Alan Caffyn claimed that almost all the Sussex players were relieved that Wells, who was with Sussex for 15 years and captain for the last five, had left for Kent.

This issue, and Caffyn's own tenure as chairman, look likely to be debated during the meeting, which has been switched from Hove to the more spacious Grand Hotel in Brighton.

The Sussex committee are bracing themselves for an evening of straight talking, probably focusing on why five, or arguably six, first-team players, including the captain, have left the club since the summer. Desmond Haynes, the coach, has been asked to fly back from Cape Town, and the county have taken the unusual step of asking players to attend.

Caffyn has disclosed that he decided against taking immediate action when Haynes told him at the end of May he did not feel Wells was the right man to lead the side. ``I thought it was too early to do anything,'' said Caffyn. ``They had not had a chance to get a working relationship together.''

Wells was sacked at the end of the season. ``Unfortunately, the damage had been done with other players,'' said Caffyn.

``The thing that surprised me more than anything when we replaced Alan with Peter Moores and when Alan eventually decided to leave, was that almost all the players came out to a man and said 'thank goodness he's gone'. I had no idea how unpopular he was as a captain. They admired him as a player, but they did not like his captaincy at all.''

Martin Speight, who is considering offers from Durham and Nottinghamshire, will become the fifth first-teamer to leave since late last season - or sixth, if Jamie Hall, the released opening batsman on the fringe of the first team, is counted.

Wells (to Kent), Ian Salisbury (Surrey) and Danny Law (Essex) have quit and Speight is about to depart; Ed Giddins was sacked after failing a drugs test and he subsequently joined Warwickshire.