Middleton miss out in a premier thriller
Middleton and West Wittering were among the sides involved in exciting Sussex League action last weekend.
Cuckfield v Middleton Sussex Premier
In an enthralling match at Cuckfield, the hosts emerged victorious by two wickets in a closely contested battle.
Winning the toss, Cuckfield elected to field first, hoping to capitalise on any early advantages offered by the pitch and weather conditions.
Middleton got off to a solid start, with Sean Heather and Mason Robinson forming a promising partnership. The duo displayed excellent stroke play and put together a decent stand, frustrating the bowlers.
However, the tide turned when both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, shifting the momentum towards the fielding side.
Following the breakthrough, wickets started falling at regular intervals for Middleton.
The Cuckfield bowlers found their rhythm and created consistent pressure on the opposition.
Despite the middle-order collapse, Josh Wood showcased his exciting ball striking, playing a magnificent innings.
Wood's exceptional knock of 76 off just 39 balls helped Middleton recover and post a respectable total of 249.
Josh Hayward was the standout performer with the ball for Cuckfield, claiming 4-44 from his ten overs.
Chasing a target of 250, Cuckfield had an early hiccup when they gifted Middleton an early run-out.
However, the Cuckfield batsmen remained undeterred and battled hard to seize control of the innings. James Barker bowled a fantastic spell into the wind from one end (0-27 from 10 overs).
But the trio of Thornhill, Graham, and Candfield played crucial roles, each notching up impressive halfcenturies. Their composed and calculated innings steadied the ship for Cuckfield.
At 217-4, victory seemed within Cuckfield's grasp, as they appeared to be cruising towards their target. However, a flurry of quick wickets reduced Cuckfield to 224-7.
Middleton sensed an opportunity to turn the tide in their favor. Nevertheless, the Cuckfield tailenders were able to keep the scoreboard ticking making the most of any width on offer.
In the end, with five overs to spare, Cuckfield managed to reach the target, securing a thrilling two-wicket victory. Cuckfield gained 30 points and Middleton a deserved 14.
West Wittering v Billingshurst
Division 3 West
Billingshurst batted first and raced away at five an over, the openers riding their luck with a couple of tough chances dropped.
They put on 130 before the introduction of leg spinner James Staight bought about a couple of wickets. Billingshurst reached 200 before losing their third wicket to Harry Staight.
At one point Billingshurst looked like they could reach 300 but some tighter bowling and regular wicket-taking in the final overs stopped the surge of runs at 267.
Mike Burroughs scored 80, Isaac Thorneley 54, Dan Phillips 39 with Staight the pick of the bowlers with 3-49.
Needing six an over was always going to be tricky, especially with tight bowling early on from the openers restricting West Wittering to 32-0 after 11.
Debutant Dom Fecher (17) got a leading edge and a catch at cover sent him back to the pavilion for a nice 17, which included a couple of lovely straight drives.
Wittering lost a few more wickets and Brandon Trimmer joined Oli Starr at the crease with the score 86-4. Starr departed on 44 for lbw.
Jordan Dear (22) and Trimmer (52) took the battle back to the bowlers with a stand of 66. Dear (22) departed and Joe Sissons joined Trimmer before the skipper was removed for a fantastic 52. Sissons finished with 26*, pummelling anything short to the fence – but it wasn’t enough as WWCC were bowled out for 208, losing by 59 runs.
For Billingshurst, Paul Osbourne took 4-28, Dan Phillips 3-50
Goring 2nd v West Wittering 2nd
Division 8 West
West Wittering elected to bowl first and Kieran Baker claimed the first wicket in the first over.
Top scorer for Goring was Jacob Parkin with 16, with Aidan Goodwin and Graham Cornish both adding 12 and Joe Charman 11 the only players to reach double figures.
Rohit Chauhan took two excellent catches on debut with superb bowling from Baker (4-14) and the skipper Kev Allsobrook (3-9) bringing Goring's total to 71 all out Wittering struggled from ball one, with Chauhan out for a duck and Steve Day soon after for two. Wickets fell until the skipper came in at 11-5 to assist Charlie Caddy and temper the bowling of Rajendra Makkunuri (1-10) and Graham Cornish (4-20).
These two limped added 44 but a few more wickets meant Goring were back in the game. Baker (8no) came to the cease at 10 and assisted Caddy over the line with a two-wicket win, Caddy 42 not out.
Ashling v Stansted Park
A high-scoring game at West Ashling saw the home team post a formidable 235-9.
Mohit led the way with 65, and there was ample support from Charlie Colley and Rob Colaco who both fell three short of half-centuries.
Stansted made a rapid start, led by Dan Lane who fell for 79, and the game was in the balance.
But determined bowling, particularly Colaco's 3-38, left Stansted with too much to do in the closing overs and they ended on 200-7 to complete Ashling's win.