Horsham squeeze home for second spot – Roffey end on high note too

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Horsham CC and Roffey CC ended their Sussex Premier League campaigns with wins – and for Horsham, that meant a creditable second-place finish.

Hastings v Horsham

At Horntye Park, Horsham inserted Hastings. Skipper Harry Chowen and Tom Gillespie made 30s, but wickets fell regularly after Sam Martin-Jenkins made an early breakthrough.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bertie Foreman and Oliver Avinou grabbed two each and Horsham’s target was 166 at a shade over four an over, and at 62-2 a sound platform had been created.

Horsham and Roffey meet earlier in the season - both finished the SPL season with victories last Saturday | Picture: Clare TurnbullHorsham and Roffey meet earlier in the season - both finished the SPL season with victories last Saturday | Picture: Clare Turnbull
Horsham and Roffey meet earlier in the season - both finished the SPL season with victories last Saturday | Picture: Clare Turnbull

Hastings kept plugging away and while four batsmen got into double figures, Hastings kept making inroads, with Adam Barton taking 3-32 and John Morgan and Iden McCleave finishing with two apiece.

Following Foreman’s departure for 43, suddenly Horsham were nine wickets down needing 12 more with the overs fast evaporating, but George Briance and Avinou scraped Horsham home with a ball to spare to condemn Hastings to relegation.

Roffey v Three Bridges

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although Roffey finished seventh they had beaten good sides, including champions Nomads, and, again they produced a vintage performance after being put in by title-chasing Three Bridges.

Opener Jonny Phelps blazed away with 71, including eight fours and five sixes, from 48 balls.

Accompanied by Theo Rivers (65), the pair notched Roffey’s eighth century opening partnership. Seven of these featured Rivers and skipper Matt Davies - the two highest scoring batsmen in the league.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Davies hit an unbeaten 50, Roffey posting 262-5 from 33 overs.

Bridges never really got going after Toby Munt dismissed Matt Boyle for a golden duck.

Michael Cowdrey scored a rapid 56, but Munt and Phelps each took two wickets, aided by four catches from wicketkeeper Sajeer Nizam.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bad light forced the players off with Bridges 17 short of a revised target.

Stepping down after nine years at the helm – containing four titles and exciting cup runs – Matt Davies told the County Times: “We’ve played well in patches, but lacked consistency.

“We’ve got some great young players coming through, but we need to strengthen our squad, perhaps with an overseas signing.

“Our seconds won their league and will be in Division 2 next season.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.