Aldwick follow tour with league victory

Division 6 West Eastergate v Aldwick

After a week touring Dorset and the New Forest, Aldwick 1st XI still had the energy and enthusiasm to overcome Eastergate by 27 runs and consolidate their place at the top of the league table. Eastergate’s Ian Paine had prepared a perfect cricket pitch and batting first, Aldwick openers Ed White (65) and Richard Gabb (68) took full advantage with an opening stand of 134. White was the first to perish, falling to Peter Smith (1-31) but skipper Alex Cooper (33) kept the momentum going with his team eventually finishing on 210-4 from their 40 overs. Henry Grant was the home side’s best bowler with 2-47. Chasing 211 for victory, Eastergate lost opener Aaron Bateman (2) cheaply to Aldwick’s bowler of the day, Ian Horner (3-34). However, next up Curtis Drake (26) and Peter Smith (40) took the score to 56 before another wicket fell. Better still, Jack Saunders (47) top-scored and pushed his side’s total up to 125-3 to give Eastergate a sniff of victory. Despite the solid platform, the home side had no strength in depth as the next five wickets fell for just 58 runs and Eastergate were left languishing 27 runs short of their target. The late wickets were shared evenly between the Aldwick bowlers but Liam Hicks shone with 2-31. Aldwick will attempt to consolidate their table top status this week away to Rustington. Division 11 West South Aldwick 2nd XI, Bognor 3rd XI The Bognor batsmen were on song on a friendly wicket and raced to a massive 2636 from their 40 overs which in the end was far too much for a beleagued Aldwick who lost by 118 runs. The star of Bognor’s batting show was the experienced Jim Lee who was unbeaten on 143 at the end. Lee was well supported by Ernesto Andrade-paris who made a spirited 42. It had all started so well for the home side as Aiden Miles (4-38) removed both openers, Bernie Berns (11) and Sayed Bablu Ahmed (18) and the no. 3 John Hooker for a duck but the Lees barrage of runs took over. Aiden Miles cemented his Aldwick man of the match status with a well made 67 and Dion Sampson (18) and Jonny Knapp (17) also made runs but in the end Aldwick were bowled out for just 145 only two more runs than Jim Lees had scored. The bowlers that mainly did the damage were Lulu Mullen (3-30), John Hooker (3-14), and Sayed Bablu Ahmed (2-30) as Aldwick’s innings ended after 24 overs. Aldwick face Chichester 4th XI on Saturday. Aldwick CC 2019 Annual Tour: Aldwick have completed their annual tour, this year to Dorset and the New Forrest, with lots of great individual performances and a mixture of wins and losses. First up they faced a strong Charlton Down side on the Sunday who made a hefty 234-7. For the tourists, Aiden Miles and Ian Guppy bagged a couple of wickets apiece and the brave 11-year old Finley Sampson kept wicket for the whole 40 overs. Aldwick capitulated to 109 all out with Javed Gill (4-1) being the main culprit. Next up at Brokenhurst, the tourist’s batting got better with Ed White (55) and Alex Cooper (93) posting 155 runs for the first wicket. The team finish on a well-made 215 which was too much for the hosts as Ollie Smith (3-24) and Liam Hicks (212) assisted in reducing them to 183 and a win for Adwick. As the weather was hotting up, Aldwick faced Bramshaw. in a high scoring game. The home side made 234-4 with opener Andy Hart making a ton and the tourist’s bowlers of the day were Jamie Murphy (3-33) and Liam Hicks (2-31). Although they did not open this time, it was Alex Cooper (97) and Ed White (69) who steered their side to victory with 234-7. Finally, it was Ferndown Strollers with a win. The Strollers made 112 with Liam Hicks and Ian Guppy again taking a couple of wickets apiece. Unbeaten knocks from Ollie Smith (29*) and Jamie Murphy (35*) ended the tour on a high note with a comfortable victory.