Cricket: Horsham and Roffey out of National Cup – Preston Nomads and Cuckfield notch Premier League wins

East Molesey 146 all out (38.1 overs) – Roffey 143-9 (40 overs); East Molesey won by 3 runs

Cricket - ECB National Club Championship (Knockout Cup)

by Martin Read

Following two league abandonments, Roffey finally started their season with a trip to joint Surrey Premiership leaders East Molesey on Sunday, but were again thwarted – by elimination from the National Cup at the first hurdle. And, it was all the more frustrating because Roffey had bowled out the opposition for a seemingly inadequate total, only to collapse to narrow defeat after a strong opening partnership had knocked off almost half of the requirement.

Not knowing what to expect from the early season wicket – or unfamiliar opponents - Roffey inserted East Molesey and, at the half way stage, had them 84-4. Wickets continued to tumble, and from 123-7, the Surrey side subsided to 146 all out within their 40 over allocation, 32 extras being the second highest contribution, Alex Collins, new signing Jonny Phelps and Kiwi overseas Nick Greenwood taking 2 wickets apiece.

Roffey began well with 42, the highest score of the match, from Theo Rivers, in company with Phelps (28). But, eight of the following batsmen failed to reach double figures, Alex Knapman and Michael Shean scything through the Roffey innings with 6 scalps between them. With 2 wickets remaining, Roffey required 12 from the last over, but finished 4 runs short of the target, 9 down.

Reflecting on the unaccustomed demise, Roffey skipper Matt Davies told the County Times: “We bowled and fielded well, but we were rather undercooked, not having been able to play a game, so we’re a bit ring-rusty. But, we’ve got some good options with our players this season, and, hoping to finally get going in the league, we’ll be training hard and hitting plenty of balls in preparation. It was a very disappointing result at East Molesey, but hopefully that’s our nightmare performance out of the way for the season.”

On Saturday Roffey kick start their Sussex Premiership campaign, visiting Preston Nomads, who had a big win against Bognor last week.

Sandwich 243 all out (38.5 overs); Horsham 142 all out (32.1 overs) - Sandwich won by 101 runs

Cricket - ECB National Club Championship (Knockout Cup)

by Martin Read

Last Sunday, venturing far into East Kent, Horsham bowed out of the National Cup against Sandwich of the corresponding Premiership. On Saturday the hosts had been dismissed for 107 after being 60-1, but this time, after a faltering start, their batting was more resilient, enabling them to post a challenging target, following which Horsham created a sound platform only to slide to substantial defeat.

Sandwich elected to bat, and, after their openers were dismissed, Ollie Haines chipped in with 3 wickets leaving them struggling at 106-5 at the 20 over half way stage of their innings. But a better than run a ball 56 from Tom Chapman and thirties from Alex Smith and Tom Burnap down the order , boosted by 28 extras carried them to 243 all out, despite 2 more wickets for Haines, who finished with 5-36. Replying, Horsham reached 100-2, thanks to 57 from Charlie Tear, including a six into the river and 4 more maximums. However 2 run outs cut off Bertie Foreman and Nick Oxley in their twenties, before 4 quick wickets from Jan Gray saw Horsham lose by 101 runs.

All rounder Haines told the County Times: “During the winter I put in a lot of work on my bowling at Gary Kirsten’s Cape Town Academy, so I was pleased with my contribution, but only wish it had resulted in a win for us. It was a good early season wicket and Sandwich showed us how to bat on it – Chapman’s rapid 50 rescued them, and some soft dismissals led to our downfall.”

A busy weekend beckons for Horsham - after two washouts they are eager to get their Premiership season under way with a home game on Saturday against Eastbourne, who were bowled for 99 by East Grinstead last week. Then, on Sunday they travel to Division 3 West side Pagham in the Sussex T20 Cup.

Mayfield 1st XI vs Cuckfield 1st XI

Sussex Premier League

Saturday’s clash between Mayfield and Cuckfield was the first time these newly promoted sides had played this season. Due to unfavourable weather conditions throughout the week, the game was slightly delayed whilst the moisture absorbed, but thankfully a 44 over per innings match took place before long.

Cuckfield Captain, Josh Hayward, won the important toss and chose to place Mayfield into bat first. On a seemingly dewy wicket, Mayfield took well to facing the new ball under the circumstances. Measured offensives from openers Rob Raymond (36) and Ben Fitchet (27) allowed the home side to build momentum against Cuckfield’s opening bowlers and found them reaching 58 runs before Raymond was the first victim to fall to Wesley Marshall (2-36).

During the middle overs, it was a to-and-fro between the Mayfield batsmen and Cuckfield’s spin attack. Rob Sharma (32) was Mayfield’s biggest threat as he looked to steady to ship before utilising the short boundary towards the end of the innings. Although finding the boundary on a few occasions with well-timed shots off his legs, Sharma eventually found his match when Josh Hayward (3-41) managed to use the gripping ball to displace his bails in the 32nd over.

