Sussex delight at Magoffin deal (From The Argus)

Sussex delight at Magoffin deal

2:30pm Thursday 28th June 2012 in Sport By Steve Hollis

Coach Mark Robinson believes Sussex will reap the rewards after signing Steve Magoffin until the end of next summer.

Magoffin hopes to end his career at Hove after confirming he has left Queensland Bulls and retired from first class cricket in his native Australia yesterday.

The 32-year-old, whose wife is British and was keen to move to England full-time, made a big impact in the first half of the summer to convince Sussex to offer him a longer deal.

Robinson said: “Steve wants to see out his career over here but needed some type of guarantee from us that we would support that. We wanted to keep him for the rest of the season but to do that we had to commit to next year.

“He did a blooming good job for us in the first half of the summer and we felt we were in danger of casting that aside. If you have got something that works and fits in really well then he is worth giving an extra year.

“When we signed Scott Styris for Twenty20 we could have gone for Chris Gayle or people like that but we felt there was a risk on them and we are really glad we did.

“It is the same logic with Steve as there is always the potential somebody more exciting will come along but you never know. In terms of availability of overseas players we know how hard it is so to keep somebody like Steve ticks a lot of boxes makes good sense.”

Magoffin has taken 24 wickets in seven Championship matches so far this season, including a match-winning 9-55 against Lancashire in April.

The seamer has also chipped in with valuable runs down the order and Robinson believes he will get better now his future is mapped out.

Robinson added: “When there is something in the wicket he can exploit it and when there isn't he does a good holding role. There are a lot of games in April and May again next season so that will suit him.

“It is good to have that continuity as well. He is a good bloke and easy to manage so he adds to the squad in more ways than just his performance.

“He will be able to settle now and become more than just an overseas player. He will be like a local player become a big part of the squad.”

Meanwhile, Sussex will leave it to the last minute to decide whether Scott Styris will play against his former club Essex at Chelmsford tonight.

Styris dislocated the thumb on his right hand taking a catch against the Eagles at Hove last Sunday and had to have stitches where the bone pierced the skin.

The all-rounder had another X-ray yesterday to confirm there was no break and is due to travel to Chelmsford for the top of the table clash in the south group.

Robinson added: “He can't make the injury any worse so it is about his ability to manage the pain. If it is too much or he can't perform to the level he wants then it becomes pointless but we'll give him every chance.”

England wicketkeeper came through his first training session since having an injection in his Achilles two weeks ago and is expected to play but Rusty Theron is unlikely to be available after flying back to South Africa for personal reasons.

Robinson said: “Matt has not picked up a bat for a couple of weeks but he is a powerful hitter and he proved against Kent last year when he scored a century how dangerous he can be in this format.”