Division 4

Horsham Trinity 200/8
Southwater 159/8

"It was a good game," reflected Trinity skipper Darren Downes, although he was disappointed not to win.
Russell followed his match-winning unbeaten 81 against Aldwick last week with a hard-hitting 67 at Victory Road. "Ali's been the club's best batman, he's a very brave opener," said Downes. "He played some lovely shots, I was going to put him number three but he wasn't happy and he was quite right."
But, after being put into bat, Trinity failed to capitalise on Russell's flying start. Tim Street was the next best scorer with 20 and Alan Wyatt was run out without facing a ball. "If I'd got to 200 in 43 overs, I would've declared then," admitted Downes.
Henfield skipper Mike Henley was pleased with how his team responded after Russell's knock. "He took it away from us early on but once we got him out I don't think any of their other batsmen scored more than 20."
The visitors came with a young side that included three 15 year olds. "I felt that we put up a pretty good performance," added Henley.
Tim Phillips, who took 4/31 off 12 overs, was the pick of the bowlers but Henley was particularly pleased with the youngsters. "Liam Hume gave a good display behind the stumps and Andrew Carvell chipped in with a couple of wickets." Downes was also impressed. "They had some good youngsters playing for them," he acknowledged.
Henley came in for some stick last week from Wisborough Green skipper Ken Vickery after Southwater failed to chase a big target but he felt the criticism was unfair. "As a club we were very disappointed with some of the comments which were ill-judged," he said.
Southwater made a better fist of it against Trinity but kept on losing wickets at bad times. "We had an hour and 20 overs and we certainly went for it," said Henley.
Opener Dean Schoultz made 49 as Southwater put on 63 for the first wicket, but despite useful contributions from Brian Streeter and Reg Nunn, they could not maintain the momentum.
"We were always just behind the run rate. We needed a batsman to stay in and post a big score. We didn't really take advantage of the short straight boundaries," said Henley.
The experienced Tim Street took 5/70 and was well backed up by left-arm spinner Neil Fitzpatrick. "Tim bowled very well; he always does," said Downes. "They were hitting it up in the air but the ball always landed between fielders."
But Downes hopes to pick up their second win at strugglers Rustington tomorrow. "I'm looking forward to it," he said. "We're just getting into the groove. All we need is a few batsmen to back up Ali."
Southwater have yet to win a game and have a difficult match at home to third placed Worthing Chippingdale. Henley's main problem has been continuity. "We haven't fielded the same side two weeks running," he said.

Broadbridge Heath 229/7
Ram 185/8

FORM side Broadbridge Heath's three-game winning run ended when they had to settle for a draw in a high-scoring match with Ram.
"We were really disappointed not to win, which is a good sign," said skipper Richard Bell.
The visitors won the toss and put Heath in, but openers Matt Shuttlewood (64) and Nigel Baker (20) put on 60 for the first wicket to put Heath in charge. Ollie Carter (20) and Neil Charman (27) made useful contributions and Bell chimed at the end of the innings with an unbeaten 33 off just 15 balls that included two sixes.
"We batted sensibly, 229 was a good score," said Bell. "I thought job half done; we were confident we could bowl them out."
Bell, who has been in good form with the ball, took 4/53 off 16 overs, and fellow opening bowler Jamie Collis took a wicket. Craig Ronaldson, returning to the side, took 2/42 and Charman finished with 1/12.
"A couple of decisions could've gone our way. We bowled pretty straight and we fielded well, but we didn't do quite enough to bowl them out," said Bell.
"They were losing wickets steadily but - credit to them - if it was up there they gave it a go. It was only when they were seven or eight wickets down that that they didn't go for it."
But Bell's side picked up 14 points to move into second and visit leaders Bognor tomorrow. "It's given us confidence for the game," concluded the skipper.

Wisborough Green 85/5
Rustington 83

WISBOROUGH Green completed a comfortable win over Rustington after the division's whipping boys dramatically collapsed after being put in to bat.
The visitors crawled to 81/5 and folded to 83 all out in 31 overs, after they lost their last four wickets without scoring a run. The wickets were shared out between Tom Saunders (two), Ben Thatcher (three), Mark Hopkins (two) and Steve Calder-Smith (two)
"I was pretty pleased but to be honest it was not an enjoyable game," said Green skipper Ken Vickery, who feels that if the points system was structured differently it might encourage more teams to bat first and produce better matches. "We played OK but they were not very strong to be fair. I don't think they would've been able to shut up shop anyway."
Green lost opener Tim McMath early on and were 28/2 before Richard Mellor hit 36 to take them near their target. George Nicholls finished unbeaten on 15. Vickery came in with six required for victory and hit the winning boundary.
Wisborough play at Ram tomorrow.

