CRICKET: Priory Surmount Injury Knocks
5 July; Hastings & St Leonards Priory 202 for 5: St James’s Montefiore 205 for 5
12 July; Preston Nomads 2nd XI 148: Priory 149 for 3
HUGH SULLIVAN
It’s been a fortnight of contrasting fortunes, both individually and collectively, for the cricketers of Hastings & St Leonards Priory. Captain Harry Scowen broke his thumb in fielding practice before the away match against St James’s Montefiore at Hassocks on 5 July and could do nothing to assist his team-mates as they went down to their first defeat in two months. This despite a brilliant century by Greg Devlin. Scowen will be out of action for the rest of this month.
Caleb Laloo – 61 not out against Preston Nomads
Then Devlin himself, keeping wicket for Priory the following Saturday as they hosted Preston Nomads 2nd XI at Horntye, also suffered a serious injury to his finger (he spent much of the afternoon being treated in the Conquest Hospital A&E department). However, with both injured men eventually present on the sidelines, the Hastings team completed a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Preston to avenge defeat by them in the corresponding away fixture in early May.
The game against St James’s was cut short by ten overs as a result of rain. Priory won the toss and elected to bat. By the seventeenth over they found themselves four wickets down with only 44 on the board. Devlin (110 not out off 96 balls) led an excellent recovery supported first by Tom Gillespie (21), then by Seaver Cowley (34 not out).
Scowen judged the eventual score of 202 for five sufficient to declare on, aiming to give his bowlers 45 full overs to bowl out St James’s. Unfortunately, the home batsmen had other ideas, and knocked off the runs with five wickets and a couple of overs to spare. Cowley bowled economically and took two wickets, but Freddie Hulbert’s six overs cost 34 runs, and Adam Page’s two wickets were expensively earned.
NOMADS DOWNED
The course of the game against the Nomads was altogether more satisfactory from Priory’s perspective. Hulbert, captaining in Scowen’s absence, lost the toss but wasn’t unhappy to see the visitors take first knock on a dry pitch which had uneven bounce and took spin. The openers scored 58 in a first wicket partnership, but it took them more than 21 overs to do it against tight seam bowling from Cowley and Hulbert. Then Priory’s spinners Adam Page (5 for 29) and later Shawn Johnson (3 for 50) took control, and Preston could muster only a further 90 runs from their remaining nine wickets, finishing with 148 in 52 overs.
With little time pressure on Priory’s openers, Caleb Laloo and Iden McCleave, they could adopt a measured approach, playing straight and defending good balls while punishing the looser deliveries. Their own 50 partnership took only13 overs. McCleave (30) eventually drove a catch to mid-on, and Ryan Hoadley was dismissed cheaply, pinned lbw by a ball that kept low.
But Laloo continued imperturbably to a first half-century of the season, finishing with 61 not out, while Shawn Johnson’s breezy 28 ensured there would be no faltering in the middle order. Both men combined expansive drives with aggressive running between the wickets, and the target was reached with only three wickets down and 20 overs to spare.
The win seems to confirm Priory’s penchant for bowling first and chasing a target rather than having to set one themselves. They’ve won all five Sussex League matches this season when they’ve batted second – only one when they’ve batted first.
The win also consolidates their league position. With Division 2 leaders West Chiltington & Thakeham comprehensively beaten last Saturday at Worthing, while third-placed St James’s also lost in a high-scoring match with Brighton & Hove, Priory have kept themselves well-placed in the second promotion slot.
Next up is an away trip to Brighton & Hove, then a visit to Horntye by Buxted Park. Scowen and Devlin are unlikely to be fit for either match, which might render the batting line-up a trifle thin. But the side has shown strength in depth so far this season: it’s an opportunity for others to shine.
| P | W | DL | L | A | B | B | Pts | |
| West Chiltington & Thakeham | 10 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 238 |
| Hastings & St Leonards Priory | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 226 |
| St James’s Montefiore | 10 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 14 | 207 |
| Eastbourne | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 23 | 203 |
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