Lindfield cricket: 1st VI suffer second defeat

Second-placed Lindfield 1st XI suffered a second consecutive defeat as they went down by two wickets to mid-table Buxted Park in Division 3 (East).

Having won the toss, Lindfield had no hesitation in batting first but struggled to come to terms with the conditions as their batters failed to build on promising starts. It was left to the lower order Dom Morgan, 35, Mike Hernandez 32  and Lewis Shivnarain 22 to add some valuable runs and ensure a respectable total, but 173 all out in 44.1 overs always looked a little short of being truly competitive.

To their credit, Lindfield’s bowlers quickly exploited the conditions as Buxted Park’s top order also found batting difficult. Shivnarain 1 for 26 and Dom Morgan  3 for 21 bowled superbly to keep the visitors under pressure and give Lindfield genuine hope of victory as Buxted faltered at 102 for 6. However, a match-winning innings from Toby Leonard 56, together with an unbeaten partnership of 18, ensured Buxted Park eventually scraped home by two wickets with 3 balls to spare.

Skipper Dom Morgan commented " the league is very tight and competitive, today was a setback but we have a very good team spirit and hopefully playing at home we can get back to winning ways"

This weekend, Lindfield will entertain local rivals Cuckfield which promises to be a keenly contested match.

Lindfield 2nd XI maintained their excellent form in Division 6 (Central) with a comprehensive victory over high-flying Rottingdean 2nd XI.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Lindfield recovered well from the loss of an early wicket and built their innings confidently throughout. Shane Peach continued his rich vein of form with a polished 73 and was well supported by Simon Shivnarain 35 and Tom Kalber 34. Some powerful late hitting from the experienced Phil Weir 32 nt and Monty Brown 20 nt helped lift Lindfield to an impressive 230 for 6 from their 45 overs.

Rottingdean made a solid start before a flurry of wickets swung the match firmly in Lindfield’s favour. From 57 for 1, the visitors slipped to 90 for 7 and never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 144. Phil Weir completed an excellent all-round performance with figures of 3 for 22, while Brown provided fine support with figures of 2 for 12.

Skipper Jake Brooks was pleased with the performance commenting after the match " this was another fine win and pleasing to see everyone contributing"

The victory keeps Lindfield firmly in second place in the table. This weekend they travel to Balcombe, where they will be looking to extend their winning run.