valued. He should get a pay rise, and will play every week in whichever format he wants. That has its pros and cons. The good side is opportunity and centrality to the team’s plans. The bad side is the toll playing game after game could take on his body. In addition, there will be an inherent uncertainty regarding the club’s financial position and it is unclear which of his team-mates will be staying, too.

If he moves, he will almost certainly get a bigger pay rise. At a county with a Test ground, he would slip into a larger attack and rather than having to play close to 14 Championship matches each season, some of them when weary, he could play around 10, all when fit and firing, pushing his England case.

As a rule, the bigger counties have better provisions – facilities at the ground, even changing rooms and team buses – that players like, and more specialist coaching. They can also pick him up for good, extra money through the Hundred auction, sweetening the deal.

It is no surprise that this is a well-trodden path: Stuart Broad, Olly Stone and Josh Tongue are all examples of fast bowlers who have made it to Test cricket after trading a “smaller” county for a bigger one. But it has not worked for everyone.

In the age of the Hundred, this trend is only likely to continue. Whether Crocombe joins it will become clear in the coming months.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]