Cricket: Middleton’s mixed weekend... Bognor in big-hitting form

IT was a mixed weekend for Middleton but a good one for Bognor.
Zayne Bux strikes out for Bognor at Goring Picture by Stephen GoodgerZayne Bux strikes out for Bognor at Goring Picture by Stephen Goodger
Zayne Bux strikes out for Bognor at Goring Picture by Stephen Goodger

Cuckfield v Middleton

Sussex Premier League

There was rain in the air during the toss and Sean Heather, the Middleton captain, lost the toss - leaving Cuckfield deciding to bat first.

They lost early wickets on a clearly-difficult wicket and were 31 for three in the 14th over, with all three wickets taken in a great opening spell by Keelan Shoulders.

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Wickets continued to fall until a ninth-wicket stand of 79 rescued Cuckfield from 129 for eight, taking them towards a final total of of 214 all out.

The final wicket fell on the last ball of the innings ensuring that Middleton took maximum bowling points. Shoulders finished with four from 35.

In reply Middleton had a number of batsmen who made good starts, but none was able to capitalise on those starts. However with Will Burrows batting extremely well the game was still there to be won.

With three overs left Middleton needed 31 to win with three wickets in hand but two wickets in the first of those three overs to leave Burrows and last man James Rufey 13 balls to bat out for the draw. Middleton ended on 195 for nine with Burrows 71 not out.

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Nick Patterson (4-42) and Josh Hayward (4-44) were the pick of the Cuckfield bowlers.

Middleton v Havant

National Cup second round

Middleton are out of the National Cup after losing at home to Havant.

Havant won the toss and elected to bat and a third-wicket partnership of 141 between Ben Walker (90) and Andy Gorvin (60) started to build a formidable score. Further contributions, including Chris Stone’s 50, took them to a final score of 330 for six off their 45 overs.

Chasing down this total was always going to be difficult and the Middleton batsmen were under pressure from the start.

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Sean Heather and Ben Hansford got them off to a great start and at 65 without loss after ten overs things looked interesting. Heather in particular looked like he meant business, reaching 38 off just 33 balls.

His was, however, the first wicket to fall in the 11th over with the score on 70. It was one-way traffic from there with Middleton being bowled out for just 137 in 31 overs.

The pick of the Havant bowlers was Gorvin (5-24).

Goring v Bognor

Sussex League division three

Goring won the toss and elected to field and this looked a good decision as Bognor openers Max Ashmore (5) and Mikey Harris (14) departed early on.

However, South African maestro Zayne Bux and bullish all-rounder Elliott Clarke staged a good recovery, Bux making 60 and Clarke 69. Their departure saw Bognor stutter and with young Joe Ashmore the next-highest scorer on 27, Bognor were all out for 201.

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For Goring, Aaron Wyatt was the pick of the attack taking five for 69.

In reply, the nippy Graham Bush snaffled two early wickets and with the ever-present Clarke taking two for 32, Bognor were on the hunt.

Joe Ashmore twirled his way to three for 23 to keep Bognor in contention but Goring’s Alex Maynard was holding up the assault.

His departure for 89 opened the door for Bush to return and the Runcton Raider swooped in for another smash-and-grab, finishing up with four for 28 with high-quality pace bowling. With Goring bowled out for 161, Bognor won this opening contest by 41 runs.

Bognor 2nds v Ifield 2nds

Division 3 West 2nd XIs

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At the Regis Oval, the visitors won the toss and elected to bat on a belter of a track.

Bognor’s Rich Cox bagged an early wicket but the pairing on Ian Atkins (80) and Joe Smith (89) saw Ifield wrestle the initiative back. Bognor’s evergreen skipper Andy Lee (2-39) saw off both players but some fine strokeplay by Zakir Siddiqui (69) saw Ifield declare on 273 for five.

On his home debut for Bognor, young Tom Woolnough stuck to his task to take two for 40.

In reply Bognor got themselves into a pickle at 23 for four but Ollie Adams led the counter-attack with a crisp 29 and set up the stage for Rich Cox and Tanya Wake.

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Their 100-run partnership kept Bognor in the hunt but after Cox’s departure for 70 and Wake’s for 29, the tail didn’t wag and Bognor were bowled out for 171, a 102-run loss.

For Ifield, Mahomed Qazi with four for 50 was the standout bowler and was supported with two wickets apiece for Gareth Christian and Adam Swart.

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