Relegated Horsham finish on a high with two wins in final two games

Brighton won the toss and elected to bat, and while Tim Jarvis (58) and Simon Heatherton (52) scored well, consistent bowling from the Lions restricted the Brighton batsmen.

Tom Clark (3-43) and Harnoop Kalsi (3-65) did the most damage with the ball for Horsham as they bowled their hosts out for 246 after 42.3 overs.

With the bat, captain Michael Thornely led the Lions to victory with an unbeaten 117 off 117 balls, and a partnership of 102 with Joe Willis gave the visitors the advantage as they went on to reach 250-5 after 43.1 overs.

Discussing the win, cricket manager Ed Clark revealed that while it was ‘pleasing’, the surge of form was frustratingly late for the side relegated two weeks ago.

He said: “Obviously it was pleasing to finish with another win. But, like against East Grinstead, there is a tinge of frustration that we’ve won again but just too late really.”

After their relegation was confirmed on August 17 with defeat against Three Bridges, Horsham have won two from two, and Clark is hopeful it can be the start of a new era with youngsters coming through.

He continued: “There’s been a few excellent individuals. Joe (Willis) has been a massive positive, and James Brehaut with the ball has really stood up, especially since Jamie Brown went home.

“Hopefully it’ll be a season we can look back on and think ‘that was the start of something.’”

Horsham will be playing Division 2 cricket for the first time ever next year, but will be confident of an immediate return following a strong finish this season.