East Sussex cricket round-up: Hooper happy with his Hastings form... Lenham delighted with unbeaten Eastbourne

Hastings CC star Elliot Hooper says he felt ‘as good as ever’ with the ball after he put in another brilliant all-round performance at the weekend.
Mayfield celebrate a wicket at Buxted Park / Picture: Ron HillMayfield celebrate a wicket at Buxted Park / Picture: Ron Hill
Mayfield celebrate a wicket at Buxted Park / Picture: Ron Hill

Hooper took 4-35 before hitting 64 from 44 ballls in the 55-run defeat to Mayfield last week.

It’s been a frustrating summer for all cricketers with the delayed start but the majority of teams have been just happy to play some competitive cricket thanks to the Sussex Cricket League’s August Cup.

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And even though results have not gone Hastings’ way, Hooper, who made his first class debut for Sussex last year, has been happy personally.

He said: “On a personal note it’s always nice to take a few wickets and score a few runs, I haven’t felt great with the bat thus far but I feel like I played my natural game over the weekend which paid off.

“I’ve felt as good as ever with the ball in hand recently. I’ve just been out to Sydney over the winter and really tried hard to work on my game.

“I definitely think the most important thing for us was to just play some cricket.

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“We’ve got a few new players into the ones and it’s given them a really good idea of how best to play premier league cricket, it’s allowed them to test themselves and work out plans for how they’ll succeed going forward, so the August Cup has been great for our development.”

Hastings were promoted back to the Premier Division last season after a successful Division 2 campaign, and Hooper believes they have a squad to do well next season.

He said: “We’ve shown a lot of promise so far and I honestly think we’re really close to looking like a strong side, our bowling attack when everyone’s fully fit is right up there with the best in the league.

“All we’re lacking really is someone with a bit more experience with the bat who can score you 500-600 runs a year.”

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On Saturday, Hastings finish their August Cup campaign against unbeaten Eastbourne.

Last weekend, Mayfield batted first against Hastings and scored 216-8, Hooper the pick of the bowlers.

Hooper, along with Greg Devlin (46), batted well, but it was not enough as former skipper Jason Finch lead the way with 3-10 as Hastings were dismissed for 161.

Hooper said: “It was a massive shame about the defeat over the weekend, we just weren’t good enough in any of the three areas.

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“We dropped a few catches, the bowling was hit and miss and nobody apart from two of us made it into double figures, and the higher standard you play you just can’t do that or you’ll get punished."

Eastbourne CC

Scott Lenham says being unbeaten so far in the August Cup is a ‘great achievement’ for Eastbourne.

The 18-year-old has been one of the stars of the August Cup with the ball and in the last two weeks has taken nine wickets with match-winning spells 4-13 and 5-33 against Mayfield and East Grinstead respectively.

And this form has put Eastbourne - who won the T20 competition last season - as one of the favourites to win the August Cup.

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Lenham said: “I’m really pleased on a personal note on my performances so far this season.

“But more importantly as a team we have put some really good performances in and being unbeaten in the August cup so far is a really good achievement for us as a team.”

Eastbourne’s win over East Grinstead was impressive on Saturday as both side’s were unbeaten going into the game.

East Grinstead batted first and were bowled out for 181 in the 36th over.

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Ben Twine (2-20) made early in roads before spinner Lenham and Joe Pocklington (2-28) wnet through the rest of the line-up.

Will Adkin (78) and Leo Cammish (38) were the only batsmen to get going for East Grinstead.

Lenham and Pocklington then starred with the bat with 38 and 36 not out as Eastbourne edged home in the 36th over with two wickets to spare.

And Lenham believes the win shows Eastbourne can triumph in the competition.

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Lenham said: “With that brilliant win on Saturday meant that we would finish top of our group for the August cup which is brilliant.

“I personally feel that we have a very good chance on winning the August cup this year if we keep performing like we have done this season.”

Lenham was more known for his batting exploits in the past but his spells with the balls have made the headlines so far in this shortened season. He said: “I have been working hard on my bowling over the winter months. The reason for this is because I want to be a genuine all rounder to give myself the best opportunity in pushing myself onto the next level.”

Lenham is also highly-regarded at County Level and has recently been training with the first team.

