Bognor battle to Sussex Premier League win over Worthing

If the adage runs that the best sides win whilst not at their best, Bognor's position towards the top of the Premier League seems increasingly justified after an ugly victory over a Worthing side who remain winless after four matches.

Ollie Dabinett-Jays was the star with a beautifully crafted 84, ably supported by a mature 57 from Taylor Jaycocks, as Bognor chased 234 to win by two wickets, with two balls to spare. Worthing were unfortunate to be on the wrong end of the result, having defied their league position with some excellent cricket throughout.

Batting first on a windy day, Worthing lost Alex Watkins in the first over, shouldering arms to a resurgent Josh Sargeant (3-29). Campbell Macmillan soon followed, nicking Aditya Rane behind, before Worthing then lost another brace of wickets to end the powerplay 51-4.

This soon became 78-5 as Theo Beynon-Ayres accounted for Martyn Swift, but by this stage a mixture of extras and misfields had already gifted Worthing a significant amount of runs. With Bognor not really at the races, Darryl Rebbetts and Harry Merritt-Blann (31) capitalised, running excellently and using the ground dimensions superby in a partnership of 88.

After the latter departed, Rebbetts pushed on to within sight of a hundred, before falling to Beynon-Ayres for a classy 91. Some lower-order hitting saw Worthing creep to 233, which was probably slightly below-par for the deck, but considerably above-par given their top-order collapse.

In response, Bognor lost two early wickets as Giorgio Rigali found his rhythm, and Swift bowled accurately with variation. However, Dabinett-Jays and Beynon-Ayres played sensibly, keeping a required run-rate of five-an-over in check by milking the dangerous Harry Dunn, and capitalising on rare loose deliveries.

After Beynon-Ayres departed, Rane followed swiftly, bringing Jaycocks to the crease. He and Dabinett-Jays gently pushed the accelerator, and increasingly a Bognor win felt like a formality, until with the finish in sight, Rigali nicked off Dabinett-Jays to give Worthing hope.

However, Charlie Jays played a gem of an innings, striking an enormous six to leave Bognor needing three off the last over. Despite Jaycocks falling to the first ball, Jamie Woolnough edged the winning runs away to give Bognor a crucial 30 points.