Rory's back at Sussex (From The Argus)
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Rory's back at Sussex
8:42am Friday 28th September 2012 in Sport By Steve Hollis
Rory Hamilton-Brown has returned to Hove
Sussex have pulled off a major coup by bringing Rory Hamilton-Brown back to Hove.
The 25-year-old batsman has signed a three-year contract after Sussex beat off competition from Somerset to bring him back to the County Ground following his release by Surrey last week.
Hamilton-Brown spent two years at Hove before being lured to The Oval by Chris Adams with the offer of the captaincy but stood down in the summer following the tragic death of his close friend Tom Maynard.
Robinson is sure Sussex supporters will welcome Hamilton-Brown back despite the manner of his departure to their great rivals in 2009.
Sussex coach Mark Robinson said: “It is great to have Rory back. I always felt he was making a mistake by leaving as he was putting himself under pressure he didn't need to put himself under.
“Rory is a very exciting player who still has his best cricket in front of him. He has moved his game on since he left but there is still a bit of growth to go.
“He has obviously had a very difficult year losing his best friend and it will take a bit of time to get over that but we hope we can help him move on and get back to enjoying his cricket again.”
The arrival of Hamilton-Brown is a massive boost for Sussex as they attempt to fill the void left by the departure of legendary batsman Murray Goodwin . But Robinson insists that Hamilton-Brown's arrival had no bearing on the decision not to award Goodwin a new contract after 12 years at Hove. He added: “We didn't want Murray to go and left the decision until relatively late as we wanted him to be here. In the end we decided it was not in the best interests of the club or Murray to offer him a new deal and only at that time did we start to look elsewhere. “At first we looked to see whether we could promote from within and shortly after that we were given permission like everybody else to speak to Rory by Surrey. When we knew that we acted because he is an excellent player.”
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