Old batting frailties reappear as Lindfield toil at Bridges

Three Bridges CC 1st XI 189 for 6 (40.5 overs) v Lindfield CC 1st XI 188 all out (44.4 overs): Three Bridges win by 4 wickets
Thanvi Choudhury leaves the field at Hurstpierpoint CollegeThanvi Choudhury leaves the field at Hurstpierpoint College
Thanvi Choudhury leaves the field at Hurstpierpoint College

Lindfield lost a second game in succession after a disappointing display at high-flying Three Bridges.

Electing to bat first, the visitors got off to a good start with Tem Hodson (64) and Simon Shivnarain (21) playing freely and at a spritely rate.

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However Oliver Blandford took early wickets in his afternoon's tally of 3 for 33, supported by Conor Golding (2 for 22). As wickets fell, Phil Weir (24) and Nick Hopkins (27) ensured that Lindfield got to a defendable 188, which in reality was at least 50 short on a good batting track.

In reply, Three Bridges got off to a shakey start. The bowling of James Pearce (3 for 40) Shohel Ahmed(1 for 19) and Hodson (1 for 37) saw the hosts reduced to 91 for 5 and the game was truly on. However, in the middle overs period, which Lindfield have been adept at squeezing the opposition, Oliver Blandford, with his brother Tom steadied the ship. The pair put on 69 and 63* respectively and ensured their side crossed the line with four overs to spare.

Captain Simon Shivnarain said: "After a good start to the season we have let our standards slip in the last couple of matches.

"It's encouraging that we are certainly competitive, but we need to play to our best for all 90 overs rather than two-thirds of the game which seems our modus operandi at the moment."

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Lindfield CC 2nd XI 160 all out (39.5 overs) v Crowhurst Park 1st XI CC 161 for 3 (24.1 overs): Crowhurst win by 7 wickets

In the delightful surroundings of Hurstpierpoint College, Lindfield's second string failed to threaten visitors Crowhurst Park's first eleven who moved to second in the table after this win. Batting first, the "home" side got off to a fine start with Scott Clark (49) and youngster Thanvi Choudhury (31) moving the score to 89 without loss.

However with the loss of Clark, wickets began to fall quickly as Keith Hobbs picked up 5 for 29 and reduced Lindfield to 128 for 9. Only Conor Andrew (20) repelled the Crowhurst attack before a last wicket stand of 32 between Scott Pedley and Will Spence saw the total reach 160.

Despite Pedley and Spence taking early wickets and leaving the visitors reeling at 14 for 2, the introduction of Clive Tong steadied the ship. He hit a fluent 89 runs on a beautiful batting track, which included 13 fours and 4 sixes, and effectively took the game away from Lindfield. Supported by an unbeaten 51 from Ed Smissen, Crowhurst passed the target in just 24 overs.

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Captain Clark said: "Realistically we were probably 100 runs short in setting a total, which showed when the ball was going to all parts in the second innings."

Preston Nomads CC 4th XI 166 for 1 (35 overs) v Lindfield CC 3rd XI 163 all out (46 overs): Preston Nomads win by 9 wickets

In the shadows of the South Downs, the Academy-led Lindfield 3rd XI got a hiding that they will wish to forget quickly after being inserted by their Preston Nomads hosts. 15 year old Eddie Castle (17) was the only one of the early batsmen to really trouble the scores as Peter Forsythe took the first of his 5 for 55. However the visitors' fortunes changed when Mike Hewitt joined Adrian Whear (18) and set about driving the ball nicely.

The departure of Whear brought 13 year old Alex Pedley to the wicket who supported Hewitt manfully, digging in and reaching a creditable 29. This helped Hewitt reach his half century and saw the total rise to 163.

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However, that was as good as it got for Lindfield, as openers Justin Schildkamp and Protap Dasgupta set about the young attack. Both Schildkamp and Dasgupta reached their half centuries with little to worry about, with only Redwan Chowdhury taking a wicket for Lindfield. An unbeaten 17 from Daniel Ibrahim saw the hosts cross the line in just 35 overs.

Captain Neil Pedley said: "With our policy of picking a predominantly Academy team in our third eleven, a result like this was inevitable at some time in the season. Hopefully the boys can learn from it, and kick on next week.