Economy rate then became Cuckfield’s focus when the ball was thrown to Joe White (2-47) and Aiden Drew (0-27); their job was to counter the last push from Mayfield who were looking to Matt Cooke (28 not out) for inspiration. Cuckfield did well to nullify the threat, leading to the hosts posting 194 for 8.

Cuckfield openers, Joe Cambridge (28) and Wesley Marshall (111 not out), were the two men to start the chase for Cuckfield on a pitch that had certainly benefited from the day’s sun.

From ball one, the two aggressors found early momentum against the new ball with 24 runs coming from the first two overs. Marshall taking strong advantage of the pace on show with powerful stroke play all around the ground, whilst Cambridge backed up from the other end with his aerial executions finding the sight screens.

The pair would enjoy a very fruitful powerplay before Cambridge was the first man to fall to Henry Martin (3-43) leaving Cuckfield 84-1 off just 9 overs. Having taken to scalp of Cambridge, Martin had more in his sights as his efforts allowed Mayfield to see a glimmer of hope. His spell after the power play played a pivotal role towards controlling the run-rate, whilst picking up important wickets along the way.

Cuckfield found themselves 93-3 after their explosive start with Oscar Jago-Lewis (23) making his way to the middle. Marshall and Jago-Lewis took the reins again for Cuckfield as both took full advantage of the short boundary on offer with the momentum looking to have moved back in the favour of the away side.

Despite looking in control however, Jago-Lewis fell LBW to James Allen (1-31) with 50 runs still being required to win. Cuckfield’s overseas, Marshall, had to adapt his role to become less of an aggressor and more of a solidifier after the fall of wickets around him. Soon the experienced Marshall decided to up the ante after drinks with some incredibly clean hitting that saw a handful of balls lost into the nearby housing.

The South African was in his element while Cuckfield’s Greg Wisdom (15 not out) rotated strike excellently at the other end. The pair seeing Cuckfield to victory with 16 overs remaining.

Bognor v Preston Nomads

Sussex Premier

Bognor were outplayed by a strong Preston Nomads outfit in their season opener at the Regis Oval.

Batting first, Nomads amassed 270 all out, with a number of batters making aggressive contributions, built around Amman Khan's 61.

For Bognor, Joe Ashmore's 3-37 was the pick, alongside 3-68 for Josh Sargeant.

The bowling display was decent overall from Bognor, although early-season rustiness contributed to a score which was probably just above par.

With the bat, Bognor failed to get going from the outset in the face of some excellent Nomads' bowling and plans.

Nomads skipper Nav Patel took 4-17, with some hostile support from Dan Birrell and Josh Clarkson on a placid surface.

Bognor were eventually dismissed for 140 and look to next weekend to put things right against East Grinstead.

Worthing v Chi Priory Park

Sussex Division 2

Worthing CC kicked off their league season with a 30-point win over Chichester at the Manor.

Worthing won the toss and chose to bat. Scoring didn’t come easy and Worthing were 35-2 when Darryl Rebbetts joined Dean Solway.

Solway and vice-captain Rebbetts rebuilt and both reached 50, which set the platform for England Test bowler Mason Crane to come in and dominate the attack. A destructive 40 not out off 22 balls got Worthing to 204-3.

Worthing seamers got stuck in straight away and blew away the top order, Rigali, Rebbetts and Merritt-Blann doing the damage.

The leg spin of Crane came into play and when his nine-over spell was over the game was all but finished. Chichester were bowled out for 122, giving Worthing an impressive 82-run victory in their first game back in Division 2.

Elsewhere, Worthing twos came away from Rustington with 30 points, defeating their Division 5 rivals by 103 runs. The third team beat Ifield.

Chi Priory Park CC

Chichester Priory Park’s first XI are looking to build on 2022’s sixth place finish in Division 2 with a young and exciting side.

They have welcomed some new faces over the course of the winter, as well as retaining the majority of last season’s squad.

George Briance has joined from Middleton, adding Sussex Premier League experience and will captain the side.

It’s great to see the Briance name back on a playing shirt at the club, with both George’s dad and grandad having captained the club in the past.

They also welcome Mitchell Heyward, an opening bowler from Lara Cricket Club in Geelong, Melbourne. Luckily he packed his woolly hat and raincoat for early season.

Batter Jack Dawling has also joined from Middleton.

This year gives the club the chance to continue to blend experience and youth throughout our five league sides.

Sean Dobbs takes the lead of the twos, who are looking to challenge for honours in Division 5 West, and the third and fourth XIs aim to continue their good form after both gaining promotion last season.

The fifth XI will again provide the opportunity for women and older juniors, boys and girls, to gain their first experience of senior league cricket in a mixed environment.

