Coach Mark Davis believes scrapping the pre-match toss will enhance Sussex’s chances of bouncing straight back to division one of the Championship.

The ECB confirmed last week that visiting captains will be given the opportunity to bowl first in Championship games next season with the toss only taking place if that offer is declined.

The one-year trial is an attempt to encourage groundsmen to produce better pitches for four-day cricket and help the development of English spin bowlers.

The move has received h a mixed reaction throughout the domestic game with Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale describing it as “absolute madness”.

But Davis has welcomed the experiment saying it will dissuade counties from producing wickets to suit medium pacers and which will in turn help the development of both genuinely quick bowlers and spinners.

Sussex will boast one of the quickest seam attacks in the country next season with Chris Jordan, Matt Hobden, Ajmal Shahzad, Steve Magoffin and Ollie Robinson to chose from while they also have spin options in new signing Danny Briggs, Will Beer and Luke Wells.

Davis said: “I think it is a good move. We’ve not been in division two for a while so I don’t know what the pitches were like last season but this should ensure that the wickets are a lot more suited to a competitive game of cricket rather than being a lottery.

“With this new rule it would be a brave side which produced a difficult batting wicket when they know they will be batting second on it. You obviously expect a wicket to do a little bit before lunch on the first day but it shouldn’t be doing all sorts.

“It should mean that medium pacers are less effective and encourage both fast bowling and spin. The aim of the counties is to produce players for England so you don’t want to be playing on wickets that are too far removed from Test cricket.

“We are well stocked with fast bowlers and spinners so I don’t think it will do us any harm but more importantly I think it will be good for the game overall.”

The ECB took the controversial step to scrap the mandatory toss after figures showed that only 21.5 per cent of overs in the Championship last year were bowled by spinners.

In contrast medium pacers thrived in division two in particular with Kent veteran Darren Stevens finishing with 61 wickets thanks largely to helpful wickets at Canterbury.

Davis added: “My only reservation is that it is tinkering with tradition. That makes me slightly uncomfortable as it is taking away an important part of the game’s history but if it improves the quality of pitches and English cricket in general then that is a price worth paying.”

Meanwhile, Davis has confirmed that Sussex trio Luke Wells, Phil Salt and Harry Finch will take part in 50-over and Twenty20 competitions in Dubai in the new year to improve their white ball skills while Ajmal Shahzad is heading to Australia to play grade cricket.

Shahzad has not played competitively suffering a second pectoral muscle injury in June which cut short his first season at Sussex following his move from Nottinghamshire last winter.