Cuckfield 1st XI Vs Horsham 1st XI
Cuckfield travelled to Horsham on Saturday, May 17 for the second game of the Sussex Premier League.
Having won the toss, stand-in skipper Ben Candfield elected to bowl first on what looked to be a brilliant batting surface. Horsham openers Beer and Willis played cautiously up top, as Cuckfield’s opening pair bowled with good control, before a smartly bowled short-ball caught Willis off guard, his pull shot looping back to Jake Gibson to fall for 17.
Beer should’ve followed soon after, as he edged first-change Rogers to the ‘keeper; the umpires outstretched arm quelled the Cuckfield celebrations and a disheartened Rogers was forced to re-bowl the delivery.
In his next over, Rogers finally had some reward for a testing spell, as South African De Villiers nicked through to Gayler for 2. Beer failed to capitalise on his reprieve, as a cat-like Nolan threw down the stumps from point with him a yard short of his crease. When former England u19 Foreman joined the rest of Horsham’s top order back in the pavilion with the score 66-4, Cuckfield sensed an opportunity to bundle the home side out.
The ever-dependable Nick Oxley had other ideas though, playing watchfully alongside Trainer, as both showed just how good a pitch it was – low risk cricket, hard running and the capitalising on the occasional bad ball saw them ease their way to a 100-run partnership as Cuckfield’s bowlers struggled to extract anything from the docile surface.
Trainer fell to Sam Candfield with the score on 169, and was followed next ball by Sheen, before Briance played an able hand in support of the now-motoring Oxley. Oxley began to show his range, utilising the large outfield to pick up regular 2s, before attacking the off-side boundary as the innings moved towards it’s conclusion. Cuckfield had no answer, as he brought up his century off 117 balls and finished on a chanceless 107 not out as Horsham made their way to 243.
Despite Oxley’s brilliance, Cuckfield felt the score was under-par with the surface offering little for both seam and spin, especially one the shine had gone from the ball. Nolan and Rogers started off positively – with Rogers in particular showing the good nature of the pitch with a series of boundaries through both off- and leg sides.
Having batted with little trouble, the introduction of De Villiers’ medium pace saw both batters play false shots, before he was finally rewarded when Rogers tamely poked outside his off-stump and edged through to Willis for 37.
Kiwi Gibson joined Nolan, who began to play and miss with more regularity as Horsham’s seamers found their lengths. Nolan’s frustration was evident as he lined up a few big swipes to the short boundary, only connecting with thin air before finally clothing one to square leg to give De Villiers his 2nd. The returning Ollie Graham fell soon after, caught behind trying to cut Avinou, and at this point Cuckfield’s good start had been well and truly undone. Gayler and Gibson rebuilt well, taking a liking to the off-spin of Foreman.
Briance’s slow, accurate left arm spin proved more challenging however, as both Cuckfield batters struggled to score. As the nerves in the visitors camp began to settle, Gibson was caught at deep square leg after mistiming his pull shot and drinks were taken with Horsham back in charge. Turner and Prior fell quickly afterwards, both to the impressive Briance, and at 135-6, a home victory seemed a formality.
Gayler, however, had other ideas and found an able partner in Streak – the Zimbabwean played an unusually watchful hand as Gayler began to pick up his scoring, reducing the equation to 60 off the final 12 overs.
The under pressure Foreman came to Horsham’s rescue however, as Gayler attempted one big hit too many and was well held on the rope for 48. Cuckfield’s hopes rested on captain Candfield’s shoulders, and despite looking brilliant at the beginning of his innings, he unfortunately launched one off Avinou straight into the hands of deep square, the 3rd Cuckfield batsman to perish caught right on the edge of the boundary.
Streak fell soon after and Sam Candfield was cleaned up by Avinou to a complete a 21 victory for Horsham. A poor batting performance from Cuckfield proving the deciding factor in an enthralling contest. Pick of the bowlers for Horsham was Briance (2-26 off his 10 overs). Cuckfield host local rivals Haywards Heath on Saturday and will look to get back to winning ways.
