7.5.11 - 5th XI v Pulborough 3rd XI

A good match on a damp and difficult pitch to continue our strong start to the season with Marc Hinton performing well with the gloves for his first stint behind the stumps this year from about the 15th over, Neil Harris for taking a catch out in the field without his gloves for a change, and Jack Westlake also impressed on debut bowling well and deserving wickets that unfortunately didn't come.

Thanks to Andy Culver for doing a good job umpiring for us.
Greg Harris opened the bowling well as always taking 4 wickets for 15 runs from 10 over's with 5 maidens. His caught and bowled was brilliant diving one handed to his left.
James Belton opening the bowling from the other end was on the spot creating chances taking 2 wickets for 28.

Then came the first change bowler and 5th team debutant Jack Westlake, expecting good things Jack delivered from ball one, unfortunate not to get a wicket as he bowled well with great line and length throughout making life difficult for the batsmen, his 6 over spell going for just 14 runs.
Continuing with youth replacing Greg, Sam Wookey came into the attack giving the ball good flight and troubling the batsmen deservedly taking 1 wicket for 24 runs...a shame the captain couldn't hold on to a skied shot to give Sam another wicket.
Captain Squires then into the attack and hoping to make up for a fielding error took 3 for 23, well done to Marc Hinton as he took a great stumping which added to an already impressive performance which included a catch from Sam Wookey's bowling.
Last bowler into the attack Glenn Harris bowled well but Joe Doorman was in by now and got hold of a few, Glenn finishing with figures of 0 wickets for 20 runs...again a skied shot which was heading in the direction of the captain went down as I only just made the ground, sorry guys.
Fielding was good throughout the innings with the exception of a couple of dropped catches, the team working well to build pressure and help the bowlers take wickets.

With 131 runs required for the win Bastable and Quintass started the chase, both did well eating up deliveries to see off most of the opening pressure. Quintass then fell LBW, soon followed by Bastable.
The two Harris' that saw us most of the way home last week were then at the crease but Neil got a good ball early in his innings bowled for 0. Glenn Started to look good and settled into his innings. Marc Hinton next in but after a good shot for 4 he hit one in the air from a ball which bounced surprisingly, out caught. Squires up next but after hitting a 4 back over the bowlers head got a good ball and continued the collapse. Ian Wookey in and did well to steady the ship with Glenn putting the game back into sight. Up to the Harris brothers and Greg did his usual hitting it to all parts including dishing out a dislocated finger and a lump to the head to Pulborough bowlers, his 25 nearly saw us home.

Sam Wookey in and after being there at the end last week went one better and hit the winning runs. Fantastic knock from Glenn Harris of 50* was just what we needed and gave him back to back 50's!

A great team performance and all worked hard to get us our 2nd win of the season putting us top of the table with a maximum of 60 points, lets hope we can continue our good form into next week and the rest of the season.

Scorecard

7.5.11 - 3rd XI vs Dome Mission

Dome Mission set an imposing target of 275 for 8 at Horsdean with the pick of the bowlers being Patrick Morgan (3 for 35), Bradley Lewis (2 for 43) and Luke Barnes (2 for 46) on his return to the club. Joe Westlake picked up the other wicket.

Worthing reached 160 for 9 with Dan Stuart and Joe Westlake hanging on to claim a draw. Morgan and Lewis starred with the bat scoring 52 and 45 respectively but they lacked enough support to challenge Mission's total.

Another tough game for a side with a mixture of youth and experience but they are warming to the task and actually did well considering the players who were unavailable!

Scorecard

7.5.11 - 1st XI v Glynde

Worthing posted an impressive score of 259 for 4 having won the toss and batted first. Benn Challen's 133 (leg-side biased due to a heavily loaded off-side field) and Michael Gould's 81 (extra cover biased, where else?) being impressive against some good bowling at times, although Gouldy was given a life or two early on.

