We're not taking title for granted, says Roffey

Roffey are in the driving seat to complete a superb hat-trick of Sussex League Premier Division titles.
Cricket: Sussex League Premier Division: East Grinstead (batting) v Roffey. Leigh Harrison  . Pic Steve Robards  SR1623332 SUS-160108-122214001Cricket: Sussex League Premier Division: East Grinstead (batting) v Roffey. Leigh Harrison  . Pic Steve Robards  SR1623332 SUS-160108-122214001
Cricket: Sussex League Premier Division: East Grinstead (batting) v Roffey. Leigh Harrison . Pic Steve Robards SR1623332 SUS-160108-122214001

Having trailed Horsham for much of the season, they have overtaken both their local rivals and fellow contenders Cuckfield.

Over the weekend they had the opportunity to extend an 11-point lead to beyond the reach of their opponents.

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It didn’t quite come off as well as it might have done, but they did manage to increase their lead to 19 points.

On Saturday they played former champions Preston Nomads and were held to a surprise draw which was the only blot on an otherwise perfect recent record.

Then on Sunday they narrowly beat the team of promising youngsters known as the Sussex Development XI by two wickets in their game in hand.

They now have to play Bexhill, Worthing, Horsham and Brighton & Hove in the run-in to the end of the season.

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Skipper Matt Davies is taking nothing for granted and realises they are going to have to work very hard to continue to make progress towards another title.

He said: “We are confident in ourselves as a team. Six weeks ago we were 50 points behind Horsham and now we are 59 points ahead of them. This shows that things can change very quickly.

“We have four huge games, starting with Bexhill which will be really difficult. We know how close the margins are - we could have lost on Sunday if Josh and George didn’t play so well. We just have to play hard and train hard during the week.”

Davies showed how professional his club is by revealing his side practices two or three times per week on top of their weekend matches.

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Saturday’s opponents Bexhill will be no pushover, lying in third place in the table they are themselves just 48 points off the top.

They go into the game in fine form having just beaten Worthing by 94 runs with Callum Guest hitting 94 and Josh Beeslee taking 5-38.

Roffey will be without middle-order batsman Chris Webb, who is preparing to get married and will welcome into the team Martin Rivers.

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