Sussex are hoping a revamped squad can help them survive back among the big boys in 2011.
Overhauled squad ready for life back in Division One
Sussex cruised to the Division Two title in 2010 but can they mount a challenge in the top flight?
Last season
Sussex bounced straight back up to the top flight of the County Championship by marching to the Division Two title just a year after the trauma of relegation.
They proved a class apart in the lower tier, winning eight matches on the way to finishing 27 points clear of Worcestershire.
Veteran batsman Murray Goodwin and opener Chris Nash each passed 1,000 runs for the summer, while former West Indies seamer Corey Collymore and England spinner Monty Panesar, in his first season after joining from Northamptonshire, combined for 109 first-class victims.
The one-day arena was a tale of what might have been as the Sharks' defence of the Friends Provident t20 ended in a low-scoring quarter-final defeat to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
And despite winning seven matches in the Clydesdale Bank 40, their second place finish in Group A was not sufficient for a semi-final place.
Ins and outs
Sussex have cast their net far and wide to make a significant overhaul of the squad that earned promotion, particularly the bowling attack.
The most high profile recruit is one-Test wonder Amjad Khan from Kent and he is joined by the return of an old favourite, Pakistan seamer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, for another stint as overseas player during the first half of the season - before being replaced by South Africa all-rounder Wayne Parnell.
Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent, a veteran of 23 Tests and 102 ODIs, has previous county experience with Lancashire, Northamptonshire and Worcestershire - and now he has gained a British passport has been brought in by Sussex mainly for their one-day side.
Naved Arif, a 29-year-old left-arm seamer who has played Twenty20 for Pakistan A, is regarded as a "late developer" by Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson with the "potential to change games" on flat pitches. He qualifies through his Danish wife.
The other arrival is South African teenager Kirk Wernars, an all-rounder who has represented his country at Under 19 level. He is eligible thanks to a Dutch passport. Academy products Will Adkin and Lewis Hatchett have also joined the first-team squad.
The influx of new blood was necessary due to a raft of departures, most notably Robin Martin-Jenkins and James Kirtley, both stalwart members of the glory days of the previous decade.
Collymore was surprisingly tempted away by Middlesex and Yasir Arafat has joined Surrey. Ragheb Aga, Chad Keegan and Michael Thornely have all been released and off-spinner Ollie Rayner, who found his opportunities limited by Panesar in 2010, will start the new campaign on loan at Middlesex.
Summer forecast
After blowing hot and cold over the past two seasons, Sussex have now emerged from the storm with the chance to re-establish themselves as a force in the county game.
That could prove difficult, however, as the batting line-up that took them down survives more or less intact and they need to replace Collymore's wickets, a burden that falls on the talented but injury-prone Amjad.
At least a season among the minnows allowed them to rediscover the winning habit but the gulf in standard between the two divisions is noticeable - and growing by the year.
It must also be hoped that skipper Michael Yardy is fit to lead the side after his early return home from England's World Cup campaign due to depression.
One to watch... Kirk Wernars
Wernars is the latest in a long line of young players to make the switch from South Africa to the county game in search of fame and fortune. Part of the Proteas side that finished fifth at last year's Under 19 World Cup, he is primarily a left-handed batsman who is also a useful right-arm seam bowler.
