HAILSHAM travelled to Isfield on an absolute scorcher to try and keep up their good momentum so far this season.
Skipper Anthony won the toss and elected to bat, on a pitch that looked as though it would break up later in the day.
The usual pairing of Peacock and Ollie McDonald strode to the middle, knowing that seeing off the new ball would go a long way to posting a decent score later on. 3 runs an over during the powerplay period didn’t phase the pairing, and they looked to push on once the change bowlers had been brought on. McDonald, in particular, took a liking, depositing 5 sixes on his way to 59 off of 45 balls, before being removed after one shot too many. Peacock held up an end well, rotating the strike where possible, and allowing the harder hitting Dunning (34) and Tom McDonald (31) to score the runs around him. Peacock became the glue for the innings, eventually being removed for 85 after trying to push on the rate in the final 5 overs. A huge 6 over long off by Number 11 Shankar Bala summed up and excellent innings for Hailsham, finishing 252-9 off of their 45.
On a pitch that was getting harder to bat on, Hailsham were confident that they had a defendable total, and this confidence rose free a fine early catch from Will Royall off of the bowling of Bellett. Hard hitting Williams looked to push the rate on for Isfield, and after an extremely well made 34, snicked off Shankar Bala into the welcoming gloves of Hicks. Wickets fell regularly in the Isfield innings, with Hallett taking 4-30 in the process, a fine effort from him. A small rebuild from Thornicroft (45) and Halsey (32) started to regain hope in the Isfield ranks, but once the pair were dismissed, the final wickets fell quickly, and Hailsham took the win by 78 runs.
The Choice Medics Man of the Match goes to Ciaran Peacock for his well-made 85 that acted as the glue for the Hailsham innings.
HAILSHAM Vs CROWHURST PARK
Hailsham 2XI welcomed Crowhurst Park 2XI to the Recreation ground on a scorching day looking to bounce back from a poor start to the season. Skipper Lewis Williams won the toss and unsurprisingly opted to bat given the weather and the gorgeous track he had prepared.
Rob Wilkinson (58) and Joe Fingerneissl (22) opened and got off to a flyer, partially thanks to some loose bowling which meant Crowhurst racked up a considerable amount of extras early and some expansive shots from Fingers which put some early pressure on the bowlers. Fingers early flurry of runs came to an end when he was trapped lbw.
This brought Shaun Kevern (12) into the game and he and Wilko continued adding to the total, the left hand-right hand partnership helping contribute to the extras total steadily increasing. Kevern fell next to a good nut which nipped in to take his off stump. Wilko was next partnered by Sully Hallett (19) as Hailsham continued to build their total, Wilko and Hallett looked to settle into their work with Hailsham going at a comfortable rate. Hallett fell to an off-break that just clipped the bails on the way through.
Christy Walder (6) and Gareth Morgans (3) fell cheaply, leaving Hailsham five down with about fifteen overs to play. Williams (29) joined Wilkinson and looked to drive Hailsham towards 200, finding the boundary on several occasions, including a lovely six over cover. Wilkinson fell next picking out mid wicket to bring an impressive innings to an end. Hollie Young was next in to bat and contributed a quick 9 before being caught. Shibin Abraham was unfortunately not able to provide any fireworks this week, falling bowled for 4. Williams followed suit soon after leaving Warren Headland (4*) and Matt Anthony (1) to try and bat out the rest of Hailsham’s allotted overs. This unfortunately did not happen as Anthony clipped one off his legs straight to square leg in the 38th over, Hailsham finishing on 210, a respectable but by no means imposing total given the circumstances.
Hailsham began their bowling innings knowing they would need a big performance to bring home the thirty points. Abraham (3-43) got Hailsham off to the best possible start, taking a wicket first ball, the Crowhurst opener nicking off to Hallett. Anthony (2-20) struck a couple overs later, Walder taking a spectacular one handed catch at mid-off.
Anthony got his second an over later, Fingers taking a smart catch at gully, the ball after being brought in from third man by Williams. Abraham got his second soon after, Hallett taking his second catch behind the stumps. Headland (1-31) and Young (2-19) replaced the openers looking. Headland got Hailsham’s next , Hallett again showing safe hands to take his third, before a mix up in the running led to a run out at the bowlers end. Young then struck twice, one bowled one taken again by Hallett.
