Crunch time in Bexhill survival battle

Danul Dassanayake batting for Bexhill during last weekend's defeat at home to Lindfield. Pictures by Simon Newstead

Bexhill will host Haywards Heath today (Saturday) lying 20 points from safety in Sussex Cricket League Division Two with two matches remaining.

“This Saturday becomes the crunch almost,” said Bexhill coach Hamish Russell. “If we don’t win Saturday, that’s pretty much that. We’ve got to beat Haywards Heath at home, but they’ve been going quite well and have been scoring runs.

“We keep saying we’ve got to win this game, but we’ve got to go out there and do it. It’s really important we go in to the last game not in the bottom two because we can’t afford a rain-off.

Shawn Johnson pushes one into the off-side at The Polegrove last weekend.

See also: * Must win clash in Bexhill survival bid* Sarro stars in Bexhill defeat* Bexhill pipped by Billingshurst in tight tussle“Everyone knows what’s got to happen, it’s a matter of the players performing on the day. They’re all capable of doing it, they’ve just got to find it within themselves.”

Bexhill, who continue to occupy the second and final relegation place, will welcome back opening batsman and spin bowler Neil Blatchly for a match which will start at 12noon at The Polegrove.

Third-bottom Ansty, incidentally, are away to leaders Three Bridges today.

Sussex Cricket League Division Two standings (all played 16 matches): 1 Three Bridges 381pts, 2 Mayfield 376, 3 St James’s Montefiore 330, 4 Billingshurst 308, 5 Haywards Heath 308, 6 Chichester Priory Park 245, 7 Bognor Regis 234, 8 Ansty 213, 9 BEXHILL 193, 10 Lindfield 176.

Remaining fixtures - Bexhill: August 25 Haywards Heath (h), September 1 Bognor Regis (a).

Ansty: August 25 Three Bridges (a), September 1 Billingshurst (h).

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