Cuckfield beaten by Horsham in run-fest - Haywards Heath lose at Eastbourne
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Sussex Premier
Cuckfield 1XI hosted Horsham 1XI on an overcast day on the South Ground. The pitch was in fantastic condition.


Horsham skipper Beer won the toss and elected to field first with some sporadic cloud cover in the air.
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Hide AdMarshall and Rogers opened for the hosts, Rogers who has been in some form of late, scoring three hundreds and two fifties in his 5 league appearances for CCC this season. The pair got off to a fantastic start, eventually losing Marshall (38) in the 11th over with the score at 74. Rogers continued to play expansively, dismissing the bowling of Avinou, Haines and Sheen.
Supported by Nolan (21) and Graham (31), Rogers constructed yet another 100 for CCC, consisting of 17 boundaries.
With the score at 205-2, A middle order collapsed ensued with the loss of Turner, Cambridge and Prior. Rogers (118 of 111) also fell leaving Cuckfield 233-7, a score which needed to be improved.


Cuckfield’s calorific lower order survived the tough bowling of Beer (13 - 2 - 59) and Foreman (16.1 - 4-73), gently pushing the ball around and building a 50 partnership for the 7th wicket. Goss (24) was dismissed by Foreman with an acrobatic caught and bowled. Candfield (32) continued to tick the score along, getting Cuckfield to the 57th over before again falling to Foreman. Cuckfield posted a score of 290 all out, using their full allocation of the overs.
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Hide AdThis was perceived to be under par at tea, the Cuckfield bowlers knew they would have to work hard in order to defend the total.
Haines and Willis opened the batting for Horsham, again scoring quickly on a wicket that was only getting better. Barker dismissed Haines for a professionally made 25. The evergreen Patterson beat the bat of Willis (28), Cuckfield believing that with Horsham at 71 - 2 off 13 overs that all results were possible.
This would not be the case as Goodwin comfortably knocked the ball around, pushing Horsham towards the required total. The introduction of Rodgers, whose contribution to the game so far could not be questioned, removed Oxley (19) via a catch by Nolan at backward point.
However this continued to show Horsham’s depth in batting, bringing Foreman to the crease. The two bats punished some poor Cuckfield fielding, bringing up a partnership of 110.
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Hide AdThe introduction of Nolan halted Horsham’s progress, removing Goodwin (122) and Beer (0) in the same over.
Horsham needed 23 off 24 balls to secure victory, Foreman drove on the up to cover, however the chance was put down. Horsham managed to scrape over the line, winning the game in the 50th over.
The game showcased masterful batting displays by Rodgers and Goodwin, with 2 strong teams both wanting to win the match.
Cuckfield remain in 3rd place, with some work to do in their next fixture, away to Hastings.
Eastbourne v Haywards Heath
Sussex League Div 2
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Hide AdHeath’s promotion bid suffered a setback with a six-wicket loss at Eastbourne.
Matthew Pope took 7-40 as Heath were all out for 142, with Rory Livingstone scoring 53. Then two wickets apiece for Jethro Menzies and Chris Abbey couldn’t stop the Saffrons side getting home.
Heath skipper Callum Smith said: “It was a disappointing day, we chose to bat on a surface that proved difficult – credit to the Eastbourne seamers who all bowled really well.
"After reaching 100/5 we felt 180 would be a winning score but ended up 142 all out which was going to be tough to defend.
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Hide Ad"The bowlers gave it their all but the wicket got flatter as the sun came out and credit also goes to the Eastbourne batters who applied themselves well.
"At 80-4 it was game on but Matthew Pope, having taken seven wickets, batted very well also to see his side home.
“After being top all year we now sit third – but it’s all very tight with lots of big games to come. We welcome West Chilts to the Heath this week hoping to bounce back.”
Cuckfield 2nd XI Vs Crowhurst Park 1st XI
After losing the toss, Cuckfield were placed in the field.
Will Broyd started brilliantly for Cuckfield as he dismissed one of the openers, leaving the score at 6-1. Galbraith Gibbons swiftly followed this up as he enticed the batsmen into a leading edge to be caught at mid off. After a slight rebuilding, Broyd picked up his second leaving the 60-3. However, the hosts regained control with a blistering innings from the Crowhurst skipper Powell (116) and Watson (51) as the pair quickly gathered momentum, resulting in a partnership of 156, leaving the score at 216-4. Cuckfield did however many a strong last 15 overs with 1 wicket each for Taylor, Hardwicke and Downey, before Broyd (3-41) took a wicket with the last ball of the innings. This meant Crowhurst Park scored 277-7 in their 45 overs.