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But due to lockdown chances have been few and far between this year.

He said: “Due to the covid situation Sussex Academy fixtures have been reduced but we’ve had a few games so far this season and lots of training with the first team squad which has been a great experience for me.”

Bexhill 2nd v Pevensey

Winning the toss, a rarity, Pev batted first on a curious looking track where timing the ball was a struggle, and the harsh wind blowing across the ground made life difficult all day.

Opener Jim Wallis did the heavy work batting through the whole of the innings for 73*, as the Bexhillians used conditions well to keep wickets falling at the other end.

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B Phillimore (3-43) was the pick of the bowlers but cameos from Chris Loveland, Tom Carpenter and Fred Wallis allowed Pev to work their way to a competitive 162-7 off 40.

The Bexhill reply stalled in the face of a superb opening spell from Tom Carpenter who bowled his eight overs straight taking 2-15, zipping it past outside edges merrily.

Josh Perry and Ben Pedroza took a wicket each and Bexhill were 19-4. Skipper Will Smith (57) gave them a chance with some tactical hard hitting, but when he fell to a caught and bowled Pev were not to be denied their first win in the August Cup.

Credit goes to Chris Loveland and Guy Moore for excellent catches, and MoM was Wallis for a defining knock.

Pevensey 2nd v Westfield

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Pevensey welcomed a strong Westfield side to a windy recreation ground and were invited to bat.

In difficult conditions a steady start was made by Paul Board and Dom Pedroza and the score was 65-1 after 14 overs. However, Westfield bowled consistently well and put the brakes on the middle order.

With five overs left of the 40 Pev had only accumulated 126-7 but a late rally by Guarav Bijlani and Chris Pedroza took them to a final total of 163- 9.

Westfield started badly, Pev took two quick wickets and at 25-2 the game was in the balance. However, strong batting by T Adams, Baker and Corke saw the visitors canter home by seven wickets in the 32nd over. Harffey, Borsoi and Long took a wicket each.

Herstmonceux

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In the August Cup, Herstmonceux travelled to play Glynde 2nd, won the toss and elected to field.

Early wickets for Paddy Smith, Nick Toomey and Matt Ladham put Glynde on the back foot with only Josh Sudan (55) and Angus Bishop (21) compiling a partnership of note. Glynde finished 144 all out.

In reply, Billy Hobden (64*), Tom Crouch (45) and Mickey Toomey (23*) easily saw ‘Ceux over the line inside 21 overs and winning by nine wickets.

The second XI hosted Battle in a low-scoring match, where the recent poor weather made timing and scoring difficult. A fine 62 from George Harris anchored the Battle innings, reaching 139-4 from 35 overs.

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Herstmonceux made a solid if conservative start from promoted opener Mike Neilan (32) before accelerating the scoring through Paul Sandalls (36*) and Dale Mayhew (25*) seeing the home side win by seven wickets.

This Saturday the 1st XI host Laughton with the 2nd XI hosting Hellingly 2nd XI at Ashburnham.

Glynde went out of the National Village Cup despite putting up a battling performance to Redbourn.

Glynde won the toss and batted first and got off to a slow but steady start against good accurate bowling, adding 25 for the first wicket, before Alex Thornhill was the first wicket to fall.

He was followed by Charlie Hobden three balls later.

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Archie Burrows batted well for 34, but at 60-4 things weren’t looking great for the home side. However Robbie Mouland (62) looked dangerous, while there were good contributions from Craig Eaves with 23, George Burton-Durham 25 and Matt Cramp 11, as Glynde managed to reach 189 all out off their 40 overs.

Conor Yorath was the pick of the Redbourn bowlers as they fielded and bowled well in blustery conditions.

The Redbourn opening pair of Edward Hales (94) and William Hales (38) seemed to have put the game out of Glynde’s reach with a superb partnership of 132, with Edward Hales hitting five fours and ten sixes in his 54-ball innings.

Glynde fought really hard, as the away side collapsed to 159-6, Louis Baron taking 3-27. When another wicket fell on 174 there was still hope for Glynde, however George Cutler (12no) and Josh Arnold (10no) saw Redbourn across the line.

