By Callum Dent
The extra responsibility that comes with skippering Sussex continues to take Ed Joyce’s batting to the next level.
The 36-year-old was first given a taste of leadership at the BrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground midway through the 2012 term after Michael Yardy stood down, a move which became permanent ahead of the following campaign.
In his first full season in charge, Joyce went beyond the 1,000 first-class run barrier, scoring two hundreds and half-a-dozen fifties.
But, having now grown into the role, the Irishman produced his best first-class statistics for Sussex in 2014.
Joyce was the second-most prolific batsman in LV= County Championship Division One, finishing only 91 runs behind Yorkshire opener Adam Lyth despite playing two games fewer, after hitting 1,398 at an average of 66.57.
That tally also included a stunning seven tons and three half-centuries, leaving Joyce in no doubt that captaining Sussex is benefiting his own game.
In an exclusive interview with ecb.co.uk, the former Middlesex player said:“In four-day cricket I had a really good season, hitting seven centuries.
“I probably wouldn’t have been able to bat better than that. I’m really happy with the way I played, as captain as well which is nice to do.
“As skipper you try and lead from the front and that is what I tried to do.
“The fact that the team came third in the championship even though we were without Chris Jordan for most of the summer and had several injuries throughout was a good effort. Hopefully we can improve on that next year.
“The captaincy has helped my batting. I used to personally get a lot of fifties and a couple of hundreds each year and this year I got a lot of hundreds and a couple of fifties. It has given me that extra sense of responsibility.”
While Joyce finished runner-up in the run-charts, experienced seamer Steve Magoffin went one better as he claimed the most wickets in the top flight.
The 34-year-old Australian, signed in 2012, is predominantly used in red-ball cricket and snared a staggering 72 scalps at 19.51.
Joyce and Magoffin were integral to Sussex securing a third-place championship finish for the second successive season.
And after the latter committed his future to the club by signing a new deal, Joyce is hoping his team-mate can replicate his performances next term.
He said: “He only plays four-day cricket when ideally your overseas player should play all forms. But he is outstanding with the red ball and it is a no-brainer to keep him here, as long as he is fit.
“I think he is the best red-ball bowler in Division One in the country at the moment. He does a fantastic job for us all through the season, particularly without many experienced bowlers around him.
“He was fantastic and got 72 wickets. Hopefully he can do that for the next couple of seasons.”
Asked about Magoffin’s influence on the other bowlers at the club, including England international Jordan, Joyce added: “I know our bowling group chat a lot and try and help out. Mags is fantastic helping the younger bowlers.
“CJ is a completely different bowler. There is quite a big difference in the pace they bowl and different heights. One can swing it and the other is a line and length bowler.
“Mags is great helping out all the bowlers and CJ is a bit of a sponge. He loves talking about cricket in general and his bowling has come on leaps and bounds since he joined us. I’m guessing Mags has something to do with that.”
Despite enjoying another encouraging championship campaign, Sussex failed to transform their four-day form in the Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast.
Widely regarded as a formidable one-day outfit, Mark Robinson’s side failed to advance from the group stages in both competitions, with Joyce targeting improvements in 2015.
The ex-England left-hander, who was the Sharks’ top run-scorer in the Royal London Cup with an average of 53.33, said: “We try and win every competition at Sussex. We have had a good run in the one-day competitions up until last year; we have had two pretty average years.
“I thought at the start of the year we would have a really good chance in the 50-over comp because the make-up of our squad lent itself to that.
“It obviously didn’t materialise, we were in a tough group and lost a few games. In Twenty20 I think we actually performed a little bit better than we thought at the start.
“We finished the competition really well; Luke Wright was outstanding towards the end. We will need to strengthen a little bit to be in with a shout of getting to Finals Day. If you do that you never know. We are looking to do that.
“We are targeting every competition. We need to really improve our 50-over and 20-over form.”