Crawley Eagles relegated after thrilling draw

DM16136816a.jpg Cricket: Crawley Eagles v Lindfield (batting). Anjum Zafer. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-160822-094456008

Pagham 224 all out

Crawley Eagles travelled to Pagham knowing that even if they won their game they could still be relegated.

But the day was full of drama and ultimate disappointment.

Eagles won the toss and elected to field, they quickly had the hosts at 65-5 but a great century Eranga Dissage took the score to a challenging 224 all out.

Eagles picked up all ten wickets so now they had to chase the score down before the rain came in.

The batsmen kept up the run-rate to over 7.5 runs per over with the score on 202-3 of only 27 overs and with victory so close, the rain came down and the umpires decided to come off, the game was called off as a draw which meant Eagles will be back in Division 3 next season.

Eagles chairman Ish Jalal said: “Batting brilliantly, it was a tough loss to take. All that was needed was two more overs of play and the game would have been won and therefore surviving the drop.

“But as it is the team will regroup they have learned a lot from this season which will help them to come back strong next year.

“In what was an important year for the club, for the first time ever they had five teams out on Saturdays, playing league cricket across all levels which is a great achievement.

“The committee would like to thank all captains, coaches, parents, supporters, colts players and senior players for their massive support and commitment to the club during the season.

“We look forward to taking all the lessons learnt from this year into next season to help all members have a more effective and enjoyable time playing cricket across all levels.”

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