Travis Head has kept an eye on his new teammates and has been impressed by Tom Haines

Ben Brown’s side sit third in Group three of the County Championship after winning one, drawing one and losing two of their opening four matches.

However, both those defeats came to the top two teams in the group, to Yorkshire and Lancashire.

One of many players who has caught the eye so far in a very youthful Sussex side is Haines.

The 22-year-old from Crawley has been impressing with the bat, hitting the sixth most runs in the Championship this season with 474 run in his eight innings.

That includes three half centuries and one century to leave him with an impressive average of 59.25.

But Head, was full of praise for Haines and Sussex’s performances so far this season.

He told The Argus: “Tom has been exceptional so far.

“I have kept a very close eye on the games and obviously it is an important part of the season and I guess in week one you can set-up your season for all formats.

“But now in the group stage it is crucial that we can set it up and play some Div 1 cricket.

“The guys have given themselves some opportunities and both Yorkshire and Lancashire are extremely strong counties.

“So yes, we would have been disappointed with day three the other day, but for most of the match against Lancashire we drove the game, which is exciting to see from such a young team and our batters stood up.

“In that first innings, like most of the season so far Tom has been exceptional and has got off to an awesome start and I am looking forward to working with him and all of the other batters.

“We have got some really exciting talent through there and I have kept a close eye on it and look forward to working with the boys and getting into it.”

Head comes to England in good form himself in 2021.

The 27-year-old, who is one of Sussex’s overseas signings, has been playing domestic cricket in Australia for South Australia.

In the four first class matches he had scored 438 runs including 223 against West Australia in February, at an average of 73.

But the Australian international believes that his impressive displays with the bat have been down to a change in his technique.

He said: “I think this season was personally one of my best and it was consistent.

“As a cricketer and batter I want to be as consistent as possible and that is the season I was able to have in Australia.

“I made a couple of changes to my techniques after the tests and went back and it is always nice to see it work and be able to get some runs.

“I’ve had a little bit of time off a couple of weeks and I had a hit just before I left and everything felt in good order.

“The challenge now in the next two days is to prepare as best as I can for Northants, give myself the best chance and play the way I want to play.

“So, if I can do that and be as consistent as possible then hopefully I will get those results and if not it is a long season so I need to make sure I continue to work hard to try and find those results.”

With Head being able to play in all formats, which one is he looking forward to most?

He said: “I enjoy playing of all them. But I will probably enjoy four-day cricket the most and the challenges of that.

“I have played a lot of it, which has probably helped me get a greater understanding for it and a great desire to play, so I enjoy the challenge of four-day cricket.

“But it is hard not to enjoy the white-ball cricket as you can go out and express yourself and give it a whack.

“Then as the season goes on, hopefully we can get people back in the ground as there is nothing better than walking out to the middle and trying to entertain people.”