Rory Hamilton-Brown is relishing his return to Hove as Surrey captain.

The 22-year-old left Sussex in the winter to take over at The Oval after two years at Hove, during which time he established himself as a key member of the county’s double-winning one-day side.

His departure, with a year left on his contract, upset Sussex supporters although Hamilton-Brown believes he will get a warm welcome when he leads his side out today.

He has even brought with him a Champions League shirt he promised to one Sussex supporter at the end of last season.

He said: “It is obviously going to be a special day to me and I can’t wait.

“To be honest I will also be a bit sad.

“The Surrey captaincy was the only job that would have taken me away from Sussex because I enjoyed my time so much.

“I am taking a side back to Hove where I had two great years and I made a lot of friends.

“Sussex are going into the game off the back of a good result against Glamorgan but that will give us extra incentive to go and get a result and I’m really looking forward to it.”

His opposite number Mike Yardy is unfazed by the prospect of playing against someone who was a team-mate for two years.

Yardy said: “That’s the way cricket is. It will probably feel more strange for him as captain, for us it will be just another game. But Rory is a good character and I’m sure he will cope with it well.”

While Sussex started their Division Two campaign with a win Surrey lost heavily to Derbyshire.

“Obviously it was a tough first game for me and a bad result but there was a few positives that we can take out of it,” said Hamilton-Brown.

“I went out to bat in our second innings at 18-3 and felt the whole world was on my shoulders but learning to separate my role as a batsman from that as captain is all part of the learning process. Hopefully by the end of the season it will have become second nature.”

Matt Prior, who is being rested today, has been chosen by Wisden as one of their five Cricketers of the Year.