Abraham came back to bowl his last over and claimed another, bowling the Crowhurst number nine. This left Crowhurst needing a last wicket stand of a hundred, which did not come to fruition as further confusion between the wickets led to a fairly regulation run out to end Crowhurst’s innings on 114, ensuring the thirty points would stay in Hailsham. The EF Education man of the match went to Rob Wilkinson for a well made 58 in the heat.
HAILSHAM CC 3RD XI Vs DENTON (AWAY)
This weekend saw the 3rd XI face 2 battles. Just like everyone else, the heat was causing as many problems as opposition. Before anything had began it was decided that drinks every 10 overs was a must. So, the skipper took to the middle in an attempt to start things off well by winning the toss and putting Denton into the field. This didn’t happen and instead we were forced to stand out in the heat first.
Opening the bowling for the sham were Bradley Aldridge (2/25 from 7) and Jack Coughlan (3/23 from 6). Jack started off superb by bowling great line and length and hooping it towards the right hander making little mistakes. Unfortunately Brad had a harder time at the other end missing the length a few times and being punished for it. The first changes were made and Charlie Saunders (2/26 from 9) and Ethan Dawber (0/12 from 3) took over and bowled some dangerous stuff. Ethan unlucky to take a wicket and Charlie let down by the fielding of Bobby and Kenno with 2 drops, led to the opposition getting a move on a bit. Until Callum Lainchbury brought himself on to take 2 wickets himself (2/21 from 9). A short stint from Bobby Williams (1/14 from 2.1) at the end of the innings bowled Denton out for 132. Questionable umpiring and ethics from a home player put a downer on the first innings with a catch from behind that was deemed a dot ball. Should have walked.
DCC 132/10 from 36.1 overs.
After a very uncomfortable lunch, the sham went out to bat and chase down a surprisingly difficult score. Stewart Kennedy (37) was going strong and putting the ball to all places whilst Liam Fenwick (0) struggled to make an impact. In at 3 was Ethan Dawber (0) who was looking quite confident until he wandered out of his crease for the keeper to take the bails off with ease. Number 4 was struggling Bobby (9) who struggled to keep a positive strike rate but looked much better than recent weeks. Confidence was growing in the Hailsham camp as Kenno and Bobby were going very well until Bobby pulled a vile short ball straight to backwards square for a juggled catch.
Kenno fell shortly ater and in went Andrew Swansborough (6) and Ethan Hele (21). Swanny wasnt sticking around as he looked to hit the road and industrial estate every chance he got whilst Ethan waited for the bad ball to put away. Swanny fell for what could be catch of the season and Ethan stuck around to see Adam Dean (4) and Jack Coughlan (6) walk back to the seats. IN STROLLS THE SKIPPER AND BRAD! Callum Lainchbury (36) wasn’t messing around and was putting on a show for all on the ground. Hitting a nice 6 into the road and multiple 4’s off just 22 balls put Hailsham into a serious position and Bradley Aldridge (1*) played the all important role of Jack Leach to keep the team calm. After Callum got caught aiming for Newhaven fort, Charlie Saunders (4*) came in to slap away the winning 4 for the last wicket.
The sham chased the total on what will easily be the most dangerous and nearly unplayable wicket they will face this year with 1 wicket in hand and 5.1 overs to spare.
The 3rd XI Sell Your Car Sussex player of the match goes to the skipper for a superb bowling spell and a vile slogging session at the bottom of the order to bring home the points for the team. Well done lad. The 3’s look to continue this form into next week where they face Lewes st Michaels at the wonderful Roebuck park.
HAILSHAM 4XI Vs MAYFIELD 4XI
At a very warm Roebuck Park the 4XI took on Mayfield. Captain Kaleigh lost the toss but to her delight Mayfield chose to bat.
A new bowling attack packed the 4XI and saw Sol Skinner (0-42 off 6) and Sam Andrews (1-25 off 5) open up. Unfortunately for Sol the excess sun cream caused some issues and with a few balls going as wide as point he needed a break. With Sam bowling tight lines at the other end brought Hailsham their first wicket of the day, with a great catch from James Abbott.
