JUST SMASHING, JOHN!

Nigel Waller had elected to bat on a damp surface after a delay for rain and his gamble was repaid as Rogers cut loose in trademark fashion, launching sixes over mid-wicket and long off.

Crucially, with the score on 80, Crowhurst Park failed to take their chance to remove Rogers when Richard Lade dropped a regulation chance at long off. Spilling Rogers when he is in full flow is tantamount to cricketing suicide but he deserved his luck in an innings full of quality strokeplay.

Although Kingsbury gave a return catch to Andy Crouch later in the same over, the horses had bolted.

By now Rogers was in unstoppable mood. When John Cox joined the party with two enormous boundaries in one disastrous over by Nick Foord, the game began to look like an inaugural Findon six-hitting contest.

By the time Rogers finally missed a straight one, the home side had charged to 200 for four from 33 overs. Steve Waller and Mark Stewart added salt to Crowhurst's wounds with some fantastic hitting of their own as the home side posted an intimidating 253 for nine from their 40 overs.

With a number of players unavailable, much depended on classy opening bat Martin Barry if Crowhurst were to get close to their formidable target.

On the back of a ton the previous day he looked in superb touch and, together with fellow opener Paul Brookes, put on 84 for the first wicket in 20 overs.

Nonetheless, the required run rate had already escalated to an implausible eight an over.

When Brookes holed out to Kingsbury off the leg-break bowling of Stewart, closely followed by Barry, who departed for 62 trying one square cut too many against Kingsbury's off-spin, the game was effectively over.

The coup de grace was administered by Mark Stewart who grabbed five wickets to send Findon to an intriguing home final against local rivals Clymping.

l The Clymping side, relegated from Sussex Invitation League Division 1 last season, are making their competition debut. See their semi-final scorecard below.

They include Littlehampton's Sussex League team upper-order batsmen Benn Challen, Gary Tester and Chris Kirkham. Tester also opens the Littlehampton bowling and Challen bowls spin.

Challen and Tester are regular Clymping Sunday players while new recruit Kirkham, as a Littlehampton Colt, is excluded from the exemption rulings.