By Simon Mann Test Match Special

Sussex did not win the Championship by accident last season and begin their title defence with a stronger squad.

Will Chris Adams be lifting trophies again in 2004?

The arrival of Ian Ward from Surrey will strengthen the batting and Mohammed Akram's decision to join from Essex gives the bowling a sharper edge.

The team has no obvious weaknesses and Chris Adams, now tied to the club until 2006, is right to be confident about another successful season.

Experience suggests, however, that retaining the title will be harder than winning it in the first place. For the other first division sides, Sussex are now the team to beat.

Yorkshire's win in 2001 followed by relegation the following season shows how easily things can wrong, especially in a league of nine where three are relegated.

Two factors worked in Sussex's favour last season.

Firstly, they had a settled side, rarely hampered by injuries and secondly, Mushtaq Ahmed had a golden summer, the like of which most players do not experience even once in a career.

SUSSEX'S 2003 RECORD County Championship: Champions, Division One National League: 8th, Division Two C&G Trophy: 4th round Twenty20 Cup: 2nd in South Group

Make no mistake, Sussex would not have come close to the title without Mushtaq's haul of 103 wickets.

The optimists though will point to the arrival of Ward and Akram and retention of Mushtaq and Murray Goodwin as evidence of Sussex's vibrancy.

Ward was coveted by many counties once he announced he was leaving Surrey. He is an able player who, motivated by the desire to regain his England place, should score plenty of runs.

The bowling department has lost Billy Taylor and Paul Hutchison, who between them played only 11 Championship games last season so their loss is covered by Akram's arrival.

He is effectively a third overseas player. Despite featuring in nine Tests and 23 one-day internationals for Pakistan, he qualifies to play because he has lived in Britain for the past two years.

Sussex expect heavy scoring from new signing Ian Ward

Akram is a useful bowler as well. In four championship appearances for Essex in 2003 he took 20 wickets, including figures of 8-49 against Surrey.

Goodwin returns as the second official overseas player.

Efforts were made to sign Gary Kirsten instead after Goodwin was unhappy with the offer of a one year contract.

The wrangling should not affect Goodwin's approach or form. He is a professional cricketer in the strictest sense of the term.

He knows he will need to perform this season in order to earn a contract at Hove or somewhere else in 2005.

There was a huge disparity between Sussex's form in the four-day and one-day games last season. They were so focused on the championship that they all but gave up on the National League.

Mushtaq, for example, only played in nine of the games.

It will be interesting to see if the confidence gained from winning the Championship will make a difference to their approach in the shorter game.