EP open up with a winning draw

Even in the glorious sunshine, the wicket was still slightly damp from the midweek rain and the crucial toss was won by visiting captain Tim Monday.

He stuck the home side into bat and Chilt made quick inroads to reduce them to 24-4 after ten overs, as EP lost the wickets of Tim Miles, Colin Smith, Jack Sunderland and Tom Reeves cheaply.

Good application, however, through the middle overs from Gary Weedon (63), Josh Carter (33) and Mark O’Keefe (38 not out) pushed the score along, and a few big blows from Matt Laker (12) at the end helped EP to a respectable 183-9 off 49 overs.

EP started strongly in the field with an early run-out but good application again saw West Chilt move into a great position to win the game.

EP showed patience in the field and worked tirelessly to protect their score and with excellent bowling from Joe Carter, who bowled a 15-over spell and returned 4-52, and Sunderland, saw the visitors slip from 72-1 to 127-6 and throw away their winning position as they eventually finished on 168-6.

East Preston captain Gary Weedon said: “Predictions were correct and the very first game of the season was an extremely edgy match with plenty of ups and downs for both sides.

“In summary, it was a great result to take 15 points from the first game of the season against a strong West Chilt team, who are only going to get stronger when they see the return of the Chambers from university.

“It’s always a great game against Chilt, with the links with West Chiltington Football Club at our cricket club and it’s played in the best spirit.

“We will take plenty from this into our visit to St Andrews on Saturday, where we will look to take a full 30 points.”