Bexhill hold nerve to win league opener

BEXHILL held their nerve to clinch a two-wicket win over Sidley in their Sussex Division Two opener.

Chasing a total of 165, they looked to be in complete command at 88-1 in the 21st over of their reply, but the loss of seven wickets for just 58 runs put the outcome in the balance.

Skipper Steve Phillimore steadied the ship, though, and Adam Wickenden, who won last season's Gullivers derby for Bexhill with the ball, struck two crucial boundaries to usher the home side past the winning post.

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"It was very pleasing," Phillimore said. "We were just about worthy winners, but it was a close run thing. Richard May (54) batted very well early on and got us into a strong position, but then their left arm spinner (Mo Butt, who took 4-24 off 17 overs), who was a class act, got them back into the game and it could have gone either way in the end. When the eighth wicket went down, you could have even said they were favourites. I just tried to stay at one end against the left-armer and Adam batted very well at the other."

Sidley supremo Eddie Daniels commented: "The pleasing part was that we had four or five first teamers who were unavailable and the game went to the wire. I knew we could go down there and be competitive, but at 86-1, it looked like we were in trouble. But I thought we showed great bounce-back-ability to turn it round and get into a position of 146-8."

On a good, but typically slow early season wicket, Sidley were never likely to repeat last year's run-fest when they topped 300 batting first. Nonetheless, most of the top order got starts and five of the top seven reached 20 to give them something to bowl at.

Four Bexhill bowlers claimed wickets with Chris Topp (4-62) signalling his intent for the summer, even though the turn he got was inevitably on the slow side.

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Barclays International-sponsored East India Tandoori man of the match May and Aussie Jesse Lewis (30) had Bexhill in command with the bat before Butt, who lives out of the area but will play for Sidley whenever available, put the Bexhill Observer-sponsored fixture back in the melting pot.

Sidley chairman and opening bat Scott Woodroffe added: "It was a really good advert for Sussex League cricket. Both sides had a lot of respect for each other and the game was played in a good spirit."

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