Not knowing how to win, the pressure of expectations, and links of a future away from Sussex Cricket, writes Piyush Singh.

Paul Farbrace answered all the questions after the county’s latest home defeat, by Gloucestershire.

Since then, a youthful side went down by a wide margin to Worcestershire at New Road.

The Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign ends when Warwickshire visit the 1st Central County Ground today with Cheteshwar Pujara returning to the Sharks squad.

Speaking after the Gloucestershire game, Farbrace said: “This is a group of players that don’t quite know how to win.”

He labelled the performance against Gloucestershire as an embarrassment and the lowest point Sussex have hit.

Farbrace said: “None of us can go away from tonight other than embarrassment, and disappointment, it’s not even frustration we just haven’t competed.”

After a similar group of players that did so well in the One-Day Cup last year which enabled Sussex to reach the semi-finals, Farbrace was asked if it was a case of the players not being able to pick themselves up after a dismal T20 campaign.

He replied: “No. I just don’t think we started the competition well enough. Our confidence was eroded in the first couple of games.

“Last year is last year. It’s gone.

“I think there was a little bit of hangover from last year and deliberately we put a lot of pressure on ourselves saying last year we reached the semifinals so maybe this is an indication that we haven’t quite coped with the pressure of expectations.

“Even in Championship cricket we got in a lot of good situations but didn’t know how to win. I think some of that comes down not expecting to win and not knowing how to win.

“Maybe we haven’t prepared them properly. Maybe we have not put the right mentality in them. I take full responsibility. It’s on me.”

Farbrace also briefly spoke about Sussex’s new signing Jaydev Unadkat who plays in the same state province as Pujara in the build-up to a big month that could guarantee them promotion in the County Championship.

He said: “He is an outstanding left-arm seamer. His first-class record is fantastic and has been great to deal with.

“He knows the situation. I tried to explain to him where we were in the Championship and what the games meant and he said, ‘You’ve got nothing to explain. I follow Pujara’s career and I know exactly where Sussex are and I am really looking forward to it’.”

Farbrace also dismissed rumours of him being linked with the job of director of cricket at Kent.

He joked: “I am staying here provided I don’t get shown the door in the next few days.

“There is a project here that really excited me and I see no reason to walk away from it.”

One-day skipper Tom Haines has also spoken of the disappointment of the 50-overs campaign.

Speaking at New Road, he said: “We weren’t good enough. Bat, ball and in the field they were better than us.

“We can’t really say much more than that to be honest.

“Our skills have been poorer than they were last year. Last year we took a lot more wickets during the powerplays and put teams under pressure earlier.

“Batting, we’ve not scored quick enough, especially through the middle overs. We’ve lost early wickets. All those things add up to losing games.

“It’s a whole team thing. We’ve not been good enough. My confidence does take a hit for sure.

“I still enjoy captaining, I still want to win every game I play.

“But my confidence does take a hit and I think that has maybe shown in the way I’ve batted in the last few games as well.

“It’s something everyone goes through, not just us, and it’s how we try and get out of it that is the most important thing.

“We need to try and give it our best in the last game and then the focus turns to the Championship in September.”

Sussex squad (v Warks) Alsop, Carter, Coles, Crocombe, Currie, Foreman, Haines (c), Hunt, Ibrahim, Karvelas, Lion-Cachet, Pujara, Ward.