Division 2

Scaynes Hill 249/2
Barns Green 200/7

LEADERS Barns Green maintained their place at the top after a high scoring draw at Scaynes Hill.
"It was a bloody good game of cricket," said stand–in skipper Bill Bailey who is leading the side while Phil Awcock is on holiday.
"It's a lovely place, and the game was played in a great atmosphere. I would have been more prepared to risk losing if we'd had more chance of winning. It could've been an interesting last half hour but between their skipper and me, we didn't quite make it happen."
The visitors won the toss and following convention put their hosts in. "That was the only way we could win. I didn't think we could bowl them out," said Bailey.
His decision was soon vindicated when Scaynes Hill made 249/2. "They probably got 15 or 20 runs more than they needed but they wanted to help their opener Paul Edwards get a century. He batted really well and made a chanceless 102 not out."
In reply, Roger Southgate led the way with 74, Martin Hennock made 34 and Ollie Lambkin made 28. However, the visitors were never up with the run rate and finished well short with seven wickets down. "To be honest, we could've done with a little more help," said Bailey. "With 11 overs to go, we needed nine an over. They bought on a spinner for two overs and then took him off."
Barns Green travel to second placed Keymer & Hassocks tomorrow. "All the games are important now," said Bailey. "It's a tight league and we're nearly at the halfway point of the season."

Billingshurst 186/8
Crawley Eagles 155/6

BILLINGSHURST skipper Will Gooda and fellow opener John Burroughs put on 105 for the first wicket but their team-mates failed to capitalise on their good start and had to settle for yet another draw.
The visitors won the toss, put the hosts in on the 'Billingshurst road', and may have been regretting the decision after Gooda (48) and Burroughs (56) took control.
"It was a great foundation. It's a pity the rest of the bricks were broken," said Billingshurst senior pro Chris 'Shaka' Shambrook. "We cocked it up after that. The rest of them couldn't hit the ball off the square except for Ollie Woodward who made 26. It was left to the tail to grab the extra point."
Gooda was equally disappointed. "At halfway, I thought we were 60 runs short," he admitted.
But Billingshurst made up for their batting in the field. "We performed like absolute Gods," said Shambrook. "With the exception of yours truly who was like the man in the John Smith's adverts."
The visitors lost wickets steadily as Tasmanian quickie Jason Rigby took 4/42 with the help of two catches behind the wicket by Woodward. The overseas player is starting to reward the club's decision to fly him over for the summer. "He's paid us back as far as Singapore," joked Shambrook.
Eagles needed 100 runs off the last 20 overs but Shambrook never really felt that Billingshurst could bowl them out, although they did get two wickets for the price of one.
"Two of their batsmen went for a short single and collided," he explained. "It was a wonderful crunch. The batsman was run out by Matt Hoyte and his partner had to retire hurt."
However, Shambrook felt the team had gained some confidence from their performance overall. "Our bowling and fielding made up for our inadequate batting. We're a hard team to beat," he concluded. Gooda was also upbeat. "The results went for us and we're still well in there," said Gooda.
Billingshurst play at Clymping tomorrow
Billingshurst Seconds' Bunny Smith took 4/56 to set up a three-wicket win at Storrington. After restricting the hosts to 149/9, Billingshurst reached 153/7 with Dave Sainsbury and Greg Short both indulging in a bit of jug-avoidance as they were both out for 49.

