The loyalty that exists amongst those who support us constantly astounds me. On Monday morning we were staring down the barrel of a loaded Warwickshire gun.

The only chance we had of saving the game was to defend resolutely for many hours. Hardly a very entertaining prospect for the spectators.

Allied to this was the fact that the infamous Hove sea fret had descended on the ground making the temperature drop quite dramatically.

I have always thought that we have some of the biggest crowds in county cricket at Hove and so I shouldn't have been surprised when the gates were opened in the morning and in poured a multitude of people, thermoses in hand, eager to watch some cricket.

OK, it wasn't a full house but considering the entertainment value in prospect it was a pretty impressive turnout.

Of course, the professional game wouldn't be what it is without the support and appreciation of the watching public and it means so much to the players.

Richard Montgomerie came up to the dressing room beaming like a Cheshire Cat one morning after a kindly gentleman had told him "You're a very good player."

We all know how good a player Monty is and I suspect he knows it himself but it's a real boost when someone you don't know comes up and tells you so!

It can work both ways though. Most of the players with cars this year don't have their names written on the side. In my case this is a great relief as it has stopped the screaming hoardes of women following me around wherever I go.

It can get a bit too much when the paparazzi camp on your doorstep and sift through your rubbish too, so I appreciate my sponsors (Eastbourne Vauxhall - great cars by the way!) not writing my name on the car this year!

I spoke earlier of the sea fret that descended over us on the last three days of the game against Warwickshire. A lot of myth surrounds this phenomenon and no one I have spoken to has been able to come up with a suitable meteorological explanation for it. (If anyone does know could they send in their views to Mark Robinson c/o Sussex CCC?)

At anytime during the season if the ball deviates off the seam more than once an over at Hove the shout will be that the tide is coming in or the fret is here. The idea of the tide advancing so much as to affect the soil at the County Ground (some 500 metres from the sea) is absurd but it can be no coincidence that the fog and mist of the fret usually go hand in hand with relatively low batting scores.

Take the first day against Warwickshire. In beautiful sunshine, a featherbed pitch produced 280 runs for the loss of just three wickets. In the fog that seeped around the ground during the next two and a half days, 29 wickets fell. The pitch started to take a little turn but it hadn't deteriorated that much.

Whether it's the reduced visibility (it's quite a surreal sight seeing Vasbert Drakes or Melvyn Betts emerge from the fog like the Billie Jean video to bowl at you), or the extra moisture in the air, or just the fact that it becomes cold and miserable, two things are for sure; you're better off bowling in the fret, and the good old Hove spectators will be watching come fret or shine!