Ben Brown has been removed as Sussex's club captain and dropped from his squad for Sunday's Royal London Cup game against Durham.
Brown was appointed as club captain in early 2018 after taking over the role in the middle of the 2017 season, but the Sussexes have been in transition especially throughout their tenure in four-day cricket, with several senior players leaving the club and Jason Gillespie is departing. as coach at the end of last summer.
The club issued a statement on Saturday morning saying that their Performance Cricket Committee had decided "the right time for a new leadership" in 50-over and four-day cricket. "A new captain or captain will be able to develop alongside the young, home players who will form the core of Sussex's 50-over and championship sides for years to come."
Brown has scored centuries in both Sussex's last two Championship games, but he struggled badly in the early stages of the competition, finishing at the bottom of Group Three with singles wins from his 10 matches. He was dropped for the first Royal London Cup game of the season, with Tom Haines taking over as captain, and is not part of the squad named for Sunday's fixture. Haines would remain as captain throughout the Royal London Cup, being named a Championship captain later in the season.
"As Ben Brown has stepped down from captaincy, Sussex Cricket would like to thank him wholeheartedly for his service over the past four years," the statement read. "Ben has never been fully committed to the role and in recent years has been instrumental in guiding the club both on and off the pitch."
Brown is under contract until the end of the 2023 season, and the statement suggested there was no immediate possibility of him leaving the club. "His experience will be very important to the dressing room and we look forward to his continued contribution as a player," it said. Brown himself has yet to comment publicly on the decision.