Development of women’s and girls’ cricket remains a priority for the club.

The women’s winter indoor team enjoyed its second season in the Indoor Softball Chichester League, winning the league on net run rate after tying with West Wittering on points.

CPP have women's teams in the Hardball Division 2, the Sussex Slam and the Softball League.

There will also be opportunities for girls under 11 to play competitive matches and there will be friendlies for under-nines.

The club are running a dedicated Dynamos programme for girls aged eight to 11 on a Monday night at Goodwood.

This is in keeping with their long term ambition to have a girls’ team at every age group, to match the thriving mixed junior section, which continues to provide high quality coaching opportunities at all age categories.

CPP are also dedicated to providing the best possible facilities and an environment in which everybody can access and enjoy our game.

Chairman Simon Hasted said: “We continue to work closely with Chichester District Council on plans to refurbish the pavilion at Priory Park with designs due to be submitted for planning permission shortly.

"We are extremely thankful for the incredible ongoing support of our sponsors; George Ide Solicitors, Rathbones Investment Management, Marchwood Mortgages, Claudine Ickeringill Optometrists, Tod Anstee, Gardner and Scardifield and the Goodwood Estate.

"Their support enables us to deliver cricket for the community at all levels.”

Cuckfield 2nd XI vs Rye 1st XI

After last week’s game away against Rottingdean fell to the rain, Cuckfield faced Rye at home looking to get their first 30 points of the season. After the pitch had been undercover for the majority of the week, it was no surprise that Cuckfield decided to bowl first when skipper George Galbraith-Gibbons won the toss.

This decision paid off with the first ball as Chris Osborne (2-43) caught the edge of James Hamilton’s bat and the ball was gathered by Matt Wynn at first slip. Fin Thomson and Harry Smeed though, began to accumulate runs. A strong partnership of 66 was built before a good bit of work behind the stumps by Galbraith-Gibbons saw Smeed depart for 45. Fin Thomson (21) fell shortly after that to the bowling of Matt Slinger (3-38), again caught by Wynn.

With two new batters at the crease, Cuckfield felt that they could take a hold of this game and put the Rye batters under some pressure. Another good piece of bowling from Matt Slinger saw Luke Collingwood (10) depart with the score at 87-4. Momentum was shifting towards Cuckfield at this point, however Luke Payton had something to say about this for Rye. He built strong partnerships with both Fred Smith and Tobias Farrow worth 55 and 49 respectively.

This put the Cuckfield bowlers under pressure in the middle of the innings with consistent run scoring. Towards the back end of the innings the Cuckfield bowlers were able to slow the run rate slightly, which was helped with Chris Osborne taking the wicket of Payton after he had made 88. Rye worked their way to 222-7 at the end of the innings which looked a good score.

Cuckfield went into the innings optimistic that they could get close to the target set by Rye. However, the chase did not get off to a good start. Galbraith-Gibbons (0) and Rossiter (4) both fell to the bowling of Craig Pierce (2-13) to leave Cuckfield 8-2. Jason Oates (21) and Richie Amer (11) were brought to the crease as a result and steadied the innings nicely.

The two put on a partnership of 33 before Oates departed. Shortly after, Amer fell as well to leave Cuckfield struggling at 52-4. Matt Wynn (35) and Sam Candfield (27) had something to say about this though. The pair steadied the ship, putting on a useful partnership of 68. However, when Wynn fell, Cuckfield were 120-5, beginning a collapse of the lower order. The final six wickets fell quickly and just 7 runs were scored in that time. Cuckfield were bowled out for 127 in the 37th over and were defeated by 95 runs.

After the disappointment of this result, Cuckfield need to pick themselves up quickly as they have a big game next Saturday away at local rivals Ansty and are looking to get their first win of the season.

Southwick v Colemans Hatch

Division 8 Central

The Wickers were pleased to get some action in their new division.

Stand-in skipper Tom Bell won the toss at Buckingham Park and asked the opposition to bat. Paul Grennan bagged two wickets in his first four overs.

Gary Mussen knocked over two victims and finishing with figures of 2-21 while Matt Rowson and Harry Sutton kept a tight rein on the batters.

Spinner Mark Broxup suffered as the batters tried to up the rate but took two wickets in two balls to finish the innings.

Grennan finished with 4-12, all his victims clean bowled. Keeper Craig Dawson took two stumpings.

Southwick stumbled initially in chasing 114 to win, openers Kallum Howell (2) and Gary Mussen(10) succumbing early.

Matt Vokes (25) and Dawson (11) made progress but Dean Ghasemi bludgeoned his way to 33, assisted by Adam Walter (11). Harry Sutton hit a composed 14 and saw Southwick home.

Skipper Tom Bell said: “It was great to start the season with a win.”