Hurst Cricket Club news

By Rob Sawyer

On 2nd September, Hurst CC had our own version of Super Saturday. The equation was simple: our 1st XI needed a win to guarantee promotion and our 2nd XI needed at least ten points to avoid being one of four teams relegated.

Away at Ifield CC, the 1s won the toss and chose to bat and had a steady start reaching 79/1 in 19 overs. Back at Fairfield things were going to plan. Having won the toss the 2s found themselves with ball in hand and taking regular St Peters wickets, never allowing their batters to gain the upper hand. Once again, and for the umpteenth time, it was Neil Crickmore who did the bulk of the damage, taking four of the top six.

Over at the home of Ifield CC, brows were being mopped and not just because of the intense heat. Almost exactly one year ago we blew our promotion chances on the last day of the season, it was starting to look like history would repeat itself. After Alex Bushell, Jimmy Llyod and skipper Matt Parsons departed, the required acceleration did not go as plan with a clatter of wickets, leaving us at 130/5 in 31 with promotion in the balance. The sound of leather on wood accompanying a late order collapse to 168 all out, not nearly enough.

At Fairfield, there was a collective sigh of relief as St Peters were bowled out for 131, supplying us with the ten points required to guarantee survival. The fact that an eventual ten run defeat was the result was irrelevant and all eyes turned to Ifield Green where the home teams reply started.

We had a great start, Oscar Harman making the breakthrough, then Jimmy Llyod took two quick wickets. Although wickets fell regularly it was looking like we would once again snatch defeat from the jaws of promotion. Step forward Alex Bushell with four wickets. Still, at 130/7, it was in the balance. In the end we did it, winning by just ten runs. Having lost out on promotion in the two previous seasons, the feeling was one of relief more than triumph although that was put aside once everyone made their way back to Fairfield for a double celebration.

All in all, season 2023, the 306th in our long history, was a successful one and as the footballers take over the pavilion and the sight screens and covers are put away, we can look forward with optimism to 2024. Have a great winter!

News from Hurst cricket club

By Rob Sawyer

It’s been a funny old start to the cricket season; the hoped-for return to pre-Covid cricket has not quite arrived, with most teams choosing not to provide the traditional cricket tea, a shame in our opinion, but something of an inevitably.

Young Oscar Harman has again been among the wickets. Another year older, his ability to put some serious revs on a cricket ball has improved further and your correspondent can confirm, keeping wicket to Oscar borders on the dangerous; once the ball pitches it is anyone’s guess what happens next. Happily, the batters are as clueless as the wicket keeper.

George Fisher bagged five wickets and three catches against a touring side from Essex, a game played in a superb spirit on and off the field. They brought quite a few supporters with them, most of whom started drinking at 10.30am and kept an impressive pace throughout the day, introducing a new concoction to most of us in the shape of Prosecco and Orange J20.

However, the most impressive performance of the year thus far came from 2nd XI Captain Tony Andrews who destroyed opponents Lewis Priory in a one person batting blitzkrieg, scoring an impressive 148 not out. It would have meant less had we not won the game, but victory was duly achieved with the evergreen Neil Crickmore taking four wickets.

The latest round of matches brought some lovely weather but a mixed bag of results; The 2nd XI beat Lingfield so convincingly they turned up en masse to watch the start of the 3rd XI Innings at Ardingly, a game that unfortunately ended in defeat but featured some great performances from youngsters Oli Thatcher, Diarmuid Ganpatsingh, Ed Warner and JoJo Swift who scored an impressive 24 not out.

When my brother-in-law Chris Wright arrived from Australia, he thought he was coming for a restful time in the English summer; instead, he was press ganged into action, registered as an overseas player with Hurst CC and charmed everyone with his Aussie wit, positive attitude and extraordinary beer drinking abilities. Oh, and he scored some runs and took some wickets despite not picking up a bat for over ten years! He is now back in Australia, nursing a pulled hamstring and loved every minute of his brief time with Hurst CC. Here he is about to open the batting for the 3rd XI with your Hurst Life cricket correspondent.