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Glynde were left disappointed but showed in defeat what a fighting team they are and should feel proud of their efforts in the 2020 competition.

In the August Cup on Saturday, Glynde beat Dome Mission to retain a chance of going through to the play-offs and finals.

Glynde batted first and were bowled out for 149 with Matt Blunt (47) top scoring and Tom Pedley (31) supporting. Dome Mission had little answer to Glynde’s bowling attack, as Gavin Sutherland 4-30, Charlie Silvester 3-9 and Aamer Riaz 2-13 ripped through the home side’s batting as they collapsed to 89 all out.

Glynde captain Alex Thornhill said: “I am really proud with the character the team showed. I said before the game we needed to show resilience and we did.

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“We were in danger at 60-4 of being bowled out cheaply after Redbourn dominated the first 20 overs, with some accurate bowling and superb fielding, but we recovered brilliantly.

“It was the same in the field, they could have easily knocked off the runs easily after the fantastic innings from their opening batsman, but we showed great fight.

“The team have come along way in the past two seasons - we gained promotion for the first time in ten years last season and this is the furthest we have got in the Village Cup since 2009.

“It makes me very proud and I know there is hunger in the side to achieve more.

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This Saturday Glynde host Keymer & Hassocks and have to win for a chance of going through, although Rottingdean also have a chance of winning the A7 group, which could be decided on net run rate.

Buxted Park v Mayfield 2nd

Buxted Park lost by 20 runs when they hosted Mayfield in the August Cup, the loss meaning they are knocked out.

Winning the toss, captain Craig Olive elected to bowl. The decision came good early on, as he removed an opener in the early stages. From here, Mayfield forged decent partnerships, Rob Sharma (56) acting as anchor while others came in and out around him. Buxted provided a great account of themselves in the field, with help from solid bowling displays from Craig Olive (3/34) and Redding Barnes (1/23) restricting their visitors to 159-8 off 40 overs.

Buxted got off to the worst possible start when Tom Clift was removed second ball without troubling the scorers. Debutant Will Rist (21) fought off the opening bowlers and at 31-1 Buxted were in a position to chase the total down.

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However, Buxted Park’s propensity for batting collapses was in play again, with the entire middle order giving away their wickets cheaply, leaving Buxted in big trouble at 45-7 needing a further 115 to win.

Redding Barnes (50) and Gareth Clift (35) built an excellent partnership which took Buxted to a slightly stronger position of 128-7 but again, wickets fell quickly and they were left rueing another missed chance to chase down a mediocre total, falling 20 short of Mayfield’s total.

Buxted Park’s 2nds continued their unbeaten August Cup run, putting in a dominant display over Uckfield Anderida. They look to push into the play-offs with a win against Heathfield Park.

- Dom Heater

Hailsham v Hellingly

On a windy afternoon, Hailsham won the toss and bowled first.

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Tom McDonald (0-19) and Clint Mooiman (2-16) opened the attack and Mooiman picked up the wicket of D Rippengal (13).

Shibin Abraham (2-22) bowled well into the wind.

With Hellingly 46-4, Hailsham were on top. James Bellett (5-22) picked up his maiden five-wicket haul for the firss and Shankar Bala (1-16) rounding things off leaving Hailsham chasing 100.

Rob Wilkinson (28*) and Ciaran Peacock (29) got a flying start. Peacock was the only casualty in an easy chase.

MoM Bellett (31*) played some shots and after 20.3 overs the game was won.

Dicker v Hailsham 2nd

Hailsham captain Lewis Williams chose to field.

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Ed Garbett (2-51) and Omar Pathan (2-31) started well with Pathan getting the wicket of the Dicker captain.

Matt Anthony (1-38) and Alex Renals (2-55) picked up wickets but the middle order built well. Ed Brook (0-25) and Mark Renals (0-12) did well as Dicker ended on 223-7.

Hailsham were on the ropes at 8-4. MoM Stewart Kennedy (57) and Lewis Williams (16) began a recovery but Williams fell, then Ed Brook (14) supported Kennedy. Alex Renals (33) and Ed Garbett (27) showed resistance but Hailsham couldn’t reach the target.

n Stand-in captain Bobby Williams led Hailsham thirds to a win at Seaford, while Hailsham fours – led by the club’s first female captain Kaleigh Pavitt, could not avoid a 109-run defeat againt Rotherfield.

