Sidley slip up against bottom side

PULBOROUGH 207-7 (13pts)SIDLEY 166-7 (7pts)SIDLEY collected less points than their opponents for the first time in three home Sussex Division Two matches this season following a rather disappointing outcome on Saturday.

A visit from the league's bottom side should have provided the perfect opportunity for Sidley to bounce back from their six wicket defeat at Worthing the previous week.

But Sidley allowed Pulborough to get off to a decent start with the bat and, when Sidley took to the middle, nobody was able to go on and make the big score to achieve a victory.

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Jody Healey (44), Gavin Clarke (32) and Ashley Clarke (46) got Pulborough up and running, despite scoring just eight runs off the first seven overs.

But Healey's departure, one of two run outs in the innings, was the first of five wickets to go down for the addition of just 35 runs as they collapsed to 160-6.

A solid partnership was needed and that was just what Lee Callagan (30 not out) and Jon Hunter (17) provided. The seventh wicket pair took the score to 205 before Hunter became one of three victims to the left arm spin of Scott Woodroffe (3-45).

But the 58 runs that Pulborough scored off the last seven overs meant they became the first team to top 200 in a Sussex League match at Gullivers in 2005.

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Opening bowlers, Peter King (1-55) and Tyrone Wildman (1-43), were the other wicket-takers, King's dismissal of David Castle being his 13th scalp of the season.

Sidley's reply began positively, but Wildman (13), Rizwan Ahmed (8) and Phil Belfield (4) were all back in the pavilion for 39.

Opener Woodroffe (23) found an ally in King (39). Sidley's previous two captains shared 46 for the fourth wicket until both went in the space of 11 runs to leave Sidley at 106-5.

That soon became 133-7 as John Barden and Keith Luck went cheaply, but Chris Hunnisett (35 not out), seemingly the Graham Thorpe of Sidley, fashioned his third score over 25 in four games to secure the draw alongside captain, Eddie Daniels (13 not out), unbeaten for the third time in four innings.

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Sidley will be looking for an improvement after they were forced to hold on for a draw against bottom-of-the-table Pulborough on Saturday.

But they will face a tall order in attempting to collect their first win in four games because second-placed St James' Montefiore, who beat Bexhill two weeks ago, will be the visitors to Gullivers.

Sidley go to Haywards Heath in the first round of the Sussex Cup on Sunday. If they and Bexhill are are successful, the two local clubs will meet at Sidley in round two on July 3

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