Kaleigh decided to bring herself into the attack (0-33 off 4) but with the set batter hitting her all around the park that was short lived. All was not lost with Tom Mills at the other end holding up proceedings as normal (1-23 off 9). With Kaleigh coming off brought Anushan to the game (3-39 off 9) again bowling some tight lines and keeping the run rate down.
Towards the back end of the innings Ralph Figgins (0-39 off 7) came on to bowl struggling to find that line and getting annoyed Ralph ended up bowling well.
With a mixture of the heat and some fielding disappointments Mayfield finished with too many on the board for Hailsham’s liking 218-7.
With a quick turn around with a keen Mayfield taking to the field Hailsham went out with a positive attitude.
Tim Mullins decided he was unable to open the batting this week due to a hand injury involving a pen James Abbott (1) and Ralph Figgins (8) took on the roles. Unfortunately James failed to get going hitting one to square for some catching practice and Ralph being caught in close by a nice grab from the fielder brought Sam Andrews (10) and the now healed Tim Mullins (5) to the crease Sam gave the Mayfield fielders some more catching practice as well as Tim giving one to returning JJ UK to catch behind the stumps. Jogi Panwar (40) arrived at the crease with intent but unfortunately became trapped LBW after running John Dyer (16) out. This brought Dale Jenner (0) to the crease and as he said “I can’t block anything” he got bowled trying to do exactly that. Tom Mills (6*) was bumped up the batting order this weekend to show what he can do. Anush (0) was next to the crease and came straight back in. Kaleigh (6) then came to the crease on a hat-trick ball. Being able to see that out and then with some confidence in her didn’t hit the ball hard enough and gave Mayfield some more catching practice. Sol Skinner (0) was next up and with him getting bowled left Hailsham 100 all out.
A bit of a disappointing performance all round saw Hailsham on the losing side.
The Leepy player of the match goes to Anush for a brilliant bowling display.
8 degrees, “raging green top” and a team of gun players. That’s what Eastbourne 4XI were welcomed to when they turned up at Ringmer to face Hailsham 5XI. Stand in skipper Renals lost the toss and Hailsham were forced to field first in the midday sun.
George Fingerneissl (0-22) and Sarah Rawoo (3-16) opened the bowling with George bowling some beautiful lines and lengths and Sarah turning it square with a cheeky bit of bounce. Fingers could not break through the Eastbourne top order however Rawoo used her experience to force one of the openers to allow the ball to roll into his own stumps. The opening bowlers were replaced by Renals (1-30) and Theo Veiga (0-40) who attempted to steady the ship as Eastbourne were racking up the runs. Lewis Thompsett (2-47) made a great dent in the increasing run rate whilst taking a couple of wickets along the way. Dinuka Athapaththu (1-39) showed his skill as a leg spinner, baffling the batsman with flight and guile while the ball turned round their legs. George Bailey (0-15) came on for the final few overs in the hope of wrapping up the innings and bowled amazingly to some in form batsmen. Eastbourne finished their 40 overs with the mammoth total of 249 which could have been heavily reduced had Hailsham not dropped 14 catches….
After a quick tea break Gavin Mullet and John Figgins opened the batting with a big total ahead of them. They batted sensibly for a few overs before Figgins was caught. Paul bone attending the crease and joined Gavin with some brilliant shots all around the ground before falling for 22. Rawoo entered the crease with Hailsham needing 8 an over to win. After being dropped first ball she allowed Gavin the strike before she was caught for 7. This brought captain Renals to the game. 10 an over to win, bat in hand and the team watching on. First ball hits middle stump. After a middle order collapse, Dinuka and Theo were creating an amazing partnership of 61. Dinuka smashed the ball around the ground including 3 massive sixes whilst theo knocked the ball for quick singles to keep the run rate ticking. Dinuka thought he was playing a T20 and thought scooping was a great option, which the Eastbourne keeper was clearly not a fan of…. Angry man…. Sadly Theo, George and Lewis all fell around dinuka to leave him stranded on 41* from 42 balls.
A lot of positives to take from the game and a couple of things to improve on for next week. The GB Willow Player of the match goes to Dinuka for his impressive bowling and near match saving batting performance.
