The South African playing for Greece on how Sussex gave him his Lord’s dream

Ari writes: The summer of 2022 saw me playing in Spain in the European Champions League, in Dubai for Wimbledon Cricket Club’s pre-season tour and in Finland for the World Cup Qualifiers representing Greece. What I could never have imagined the summer of 2022 would hold for me was making my County Championship debut for Sussex at Lord’s.

My journey with Sussex started in the summer of 2021 playing for the 2nd XI. Through the winter I attended some pre-season training sessions with the squad and following that, played two 2nd XI matches against Kent and Gloucestershire to start off the 2022 season. I thoroughly enjoyed the matches but would miss out on the next 2nd XI team fixture against Essex as I was flying to Helsinki to play for Greece in the World Cup qualifiers.

Three days’ into the qualifiers, I was surprised to receive a call asking how soon I could get back from Finland. It turned out I was going to be included in the Sussex first team squad for their next game against Middlesex at Lord’s. As you can imagine, I was on the next flight back to London!

Walking through the Long Room at Lord’s for the first time was an experience I will never forget and a dream come true for a young South African boy who started his cricketing journey in his back garden – especially as I was playing for Sussex, a club with such a rich history in the game.

On debut, I would take two wickets and score my maiden first class 50 securing the draw against Middlesex. It was a magical moment for me.

We played one more red ball game before starting our Royal One Day Cup campaign. Our second game in the Royal One Day Cup was my first home game for Sussex. It was a packed house at Hove with the supporters bringing an electric feeling to the ground. This played a huge role in us securing our first win of the competition against Gloucestershire.

Our next two games at Hove were against Leicestershire Foxes and Surrey which brought my best performances, taking four wickets in both matches.

We were beginning to make Hove a fortress and we continued to do so across the competition winning every group stage match played at Home. The incredible support of the Sussex fans at Hove including the many children lining up along the boundary made a huge difference to our Royal One Day campaign leading to us winning Group A and progressing straight to the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, the semi-final wasn’t meant to be and resulted in the end of our cup journey. After taking 20 wickets in the tournament, I finished joint leading wicket taker - something I could have only dreamed of just a few months ago.

This has been an unforgettable summer and I’m grateful for the continued support from the Sussex squad, staff and supporters. I look forward to what the future may hold for me at Sussex.