Cuckfield 1st XI Daniel Oliver T20 Cup Round One Result

On Saturday 2nd May, Cuckfield CC hosted Ifield CC in the first round of the 2026 Daniel Oliver T20 Cup. Electing to swing the willow first Ifield faltered from the very beginning losing opener Obaidi Qazi in the first over (clean bowled by a rather superb Sam Candfield Yorker). Momentum for the visitors attempted to establish itself but, much like the inevitable buffering that one experiences at the very moment a TV programme 'gets interesting', wickets fell with untimely regularity - the catch on the longest boundary into the wind being a characteristic in more than one dismissal. That said, due credit must go to two Ifield batters, Sadeesh Jayawardena and captain Archit Patel who swashbuckled their way to 41 (35 balls) and 56 (28 balls) respectively, giving Ifield a glimmer of hope at the halfway stage setting Cuckfield a target of 144 to win. The wickets were spread around the Cuckfield bowlers messrs S Candfield, Gander, Wickwar, and Choudhury all getting in on the action.

With Sussex player Oli Carter and Joe Cambridge opening the batting for Cuckfield there was eager anticipation on 'the pavilion verander' as well as something approaching more like trepidation in the score box with a mere 6 spares 'at the ready'. Sure enough Cambridge began the pyrotechnics lambasting the opening two overs with a blink-of-the-eye 21 including five fours. Cambridge, the only wicket to fall in the Cuckfield inning, then mis-cued in the third and was duly caught at Mid-on. Replacing him as Cuckfield's impromptu #3, Chris Mole unfussily swept his first ball for four and proceeded to 'prod and probe' his way to an unbeaten 37 (33 balls). At the other end, however, the real entertainment was unfolding with Oli Carter proving untouchable as he literally dismembered every opposition attempt to restrict his boundary abuse with a thrilling display of shots involving trees, fences, building roofs, a road, and very nearly some horses. He finished the game with a devastating 87no (28 balls) including 7 fours and 8 sixes. Cuckfield overhauled the Ifield total in 12.3 overs and move on the next round.