CRICKET: Thrilling Win Puts Priory Back on Top
2 August: Hastings & St Leonards Priory 262 for 6, Mayfield 183;
9 August: West Chiltington & Thakeham 189, Priory 190 for 7
HUGH SULLIVAN
Hastings & St Leonards Priory returned to the top of Division 2 of the Sussex Cricket League last Saturday by squeezing past previous leaders West Chiltington & Thakeham in a thrilling finish at Horntye.
Iden McCleave, match-winning innings
Winning the toss and inviting their West Sussex visitors to bat first on a dry pitch which aided spin, Priory bowled them out for 189, scored off 52 overs. Adam Barton, starting at pace but then reverting to spin, took six wickets for 56 off 21 overs and was ably supported by Adam Page and Shawn Johnson. Captain Harry Scowen bemoaned a couple of catches that went down – “they should have got 15 or 20 less than they did” – but the target of 190 in 48 overs remained within range.
Priory’s openers started cautiously, and after Scowen was removed by pace bowler Ashay Palkar, West Chiltington reverted to their own spin attack led by Hugo Gillespie. Caleb Laloo (20), Ryan Hoadley (27) and Shawn Johnson(27) battled hard but succumbed in turn. Eddy Finch was dismissed for a duck, and at 97 for five after 30 overs, a draw seemed the best that the home side could achieve.
TABLES TURNED
But, in a tense atmosphere of lengthening shadows, with spectators gathering in increasing numbers around the pavilion and cheering each run scored, Priory’s middle order led by Iden McCleave gradually turned the tables. He and Seaver Cowley (15) added 32 for the sixth wicket, then Greg Devlin joined him, and the pair launched a calculated attack, combining fierce driving with some deft shots into empty space behind the wicket. Devlin hit 29 runs in 30 balls, including five boundaries. Two balls were lost in thick hedgerows beyond the boundary. Palkar eventually returned to trap Devlin lbw, but by that stage only 12 more runs were needed off 19 balls.
Three runs came in the 46th over, and five in the next, shared between McCleave and number 9 batsman Freddie Hulbert, leaving McCleave on strike for the final six balls to be bowled by Gillespie.
McCleave hit the first for two runs through extra cover, missed the next two, then skied the fourth ball into vacant space on the legside, and he and Hulbert scampered the two further runs required. McCleave finished with 43 not out off 54 balls, probably his finest innings in Priory colours.
VICTORY AT MAYFIELD
A week earlier, Priory had accomplished a more routine victory away at Mayfield. Batting first and sharing in an opening stand of 107 with Laloo (36), Scowen (118 including 15 fours) scored his second century of the season. Finch hit a rapid 44 not out off 37 balls, as a total of 262 for six was amassed in 50 overs.
Mayfield never looked capable of overhauling this score, and Priory chipped away at their batting line-up, with wickets shared between Barton and Page (three each) and Hulbert and Johnson (two each). Victory by 79 runs was achieved with four overs to spare.
The league competition now reverts to limited-over format for the remaining four Saturdays of the season. Priory will play away at Worthing and Eastbourne, home against Roffey 2nd XI and St James’s Montefiore. Five of the ten league sides – Priory, West Chiltington, Brighton & Hove, St James’s and Eastbourne–remain in contention for the two promotion places.
Sussex Cricket League – Division 2 table
| P | W | D | L | Ab | BAT | Bowl | Pts | |
| Hastings & St Leonards Priory | 14 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 8 | 326 |
| West Chiltington & Thakeham | 14 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 20 | 320 |
| Brighton & Hove | 14 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 16 | 292 |
| St James’s Montefiore | 14 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 22 | 286 |
| Eastbourne | 14 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 26 | 284 |
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