Top four finish beyond Bexhill

The Polegrove side wasn't quite able to press home a flying start and had to settle for a creditable fifth place in Sussex Division Two after losing by 18 runs against Roffey.

The visitors were reeling at 10-3 and then 21-5 as in-form seamer Simon Bulteel (7-54) caused all manner of problems.

Bulteel, who took six wickets in the defeat of Worthing two weeks previously, removed both openers for ducks and two other top six batsmen for single figure scores.

But the turning point of the game came when Chris Plaister and Mark Pavlovic (both 58) pieced together a big partnership for the sixth wicket.

Bulteel and captain Chris Topp (2-34) made light work of the tail, however, to dismiss Roffey 144.

Their reply began fairly well thanks to a typically brisk 27 from Josh McLean and 15-year-old hot prospect Malcolm Johnson held things together with a mature 25.

But Ian May and Ian Ellis went for ducks in the middle, and although Steve Phillimore (17), Jeremy Wassell (13) and Bulteel (11) got starts, Bexhill finished on 126 as Leigh Harrison claimed 5-43.

Looking back at the season as a whole, Bexhill's success has been engineered by the three main bowlers and McLean.

Bulteel took 37 wickets at an average of 17.43, Ellis 43 at 16.58 and Topp 30 at 17.90, while McLean amassed 737 runs at 52.64.

But the fact that few other bowlers took any wickets and the next highest average with the bat was Richard May with 25 illustrates that a back-up seamer and prolific runscorer are needed if they're to challenge for promotion in 2007.