Slinfold have a ball in top of the table clash to claim top spot

A 23-run victory on the coast saw Slinfold, who started the day in second place, leapfrog their hosts and take a 15-point lead at the top of the table.

In a low-scoring game, Slinfold posted 150 after being inserted, before a five-wicket haul from Dan Graycon helped them skittle their opponents for just 127 runs.

Batting first, Slinfold were lost openers Jonathan Hughes (six) and Sean Overton (five) before Cameron Scott added 20 and Akeem Jordan 21 to take them to 74-4.

A well-constructed 84-ball 33 from Mushal Murad and 30 from Imran Shaha helped them to what Filby felt was a ‘below-par’ score.

The skipper – having to watch on from the boundary after breaking a finger against Horsham 2nd last week –said: “The sun was shining on Saturday so we weren’t disappointed to lose the toss and be asked to bat.

“Cam Scott once again made a promising start hitting a couple of glorious boundaries but we were forced to dig in when we lost both him and Akeem in quick succession.

“Mushal Murad did a brilliant job in rebuilding the innings on a pitch that was not easy to score on. His patient 33 was probably worth double in other conditions and he really worked hard to give our bowlers something to work with.

“Imran Shah came in and blazed 30 quick runs at the end which were priceless and got us up to a competitive 150.

“We felt we were slightly below par at 150 but knew if we bowled well, given the conditions we could make a good game of it.”

And that they did. Kellon Carmichael, who had taken 3-43, was the first victim, out to Jordan (1-30) after he and Ben Cartwright had put on an opening stand of 23.

After that, only Sam Thorns (35) managed to make double figures with Slinfold’s attacking taking their opponents to 82-5. Graycon (5-37) continued to rip through the order and with Thorns gone with the score on 106-7, the victory was never in doubt.

Filby continued: “In response our bowling unit produced the performance of the season to skittle Goring out for 127. It was nerve-racking watching from the boundary’s edge, but wickets kept falling at regular intervals and Goring never got ahead of the run rate.

“Dan Graycon produced a devastating spell to pick up five wickets and all the other bowlers bowled tight lines to restrict the scoring rate.

“It was a great game to watch and even better game to win and we are delighted to go clear at the top.”