CRICKET: Team Priory Back in the Groove
9 May: Hastings & St Leonards Priory 308 for 7, Cuckfield 311 for 3
16 May: Hastings & St Leonards Priory 220 all out, West Chiltington & Thakeham 169 all out
HUGH SULLIVAN
John Morgan, trademark biffs to the boundary
The month of May showed its full range of effects over the first two Saturdays of the Sussex Premier League cricket season, producing contrasting conditions and scores to match.
On 9 May, in warm and sunny weather, the Hastings Priory team travelled to Cuckfield in Mid Sussex, and – sent in to bat after losing the toss – rattled up a score of 308 for seven in their allotted 50 overs. Harry Finch, released from his commitments to the Kent county team, scored 86 off 87 balls. Caleb Laloo made 44; new recruits on their league debuts, Alfie Hunter and Troy Henry, weighed in with 39 and 31 respectively; old hands Harry Scowen (28), Joe Billings (30) and Greg Devlin (22 not out) each made useful contributions.
All fine and dandy, except that the host batsmen enjoyed the friendly conditions even more. In the absence of Freddie Hulbert, who has a side strain that means he is likely to be unavailable for several matches, Priory’s opening bowlers were John Morgan and Adam Barton. Morgan claimed an early wicket, but the arrival at the crease of Pakistan international batter Omair Yousuf heralded an onslaught. Barton’s fourth over went for 28 runs (two sixes, three fours and four no balls). Yousuf went on to reach 145 not out, his second wicket partnership with opener Joe Cambridge (99) amassing 181 runs, and Priory’s score was overhauled with only three wickets down and more than seven overs left. None of Priory’s bowlers were spared, spinners Hunter and Sean Johnson coming in for particularly brutal treatment.
Last Saturday, after a series of rain and hail showers during the intervening week, the pitch at Horntye was damp and heavy for Priory’s first home fixture – any darling buds well and truly roughed up by a cold and blustery wind. Captain Harry Scowen, unfazed by the experience of the previous weekend, opted to bat first, judging that conditions wouldn’t improve over the day.
Visitors West Chiltington & Thakeham, newly promoted to the Premier League along with their Hastings hosts, bowled tightly for most of the innings, and after 30 overs had restricted the batting side to only 92 runs with three dismissed, including top scorer Scowen (a painstaking 41).
But Johnson raised the tempo with a breezy 40 off 36 balls, and after his dismissal Henry (23, made in elegant fashion) and Morgan (29, with some trademark biffs to the boundary) enjoyed a seventh wicket partnership of 58 that raised Priory’s eventual total to 220.
That looked a stiff target, and under grey clouds that threatened rain (which fortunately didn’t materialise until the game was over) the Priory attack quickly gained a stranglehold. Spinner Adam Page, omitted from the side at Cuckfield, opened the bowling with Barton; Henry’s left-arm spin was also introduced early and, at 61 for five in the 28th over, West Chiltington were far in the rear view mirror. A sixth wicket stand of 75 between captain Reuben Taylor (50) and Richard Wilson (48 off 45 balls) opened the possibility of catch-up, but they had started far behind the clock, and both eventually succumbed to catches in the deep as the scoreboard pressure mounted. The tail flailed and ran out of wickets to lose in the 47th over, 51 runs short.
Team Priory celebrated raucously, as is their habit, and now move on to an away game at Haywards Heath tomorrow (Saturday), followed by hosting of Middleton on 30 May.
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