Burgess Hill 1st XI slip to second place after a poor batting display 

5 ducks… 2 players only scored 6 or more… one partnership of 107 in a total of 129 was the downfall for Burgess Hill as they lost by 2 wickets.

Having won the toss for the 10th time this season, BHCC elected to Bat on what looked a very good surface and a hot day. It wasn’t the best of starts for BHCC as Crawley Eagles openers really put the pressure on. The first 4 overs saw BHCC fall to 3-3… opener Ben Hopkins (0) was out LBW, followed by Tom Trowbridge for 1 in the next over. Ian Simpson didn’t last long either as he fell LBW again. Kevin Ramsey and Luke Vick were together at the crease and needed to build a long partnership. They did exactly that, seeing off the opening bowlers, putting away the bad balls and staying solid in defence. Crawley Eagles thought they had Ramsey caught and bowled, but the umpires, to Crawley Eagles’ frustration, were not 100% sure if the ball carried and decided the decision was not out. Ramsey soon after passed his 50 with a clip of his legs for 4. BHCC managed to get to 105-3 at drinks (34 overs) and were able to think about setting a challenging total. However, the next 30 minutes didn’t go to plan. Vick was caught on 47 at Gully, and he was quickly followed in the pavilion by Tom Penfold who was bowled for 4. Ramsey was next out, caught behind and captain Joe Maskell was caught at slip for 5. 110-3 was quickly 120-7 and it didn’t get much better, Lewis Mamoany was caught behind for 0, George Willett out Bowled before Dan Strange was caught at long on. 129 all out after 41 overs.

It was a below par batting display from Burgess Hill and something incredible in the field was needed to win this game of cricket.

Eagles came out and start positively, a few boundaries were scored before Dan Strange picked up the important 1st wicket, getting the dangerous Rehan Hasan for just 1. The second wicket soon followed, as Strange picked up his second of the day as a delightful inswinger took Rehman off stump and in the process breaking the bails! There was a mini partnership between Usman Bashir and Falah Uddin, but the dangerous George Willett picked up his first as Bashir missed timed a ball to Simpson at mid on. Shahzad Ali came to the crease with a task of getting Eagles close to target, he hit a few streaky boundaries before he was out caught behind off Maskell for 12. The result of this wicket mean Eagles were 70-4 after 17 overs, but it was reduced to 65 as 5 penalty runs were awarded against Eagles because of discipline. 65-4 quickly became 70-5 as Strange picked up his third wicket as the dangerous Uddin was cut in half and caught by Vick behind the stumps. 2 more quick wickets fell, as next ball Anjum Zafer fell LBW to Strange and the next over Maskell had his second as he bowled Shahid Raja for 4. 75-7 and there was a real game on. Hill couldn’t quite contain Tanveer Haider as he was looking in fine touch, making a match winning 38 before he became Strange’s 5th victim, being bowled. But it was too late for BHCC as Eagles only need 4 to win when the wicket fell. Eagles won the game in the next over by 2 wickets.

A game where BHCC just didn’t bat well enough, their bowling got them close but ended in defeat. Only picking up 6 points means they are 15 points behind first placed Portslade. We travel to Preston Nomads twos on Saturday for another difficult game.