JON Lewis hopes his move to Sussex will allow him a better chance to play County Championship cricket after a difficult spell with Surrey.

The Swindon seamer, who rarely found himself involved in four-day cricket at The Oval, made the switch to Hove last week after being released by his former county at the end of the summer.

Lewis, 38, still feels his body has several seasons left in him and he reckons a move to the south coast will give him the opportunity to return to red-ball cricket, where he has taken more than 800 wickets over the course of his long career.

“It was really disappointing, the way things turned out at Surrey. My record in red-ball cricket was second to none and I felt I could offer a lot more in that squad,” he told the Advertiser.

“But that’s gone now and hopefully I can make sure I end up at Sussex for longer than just the one year. I certainly think I can.

“I think they’ve got a good setup down there. They were very good in negotiations and it’s a good opportunity for me to play plenty of cricket.

“Mark Robinson and Ed Joyce, their coach and captain, both convinced me it was the place I needed to be.”

Lewis had conversations with several other English counties after his release from Surrey, as well as pondering the possibility of coaching in Australia.

However, he plumped for Sussex and now faces a battle to get into a side brimming with talented pacemen.

“I’m 38 and I want to play cricket for as long as possible. I spoke to a few other counties but it was evident that Sussex was the right one for me,” he said.

“They’ve lost Monty Panesar and, although he’s a spinner, they’ve got players in the team who will fill that role and bat up in the top six. That means there was room for them to increase their firepower.

“They’ve already got three good bowlers there - Chris Jordan, James Anyon and Steve Magoffin - who took plenty of wickets last year. I think I can offer extra experience and know-how.

“I’ve got a winter now to train up and be as sharp as I can be when the season starts.”

DON’T MISS JON LEWIS’ EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE ASHES SERIES DOWN UNDER. ALL THIS WINTER, ONLY IN YOUR SWINDON ADVERTISER.