Mark Davis has vowed to do things his own way as he bids to bring the good times back to Sussex.

Davis took over the reins at Sussex yesterday after Mark Robinson was installed as the new head coach of England Women.

The 44-year-old spent ten years as part of Robinson’s coaching team at Hove as Sussex enjoyed the most successful era in the club’s history. He also played in the team which won the County Championship for the first time under Peter Moores.

And while he admires the qualities of both his predecessors he insists he will be instilling his own philosophy at Hove as he attempts to end a six-year drought without a trophy.

Davis said: “I learned a lot playing under Pete for five years and then coaching alongside Robbo for ten years. They were both very different in the way they did things but also very good coaches who did amazingly well at Sussex.

“I would be silly not to incorporate bits from both of them and I’ll definitely keep in touch with Robbo on the phone to ask his opinion on certain things as he has so much knowledge and experience.

“But I am most definitely my own man and I know that I will live and die by the way I want the team to play. The good thing is that I already know the players so there is that continuity but that doesn’t mean we’ll carry on doing things the same way.

“I am a very different character to Robbo and combined with Luke Wright taking over as the new captain it is very much the start of a new era at the club.”

Sussex earmarked Davis as the ideal candidate to step up from his role as Robinson’s assistant after completing an in-depth review into the coaching structure at Hove in the wake of the club’s relegation from division one of the Championship.

Robinson was due to take on a newly created director of cricket role before he beat off competition from former Sussex captain Chris Adams to become the head coach of England Women.

Chief executive Zac Toumazi said: “Had Mark stayed it is no secret he would have been taking on a different role here which would have been really exciting but ultimately he took the decision to take on a new challenge and we fully support him in that.

“It is sad to see him go as he has been a great coach for Sussex but in Mark Davis I think we have got an exceptionally good individual who is progressive in his thinking and has the opportunity to take the club forward.”