Glynde made 182 for 9 in reply, although their quest for maximum batting points made the game closer than it could have been. Andy Lutwyche picked up 4 for 38, Challen 3 for 40 and Ollie Rogers 2 for 47 (including the top scalp of Joe Adams) in a commanding draw where only the home side really looked like winning. Rogers won the Literary Cup for the day as he and Glynde skipper Dominic Shepherd had an interesting cricketing debate on the merits of the referral system and the future of the umpires' authority when it comes to decision making in the game, at least that's what I assume they discussed.

44 points from two games: can't grumble.

Scorecard

2.5.11 - U15s v Arundel (MCC Cup)

Worthing prevailed against blustery conditions and a strong Arundel fightback in what proved to be an exciting finish. Arundel elected to field and saw Worthing make slow progress with the score reaching just 31 after 9 overs. However, an Aaron Tugnutt onslaught yielding 18 runs in the 10th gave the innings some much needed impetus which was later helped by some aggressive running between the wickets by Ollie Carpenter, Harvey Von Biel and Ollie Parker added a priceless 19 runs in the last two overs. Worthing closed out on 103 runs for 7 wickets after their allotted 20 overs; a creditable but perhaps slightly modest total.

Arundel got off to bright start and were already passed 20 runs after 4 overs without loss. However, a run-out in the 5th immediately prompted two further wickets from Martyn Swift who cleaned bowled Arundel's 3 and 4 in quick succession. A quiet period followed and with Arundel on 43 for 5 after 10 the game looked beyond them. Nonetheless some improvised batting helped by some occasional loose fielding and wild throwing gave Arundel a foot hold. But inevitably, in the chase for runs, two further run outs resulted and Arundel finished 9 runs short on 94 for 8. A good win for the U15s in their first game this season against last season's WACA League champions.

Notable Performances: Aaron Tugnutt 37, Martyn Swift 2 for 17. A special mention also to Sam Greenrod who took his first wicket for the team.

Scorecard

30.4.11 - 2nd XI v Haywards Heath - Dunny's Disaster

We kicked off our season at home to newly relegated Haywards Heath. Tough start but we had a good team so fancied our chances! We won the toss and chose to bat on a decent wicket. Dunny and Chuckle opened the innings and we got off to a solid start until Chuckle run himself out, a moments hesitation cost him. Stu Carter next in went cheaply and when Dunny fell to a caught and bowled we were 3 down for 50 odd. David Rogers was looking very good but Tom Lund seemed to have come to the wicket with a stick of celery!!!! However they put on 73 when DR was out having scored 54, a top innings. The skipper came to the wicket with Worthing looking slightly precarious at 124-4. Lundy soon followed DR back to the pavillion so we were looking a bit shaky. Wattsy was looking in decenet nick and with some mini partnerships with Mossy and Samrat he passed 50 and was last man out for 68. Worthing 226 all out. A good effort for first game of the season. Tom Chambers and Shane opened the bowling and buildind pressure as Haywards Heath moved to 30 without loss. TC and Shane then picked a couple of wickets and Haywards Heath were wobbling a bit. We then introduced Harry Dunn, making his 2nd team debut, and he bowled beautifully taking his maiden wicket in his first couple of overs. Stu Carter replaced Shane from the top end and took 4 very quick wickets and with Harry chipping in with another one Haywards Heath were staring down the barrel at 90-9 off 30 overs. This is when Tim Dunn really came to the party. Their number 11 edged his 1st ball to Tim at 1st slip who managed to drop it!!! They then blocked out for another few overs until Shane came back on to bowl and dropped a very difficult caught & bowled. They continued to frustrate us but our chance came with 3 overs to go and Harry Dunn back in the attack. All the fielders were around the bat and Harry bowled a great delivery, the number 11 got a leading edge looping it in slow motion towards the chairman. What happened next will be remembered for the rest of the season. Tim managed, without question or argument, to drop quite possibly the easiest catch in cricketing history and off his own son's bowling!!! Therefore enabling Haywards Heath to bat out the last 2 1/2 overs for the most improbable draw. A really good performance from us and very promising for the rest of the season.

Wattsy

Scorecard