Cuckfield 2nd XI Vs Crowhurst Park 1st XI
Crowhurst Park won the toss and elected to bat on a warm day at Cuckfield.
Shaw and Osmond opened the batting with Barker steaming in at the other end. It didn’t take long for an early wicket to fall with Barker (4-42) taking Osmond for just the one run. With the number 1 and 3 batsmen at the crease the runs were flowing before Barker took the 2 of them (Shaw 47 and Powell 21). Crowhust Park struggled to get going again after that apart from the partnership between Watson and Lovell. Wisdom (43-4) though, took apart their middle/lower order which meant Crowhurst Park finished with a defendable 191.
Cuckfield fancied their chances though with Downey (88) and Sear (15) taking the pace first up. Downey got off to a flying start facing the fast bowling from Shaw. Peters (3-53) taking the other end managed to break through taking Sear (15) and Amer (8) with Constable taking Galbraith-Gibbons for 0. Eventually after a hard earned splendid innings Downey (88) found Long on to bring Crowhurst Park renewed hope of winning the game.
Wisdom (24*) and Lord (26) steadied the ship as they continued the chase of 191. Rabari then bowled Lord for a highly important 26, putting doubt into Cuckfield minds whether they would chase the required 191. The two Buckeridge brothers scored a total of 3 with Rabari bowling N. Buckeridge and Shaw nicking off E. Buckeridge. This brought Barker (8) to the crease to see Cuckfield over the line with the highly appreciated innings of Wisdom staying at the crease ticking it over before getting the winning runs to take the full 30 points into a very exciting season ahead.
Cuckfield 3rd XI Vs Keymer and Hassocks 1st XI
Cuckfield captain Caleb Hawkins walked out to the middle with the Keymer and Hassocks skipper Adam Wickens to do the toss, with the result being Hawkins putting Keymer into bat and handing the ball to the Cuckfield attack, opening with Sam Shepherd and Stuart Plant.
Keymer started the stronger of the two sides, with Munro and Duplock taking advantage of a short boundary while taking good care of their wickets, leaving them 40 without loss after six overs. However, Shepherd’s persistence paid off and he took the first wicket of Duplock, meaning Keymer were 41-1 after seven overs.
Banks then joined Munro and put on a mammoth 156 runs in the next 17 overs. After a bowling change that saw Will Ward brought on to replace an unlucky Jack Best, the Keymer partnership was broken as Banks found Monty Wood at deep mid-wicket and had to depart for a well-made 69 runs from 59 balls.
Ward continued, with Ayan Chakravartty also piling on pressure with extremely tidy bowling. However, they were unable to break the new partnership of Barnes and Munro. It took until the 24th over for the next wicket to fall. Ward, having to contend with the short boundary, undid Munro through the gate and sent him on his way for a fast 85 runs from 69 deliveries, leaving Keymer with a strong 232-3 going into the last 10 overs.
Cuckfield then further piled on the pressure with a fantastic piece of bowling from batsman Monty Wood to remove Cohen-Hamilton for a duck just six balls after Ward’s last wicket. Unfortunately, Cuckfield couldn’t capitalise further on the pressure from the last two wickets until the 39th over, when Shepherd took his second wicket of the day. After some big hitting in the last two overs from Stuart Lea, Keymer and Hassocks 1st XI ended their innings after 40 overs on 337-5.
In reply, Cuckfield (Wynn and Wood opening up) started at a reasonable rate, with Wynn riding his luck on more than one occasion. However, the wickets started tumbling slowly but surely, with Wynn making 34, Wood making 11, and the rest of the top order struggling to make a dent in the titanic score Keymer set.
