Sussex will not push Rory Hamilton-Brown to make a quick decision over whether he is staying at the county.

The 22-year-old all-rounder is set for talks with coach Mark Robinson today after returning from South Africa where he was with England’s performance squad.

Robinson would prefer it to be sorted out before he leaves for New Zealand on January 1 with England’s Under-19 World Cup squad, but is prepared to wait.

He said: “We have tried not to put a timescale on it because you end up pushing someone down a path they don’t necesssarily want to go down.

“If Rory wants to think about it over Christmas we will let that happen. It could resolve itself very quickly or take a bit longer.

“But we believe what we’ve always believed and Rory will make the right decision and stay at Sussex to fulfill his dream of being the best player he can and ultimat-ely play for Eng-land.”

Sussex have given Hamilton-Brown permission to talk to Surrey about becoming their next captain and cricket manager Chris Adams is confident he can persuade him to return to The Oval.