Keymer & Hassocks 180/7
Henfield 179/8

HENFIELD lost on the last ball of the match in a dramatic finish.
The visitors looked set for victory at 175/3 with four overs left but almost made a hash of it as the home side turned on the pressure.
"The last over was probably one of the most bizarre I've played in," said Henfield skipper Graham Fuller. "It made the game look closer than it was. They only needed three to win and were absolutely cruising."
Fuller took responsibility for the last over and his first ball went for a single. He thought he had taken a wicket when his next ball beat the outside edge and the bails came off. But there was some confusion as to whether the batsman had been bowled or whether Chris Crampton, who was standing up to the wicket, had dislodged the bails. The keeper was sure the ball had done the damage but the batsman was given not out. "The umpire could not really make the decision, so he made the right decision to give the batsman not out," said Fuller.
But the Henfield skipper ended the argument when he bowled the batsman with his next delivery. The next ball was a dot ball, leaving the hosts requiring two off the last two deliveries. There was then a big shout for lbw, and the batsman tried to steal a leg bye as Richard Dale threw the ball to the non-striker's end. "We thought the guy was a good two yards out although that's not a criticism of the umpire," said Fuller. "It's difficult to first have to look at an lbw and then get in a good position for a run out." Keymer then grabbed a single to midwicket off the final ball to clinch victory.
"It seemed like a really close game but we were disappointed with our batting and our bowling," admitted Fuller. "We bowled so many 'buffet' balls. But we were really pleased with the way we pulled it back."
After winning the toss, Fuller broke with convention and batted first. "The pitch looked very patchy and dry and had a few cracks. I though it might break up," he explained.
His decision looked right when openers Chris Crampton and Tim Normington added 88 for the first wicket before an unusual dismissal halted Henfield's progress.
Crampton had made 52 when he was out stumped. "It was what I call parks' cricket," said Fuller. "He missed the ball and wandered around outside his crease and the keeper rolled the ball back onto the stumps."
The dismissal was the catalyst for some poor batting. Normington, who normally plays the anchor role, hit one up in the air as he tried to push it along and was out for 42. Paul Vedamuttu, who is struggling for form, went cheaply, and Kevin Thorns was out first ball.
"Again we lost wickets at the wrong times," said Fuller. "My goal was 210, and when we didn't look like we were getting anywhere near that, we aimed for 180 but fell a run short.
"To be honest my thoughts about the pitch proved wrong. The troops were fairly disappointed. We didn't make the most of the wicket but we should have still been able to defend 180."
Chris Garcia made an early breakthrough before the hosts had scored a run but Tony Chad made 44 to keep the visitors on track.
John Price put Keymer in control with a measured innings. Fuller took two wickets in two balls and Garcia ran out Price for 75 at the non-striker's end when he deflected a drive onto the stumps. But despite the frantic last over Fuller knew his side were well beaten. "We dished up too many four balls. We didn't exactly cover ourselves in glory," he concluded.
Henfield have a free weekend tomorrow.

Division 3

East Preston 253/3
Slinfold 257/3

SLINFOLD'S Andre de Beer and Ross Dealhoy smashed their way to an impressive seven-wicket victory in a run fest at Sea Road.
South African de Beer smashed seven sixes in his quickfire 70 and Dealhoy finished off the job with an unbeaten 42 to delight skipper Steve Haines.
Haines admitted it was a good toss to win. "It's an excellent batting track and probably the shortest boundaries in the whole of the league. The plan was to keep them to a minimum total and then get the runs."
He might have been wondering the wisdom of the decision as the home openers Pete Dallimore (143 not out) and Ken Chapman (88) put on 212 for the first wicket.
Dallimore certainly seems to like Slinfold's bowling. "Last year he hit a hundred in both games against us so this was the third innings he's scored a hundred against us," explained Haines. "He just pushed it around and batted really well."
The visitors' bowlers kept at their task gamely but Slinfold's only successes came from an unlikely source. In the absence of regular spinner Guy Thorne, de Beer handed over his keeping glove after 25 overs and took 2/44 off nine overs with his spinners.
"It was a hard afternoon but they were never going at a huge rate. It was quite a daunting total but we always felt confident we could chase it, said Haines.
The skipper led the way when he opened with Ben Overton and the pair posted a century opening stand before both were out for 45.
"We were going at a really good rate, and with Andre and Ross coming in at three and four we felt pretty confident. You never want to get out, but we both probably got out at just the right time," admitted Haines.
The new pair upped the pace. "They just hammered it everywhere," said Haines. De Beer took a liking to one of the home bowlers, hitting him for four sixes in an over. "There were a few complaints from the neighbours, but the home skipper kept his nerve and the bowler dismissed him in his next over," said Haines.
It was left to Dealhoy who ended up on 42 and Haines' dad Martyn (32 not out) to steer the visitors to victory.
Slinfold play St Andrews tomorrow. "It's a must win game," said Haines. "I can see a gap appearing between the top-two and the rest we need to keep in touch."

Portslade 234/7
Storrington 210/4

STORRINGTON'S Malcolm Carter hit his second successive league century but it was not enough to secure victory in a high scoring game at Benfield Valley.
The veteran batsman finished unbeaten on 103 to add to his unbeaten 104 in last week's victory against Eastergate. However, the visitors finished 25 runs short of their target with six wickets in hand, having received six overs less than their hosts.
Earlier the visitors won the toss and put Portslade in. Jamie Howick top scored with 100 as they declared after 49 overs.