Cuckfield were provided some hope as Shepherd and Hawkins became the mainstays of the Cuckfield innings, with Shepherd making a very respectable 62 not out, while Hawkins fell agonisingly short of the half-century mark on 49 before being caught at mid-off. The Cuckfield lower order weren’t able to replicate the innings of Hawkins or Shepherd, and the wickets fell fast. By the end of the 40th over, Cuckfield finished on 279-9 from 40 overs, falling 58 runs short of Keymer’s total.
Overall, it was a frustrating day for the Cuckfield contingent, but a well-fought game of cricket nonetheless.
Cuckfield 4th XI Vs St Peters 5th XI
The mighty 4s made the short trip south to the Brighton coast to face St Peter’s 5’s. The team had a healthy blend of youth and experience which had all the ingredients for an exciting game of cricket. St Peter’s won the toss and chose to bat.
A. Jull got the early break through and was ably supported by J. Atkins who bowled superbly keeping the batters in check. The bowling momentum was expertly maintained by R. Taites, D. Tuddenham, E. Worrow and P. Meader, who kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Every time St. Peters were pegged back, they kept coming back fighting, throwing caution to the wind and accelerating the run rate. This aggressive, high risk batting strategy paid off with St Peters setting an “achievable” target of 250.
Coming out to bat, G. Smith and J. Ward led the charge with a sensational 66-run knock from G. Smith. His innings was the backbone of the team's total, showcasing a blend of power-hitting and smart stroke play that kept the scoreboard ticking and the opposition under pressure.
Supporting him ably was E. Taites, who chipped in with a composed, well beyond his years, and confident 36. There was some big hitting from R. Taites 25, ably supported by H. Baldry 11. A. Jull 6 and P. Meader 10*. The game was in the balance through most of the innings, but St. Peters kept picking up wickets at regular intervals and eventually the mighty 4’s ran out of batters.
In an exciting display of cricketing talent and team spirit, the fixture saw a gripping performance from both teams. On a sunny day, one would say cricket (and St Peters) was the real winner!!
Cuckfield Women's 1st XI Vs Burgess Hill Women's 2nd XI
The afternoon began in balmy sunshine. Cuckfield women away against Burgess Hil 2nd XI women. Cuckfield won the toss and elected to bat. Overseas (former Zimbabwe international) Mayers opened with Webb. A good ball from Lewes’ M Gwynne saw Webb out in the first over. Ava Graham, came in and she and Mayers (with a run rate of more than 2 a ball) put on an impressive partnership of just over 100 before Mayers was out for 69, caught at mid-on by P Gwynne off Wickwar.
Nolan came in and she and Graham scored a steady 65 together before Graham was dismissed for 58 by Turner. Hinley, on her debut for Cuckfield came in and was just getting going when she was caught at square leg by Gaston for 12. Moss joined Nolan at the crease. The run rate slowed a little, before Nolan was bowled by M Gwynne, having scored 34. Smith and Moss saw out the innings with 6 and 8 respectively. Cuckfield made 239 in 30 overs. A strong innings.
Burgess Hill lost an early wicket in P Gwynne, bowled by Smith. A couple of catches in the early overs sadly didn’t count as they were off no-balls and Burgess Hill scored steadily until Hinley’s quality spin bowling saw her bowl Wickwar and Wren in quick succession, and then Nolan took a catch off Hinley’s ball to Parker. From a strong position of 68-1, Burgess Hill were now 84-4. Temperatures started to dip but Cuckfield morale never did.
Some tight fielding, especially by Webb, Tuddenham and Meeke (also her début for the women’s team), and focused keeping by Jefferson kept the Burgess Hill run rate lower than they needed. As did a couple of late wickets by Nolan. Despite some spirited running at the last by Burgess Hill, they ended on 161 after 30 overs. M Gwynne batted impressively for Burgess Hill, finishing on 95*.
A great performance with everyone playing a valuable part. Dynamic in terms not just of the cricket, but the on-pitch energy and team spirit. 30 points. Onwards and upwards!