Sussex County Championship teams have been warned to cut back on expenses with the new season nine days away.

They have been told to avoid the £1,000 loss experienced last season.

Treasurer Denis Miles said:"We cannot afford to spend money as we did last season. Steps need to be taken to curtail our spending. I shall be refusing to pay expenses, unless approved by the match secretaries.

"Last season junior team expenses were up by £685 and veterans by £276. This cannot happen again."

Fees for the 1,700 registered players in Sussex have increased from £4 to £4.50. In adjoining counties the fees, which pay for county teams, are less than half that.

The Brighton League will have four divisions each of ten teams.

Six clubs have joined forces in pairs. The Preston Park club have joined with Hollingbury, the Newman club are now with BACS and the Unison club have amalgamated with Woodingdean.