Bexhill celebrate excellent win

ANOTHER top notch batting performance meant Steve Phillimore was able to celebrate his first Sussex Division Two win as Bexhill captain against a team other than Sidley.

Phillimore, in his third season at the helm, had guided his team to just one victory in each campaign - all of which have come against their neighbours - prior to Saturday's ultimately emphatic defeat of a Worthing team that went into the match occupying top spot in the table.

Bexhill, who scored in excess of 250 against Stirlands the previous week, swept to an eight-wicket win with 37 balls to spare.

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"It was an excellent performance," Phillimore said. "We didn't bowl or field as well as we did against Stirlands because we dropped three catches that would have made our task easier, no doubt about it. They wouldn't have got 200 if we had taken our chances, but our batting was fantastic.

"Hamish (Russell) got us off to a flyer by playing proper cricket shots and there was no pressure for the number three (Andrew Hodd) and number four (Jesse Lewis) to take any risks, which they didn't. They batted so well and so sensibly and accelerated at the end (the final 60 runs were scored in just five overs)."

The early loss of the previous week's fifty-maker Richard May mattered little in the end because Harvey's of Lewes-sponsored Russell, who hit 66 against Stirlands in his one previous first team outing this season, quickly set about the repair work with 50 from 40 balls.

The momentum was continued by Hodd, making the most of a rare weekend free from Surrey duties, and Australian Lewis, who struck his maiden Sussex League half-century.

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Hodd, who played for Bexhill during his youth before entering the county arena with Sussex, finished up on 76 not out from 124 balls, while Jeff Chinn-backed Lewis was unbeaten on 64 off 73 deliveries as Bexhill cruised to 202-2.

Earlier, Worthing's innings was as fluctuating as Bexhill's was solid. They looked in real trouble at 25-3 after Simon Bulteel had trapped David Marshallsay leg before, Ian Ellis had John Kaye caught behind by Lewis and Hodd had run out Ben Shelford.

Blayne Cornford (91) and Tim Dunne (31) steadied the ship, though, and at 130-3 with 20 overs to go, Phillimore admitted Bexhill were "looking at 250".

But spinner Alan Cowley removed them both and Ellis found the edge of Alex Harris' (29) bat as Bexhill dragged Worthing back to a total of 201-6.

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