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Hide AdWith a tough task ahead of them Galbraith Gibbons and Wisdom set out intently with some glorious drives. These two however, were both removed, leaving the score at 27-2. This brought youngster Tanous (19) to the crease, who dispatched anything he could behind square. Downey and Buckeridge both fell victim to O Constable (2-16) as Crowhurst took up a dominant position. Two more quick wickets left Cuckfield at 74-6. Contributions from Amer (20), and Taylor (15) brought the total to 114-8. A late flurry of hitting from Broyd (23 n.o) took the Cuckfield total up before the last wicket fell with Cuckfield at 154. This resulted in a 123 run loss, leaving Cuckfield 8th in the table and it all to play for in the upcoming games.
Cuckfield 3rd XI Vs Poynings 1st XI
After an incredibly hot week, Cuckfield were excited to be heading to Poyning’s, eager for a win, to play on what was described by a local as a “sheep field of a pitch”. As it turned out, no sheep were spotted, the club itself was delightful, and the hosts very accommodating.
However, after losing the toss and being put in to bat - rumours started to spread that this wasn’t likely to be a “high scoring pitch”, in part due to the fact that it sat on clay at the foot of the South Downs, thus producing a wicket more spongey than the variety of cakes served at tea time.
Nonetheless, skipper Dave and opening partner Webb, set off to challenge these views, steadily accumulating an interesting 23 off the first 10, and arriving at 60 off 20. Not the fastest start, but runs on the board.
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Hide AdMax Webb (20) was first to go holing out at gully, bringing Karoki Lewis in who uncharacteristically chopped on for a duck, quickly followed by birthday boy Ayan out bowled for 4.
By now pressure was starting to build for the scoreboard to tick over more rapidly, and when skipper Downey fell LBW in the 27th over, just 4 runs short of his 50, some hefty swinging was required. This was duly provided in a 40 odd run stand from Adam “i dont take a guard” Bennett, and Caleb, “have you seen my sun-tan” Hawkins. Great batting from both came to an end however, with Caleb and Adam both getting bowled, and Andy M, Seb, and Sam all being sent back to the hutch soon after, adding only a solitary 1.
This left the match report scribe Sears (5) to try to step up and play senior player duties, instructing last man Will (6) that we “have to, have to , play out these last 5 overs - so nothing stupid”. 2 elegant fours were promptly hit from both, with confidence and understanding starting to build. That was, at least, until a routine single was turned into a suicidal 2 in a U7s-esque calling mix-up, leading, quite comically to both batters being run out at the same end, closing the innings with only 140 runs on the board to defend.
Tom Brookes and Ollie Walker were the pick of the Poynings bowlers with 3 wickets a piece.
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Hide AdPoynings tea really did look impressive, with a selection of Cakes, sandwiches, a hot pot of tea, and even some flavoured crisps on offer. However - having been instructed to bring their own teas, an already full-up Cuckfield 3rd XI made no use of it, leaving large amounts of Victoria sponge completely untouched, and some nice tea ladies looking slightly put out.
Soon after, Cuckfield were back out on the field, knowing that they had to bowl tight and full to keep in the game. And that they did, with skipper Downey opting for the same Downey / Webb opening batting pair, to also open the bowling, to a few raised eyebrows. That said - they bowled well, and kept Poyning’s scoring to a minimum. Sears and Chakrabarty then took over with a lively yet tight spell of unguessable deliveries, limiting Poynings to only 66 off the first 20 overs for 3 wickets. At this stage it must be said Cuckfield’s fielding was excellent, with Middleton and Lewis standing out as they handled multiple drives and push shots, barely letting any through, at Mid on and Off. Sears jnr ,donning the gloves for the first time ever for Cuckfield senior teams, also impressed, allowing no byes, and taking a good stumping off Sears Snr bowling.
Poynings, however, had timed their innings well, and started to ramp up in the final 15 overs, picking out more boundaries, with their no3 reaching his 50 (off 90 balls), before being caught off Will’s bowling, and their 5 and 6 pinch hitting a few stray full tosses, and reaching the total of 141 with 2 overs to spare.
Chakravarrty and Downey bowled incredibly efficiently (15 runs off 8 overs and 15 off 6 respectively), and were the pick of Cuckfield’s bowling.
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Hide AdA disappointing loss for Cuckfield, with skipper Downey dramatically calling the team in for a changing room pep talk, with a clear call that the team has to bat out it’s overs next time, as more runs were needed. We live. We learn. Onto next week.
Cuckfield 4th XI Vs Hadlow Down MW 1st XI
Cuckfield CC 4th XI chased down the target of 150 with ease, thanks to a composed innings from J Buckeridge, who remained not out on 62. Despite some early breakthroughs, Hadlow Down MW CC 1st XI couldn't contain the Cuckfield batsmen, with R Loveridge's quick 31 and steady contributions from I Pringle and W Williams. The disciplined bowling attack of Cuckfield, led by R Taites and A Jull, restricted Hadlow Down to a modest total, setting up a comfortable victory.
Cuckfield CC 4th XI won by 6 wickets.
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