Read more online at

sussexexpress.co.uk

Crowhurst Park v Eastbourne 2nd

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Crowhurst Park stay unbeaten after they beat Eastbourne seconds.

Park elected to bat first on a well-prepared wicket at Crowhurst Park.

Park moved to 50-0 off ten overs, with Tim Hambridge and Joe Lovell beginning to look set. A brief rain break saw the pitch liven up and Lovell fell or 13. Park lost their second and third wickets in quick succession, losing Hambridge for 46 and in-form Tom Powell with the score on 92.

The middle order took the chance this offered. They built Park’s score up to 194-7 off 37 overs thanks to Clive Tong with 29 and Nick Peters.

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New batsmen Pete Harris (12*) and Peters (37*) took ten an over from the last three overs, moving it to 231-7.

Park got off to a strong start in the field with Tong taking the early wicket of Eastbourne opener Bradley thanks to a well taken slip catch by captain Tim Hambridge. Tong soon had his second, dismissing Eastbourne’s other opener courtesy of an edge taken by keeper Rak Patel, and it was 27-2.

Eastbourne rebuilt thanks to a well-made 71 by Pollard but when he was out it was 131-4 off 27 overs.

MoM Nick Peters claimed figures of 7-0-33-3 and Tong returned 8-0-34-4, seeing Park over line with Eastbourne finishing on 199-9.

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Park stay unbeaten at the top of their group moving into their last group game against Bexhill on Saturday, knowing a win will put them in the newly announced knockout stages of the August Cup.

Brookland v Winchelsea

Winchelsea travelled to Brookland for their latest Sunday friendly and, on winning the toss, elected to bowl first in a 40-over match.

Brookland got off to a steady start before James Jury made the breakthrough bowling Craig Pierce (22) and going on to finish with 1-38 from eight overs.

Fellow opening bowler Callum Preece claimed two further wickets including Bradley Harper (26) on his way to taking 2-30. Jack Savage scored 16 before he fell to a diving caught and bowled by John Josiah.

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Alan Crouch (2-28) took two wickets in two overs including Chris Savage (15). Daxesh Patel scored 16 but was caught on the boundary off Simon Wheeler (2-18), who claimed another wicket in the same over.

Scott Balcomb scored a quickfire 30 before he was bowled by Josiah, who went on to remove C Patel (10) to finish with 3-19 from 5.1 overs with Brookland totalling 167.

Winchelsea got off to a steady start before Paddy Wood (20) was caught off Chris Savage (1-47) with the score 27-1. A mix-up saw both batsmen at the same end with Roger Tidyman dismissed for 10.

Callum Preece joined Will Wheeler to add 41 which saw Winchelsea to almost half of the target in the 18th over before the latter was bowled by C Patel (1-16) having scored 30.

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Simon Wheeler and Preece put on 89 to see Winchelsea to victory.

Westerham v Westfield

James Smith claimed his first five-wicket haul for Westfield in this friendly.

After Westerham elected to bat, Westfield reduced them to 30-3.

Resaur Rahman (84) and Chris Eldson-Wortley (31)helped Westerham to a challenging total despite Smith finishing with 5-39.

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The target proved too much for Westfield. Mark Sztyber hit 64 and Smith - Westfield’s MoM - and Stewart Fellows each scored 20, but Westfield lost by 40 runs.

Lydd v Crowhurst

Crowhurst CC are delighted to have begun playing friendly matches.

A new-looking Crowhurst XI travelled to Lydd in blustery conditions.

The home team were put in and were restricted to 148 all out by a good all-round performance by Crowhurst,

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M Murray, Kevin Cornwall, Alex White and Chappers Chapman picked up two wickets apiece with M Boyd picking up the final wicket.

In front of a socially distancied crowd, hopes were high the Crows could reach the required total.

However Lydd’s leading bowlers were very quick and with the pitch providing unpredictable bounce, Crowhurst’s top and middle order were unable to achieve it.

Despite some admirable rearguard batting from the lower order ,mainly newcomers Mark Boyd and Darren Mitchell, Crowhurst were all out for a disappointing 73.