CRICKET
Priory Batting Comes Up Short
25 May:
Hastings Priory 175; Cuckfield 176 for 2
1 June:
Middleton 214 for 4; Hastings Priory 155 all out
HUGH SULLIVAN
In winning their opening two matches, the cricketers of Hastings & St Leonards Priory looked well adjusted to their regained top-table status in the Sussex Premier League. But the past fortnight has shown there’s still some tuning to be done, as they suffered comprehensive defeats at the hands of two of the strongest teams, Cuckfield – last season’s champions – and Middleton.
Caleb Laloo – a painstaking 43 against Cuckfield”
Most obvious issues are in the batting. Captain Harry Scowen made centuries in each of the first two games. But at Cuckfield on 25 May, he was bowled out in the second over for a duck, and last Saturday (1 June) he wasn’t available to play in the home match against Middleton. Shorn of his scoring power, the rest of the batting line-up marches to the wicket more in hope than expectation.
On the bowling side, the pack can be shuffled to maintain a variety of styles. Adam Barton and John Morgan offer an opening blast; Adam Page, Seaver Cowley and Iden McCleave have been returning good figures with their medium pace; Jed O’Brien made a welcome return to the team last Saturday to add his left-arm spin to the leg spin of Alex Osborne. But, unsurprisingly, it’s proving harder to contain the higher quality batsmen of the Premier League than those Division 2 batting line-ups that were regularly skittled last summer.
Against Cuckfield, Scowen won the toss and chose to bat first – the formula for success in the previous two games. Within five overs Scowen, Osborne and Cowley were back in the pavilion with just two runs between them. Caleb Laloo, recalled to the side in place of the injured Dylan Woolley, made a painstaking 43, and the middle order – Tom Gillespie (21), Greg Devlin (17), McCleave (39) and Morgan (25) – all contributed valiantly, but all found boundaries hard to reach, and Priory’s eventual total of 175 looked difficult to defend.
So it proved, as Cuckfield set off at a canter. Morgan took a couple of wickets, but the home opener Henry Rogers was in blistering mood, finishing with 100 not out off 85 balls (11 fours and four sixes). An unbeaten third wicket partnership of 105 runs brought victory with eight wickets and more than 20 overs to spare.
A week later, on a damp pitch at Horntye after heavy rain in recent days, visitors Middleton won the toss and elected to bat. For much of the innings they scored slowly, with captain Sean Heather taking 143 balls to score 72. Barton, Morgan and O’Brien all enjoyed economical spells for Priory. But, with wickets in hand, the batsmen gradually accelerated, Josh Wood scoring 82 not out from 78 balls. The total of 214 for four (three of the wickets taken by Page) looked a tall order for Priory to match without Scowen in the line-up.
Deputy captain Tom Gillespie (22) started brightly, but Middleton’s pace bowler James Hartshorn dismissed him, Osborne (0) and Laloo (4) within the first six overs, and the middle order had once again to embark on a saving mission. Cowley (15), Adam Keane (19), Will Hutchings (26), McCleave (19) and Morgan (10) all reached double figures, but none were able to take command as Heather and Wood had done, and the team were bowled out 59 runs short.
Tomorrow Priory travel to Three Bridges; the following Saturday (15 June) they host Worthing, who were promoted with them from Division 2 last season but have lost all four matches so far.
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