Cricket fans ready for mouth-watering local derby between Roffey and Horsham

At Roffey’s high scoring ground, 300 hundred is a benchmark score if the weather remains dry and the outfield lightning fast, and with both teams riding high a competitive contest is assured.

Horsham, the only unbeaten club in the league, currently head the table by a clear 18 points, with Roffey snapping at their heels in third place and anxious to return to winning ways after an uncharacteristically dismal defeat at Middleton last Saturday while Horsham inflicting a crushing defeat at nearby Bognor.

Players to watch – with six thunderous hundreds (four unbeaten), comprising two in the Sussex Cup, one in the National, and three in the league, Horsham’s overseas signing Matt de Villiers is rightly the talk of the town – and far beyond.

With a highest score of 168 not out he has also delivered two four-wicket spells with the ball.

Captained by former Sussex player Will Beer, Horsham are a strong, well balanced unit with a good blend of youth and experience, including county contracted players Charlie Tear - fresh from a triple hundred for Sussex 2s – and budding all-rounder Bertie Foreman, with plenty of recent wickets under his belt.

After re-building, Roffey, too, have talent on show – Theo Rivers and Matt Davies are one of the most reliable opening partnerships in the league, supported by overseas signing Aaron Joby. Toby Munt and Frankie Cripps have been playing for Sussex seconds, while Will Fenwick has been among the wickets, bowling in tandem with Tom Barnes.

What do the Captains think? Joe Willis Horsham skipper Horsham last Saturday told the County Times: “Roffey is always the game that we want to win! So, hopefully we’ll continue our winning run.

"The red ball games are a lot more difficult to get a result from – 30 more points would be massive.”

New Roffey Captain Sam Henderson says: “We always look forward to these local derbies. We’ve got a settled side and if we turn up with our A game in all three disciplines we should give Horsham a good game.”

It’s an 11.30am start at Roffey – bring it on.