Cuckfield are cricket kings: story of how promoted team surprised everyone in Sussex

After securing the title for the first time in Cuckfield’s history, captain Josh Hayward said, “Having come into the season looking to do all we could to ensure we didn’t get relegated again, to say this season was a surprise would be an understatement.

"It’s a fantastic achievement for a relatively inexperienced side, and one that had perhaps not always performed to their ability on the pitch. Our senior core has worked so hard all year to allow the younger guys to express themselves, and across the season when we needed people to stand up and put in big performances, they did.

"I’d like to thank David Reid, our scorer and club chair, Nick Patterson, our cricket manager, and Wesley Marshall, our professional this season, who all played a huge role both on and off the pitch and in giving us the confidence and support we needed to play the way we have this year.”

Cuckfield travelled to The Regis Oval to face Bognor on Saturday knowing a victory would secure their first ever Premier League title, following on from winning Division 2 of the Sussex League in 2022. Arriving at the ground, a steady and persistent shower kept the players inside the changing rooms for an hour, with a delayed start inevitable.

The rain relented at 11.45, and the toss finally took place – Cuckfield winning it and electing to bat first on a dry surface. With 46 overs to bat, Joe Cambridge opened up with Brad Gayler, replacing South African professional Wesley Marshall, who’s season came to an end last weekend due to provincial commitments, and both played watchfully in the face of a tight opening spell from Sargeant and Jaycocks. Cambridge was the aggressor of the two, taking the damp outfield out of the equation by regularly striking the ball over the infield.

With the score on 34, he fell for a near run-a-ball 29, well held at mid-off by Daniel Harper off the bowling of Josh Sargeant. Alex Thornhill joined Gayler, who had begun to find his range, before Thornhill was unfortunate to be run out at the non-strikers end as Gayler belted a low full toss back at the bowler. Gayler then drove straight to extra-cover and at 51-3, the home side were well on top.

Middle order mainstays Ollie Graham and Oscar Jago-Lewis combined effectively from the outset, settling Cuckfield’s nerves as Graham rotated the strike and Jago-Lewis showed a surprising level of restraint to take the score to 80-3 untroubled at the first drinks break. While both played carefully, as the spinners found plenty of encouragement from a dusty pitch, they managed to push the score on at an increasingly growing rate; Jago-Lewis moving to 50 from 45 balls, followed shortly after by Graham, who took 72 balls to reach his landmark.

Approaching the final 10 overs, both began to increase their scoring rates significantly, Graham using the dimensions of the ground to pick up regular ones and twos, and Jago-Lewis clearing the straight boundary on a number of occasions.

Graham fell however, hitting a full toss to mid-off on 61. At this point, Jago-Lewis really started to kick on, bringing up his maiden Cuckfield hundred off just 79 balls – a brilliant innings containing 8 x 4s and 5 x 6s. He was finally out with the score on 231, before Cuckfield’s lower order provided some late-innings momentum, as cameos from Will Goss (17), Josh Hayward (9) and Will Galbraith-Gibbons (7 not out) saw the score taken to 276 at the end of the innings.

Cuckfield were the happier of the two sides at the break, as the now very dusty pitch had begun to turn extravagantly and some assistance had been found for the seamers with the new ball. Will Galbraith-Gibbons and Jimmy Anyon opened the Cuckfield bowling, offering few scoring opportunities as Galbraith-Gibbons (1-28) regularly beat the bat.

Bognor’s start was circumspect, and it became apparent early on that the visitors had no intention of attempting to chase Cuckfield’s total. Tom Woolnough (10) was yorked before a snail-paced innings from Mike Harris (3) was ended by a well-held caught and bowled by Jimmy Anyon (1-22). Lachlan Walsh remained firm at the other end, before the introduction of spin caused problems for the hosts.

In the face of sharp turn and variable bounce, Ryan Maskell (9) finally attempted to put some pressure onto Cuckfield, striking a powerful six over mid-off, before he was removed by Will Goss (2-33), well held at first slip by Joe Cambridge.

Walsh’s strange innings was finally ended by a spectacular caught and bowled by Goss, he’d made a painstaking 30 from 80 balls and at this point victory was well out of sight for Bognor.

With a message relayed to Cuckfield that both Preston Nomads and East Grinstead had been abandoned, the visitors played the remainder of the game in the knowledge that they were now Premier League champions. Looking to end the game swiftly, skipper Josh Hayward removed most of the middle and lower order, Taylor Jaycocks (17) first bowled by a ball that turned massively, pitching well outside leg stump to strike the top of off, before Daniel Harper (10), Scott Bingham (4) and Josh Seward (0) were all removed for single figures.

Ben Woolnough (38 not out) played nicely at the other end, and showed that fast-scoring was still possible on the Regis track; his last wicket stand with Josh Sargeant (13) frustrating Cuckfield, before Joe White (1-17) took the final wicket in the 42nd over. A strong team bowling performance saw all six of Cuckfield’s bowlers taking a wicket; with Will Goss and Josh Hayward, who’s 4-27 saw him reach 50 league wickets for the season, the pick of the bowlers.

A fine performance to cap off an incredible and surprising season in which Cuckfield remained at the summit of the Premier League from the first game onwards, losing just twice and completing 11 victories.

The champions host Horsham on Saturday on what is set to be a day of celebration across the whole club; their maiden title the culmination of years of hard work both on and off the pitch, finished in style by a side containing 6 players who had been at the club since they first started playing cricket.