Haffenden in dramatic Sidley return

John Haffenden has made a dramatic return to Sidley Cricket Club on the eve of the new Sussex League season.

Haffenden signed for the Division Three (East) outfit on Tuesday and will be in the side for the opening day trip to Burgess Hill on Saturday.

Sidley captain Scott Woodroffe said: “We’re getting a real top batter and he will be going straight in. He will probably be coming in at number three for us and our top five on paper is as strong as I can remember.”

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The 27-year-old was a Sidley player for several years and captained them in 2006 before making the cross-town switch to Bexhill in time for the 2007 season.

Haffenden skippered Bexhill from 2008-10, leading the club to a runners-up finish in Division Two in 2009 and with it promotion to the Premier Division for the first time since 2000.

He played in Bexhill’s two pre-season friendlies over the past fortnight and was their leading runscorer in those matches, hitting 98 against Crowhurst Park and 28 versus Sibton Park.

But the right-handed Haffenden has since decided to return to Gullivers because of what Bexhill first team manager Hamish Russell described as “a personal issue with another one of our players”.

Russell said: “He’s a cracking bloke and he will be hugely missed. He’s a very good friend to a lot of people.”

The full article will appear in tomorrow’s Bexhill Observer.