CHICHESTER PRIORY PARK CC 1’s win by 2 wickets
Billingshurst CC - 1st XI 184 / All out (40.3) Vs Chichester Priory Park CC - 1st XI 185 / 8 (39.4)
Chichester Priory Park continued their impressive push for promotion with a hard-fought two-wicket victory over Billingshurst at the Jubilee Fields Oval.
Billingshurst won the toss and elected to bat, but soon found themselves reeling at 12 for 2 in the sixth over. Martin Ford made the initial breakthrough, removing Smith courtesy of a sharp, emphatic catch by Jonny Heaven, while Andrew Crookham struck shortly after to dismiss Tom Alexander for a duck.
The home side regrouped through strong partnerships as Paul Osborne, Andy Barr and Isaac Thorneley steadied the ship and pushed the score towards 120 for 3. But just as Billingshurst threatened to build towards a more imposing total, Chichester’s bowlers re-established control.
Rob Woodman offered resistance with a patient 26 not out, marshalling the tail, but the away side’s attack proved too disciplined. Billingshurst were bowled out for 184 inside 41 overs. The pick of the bowlers were Martin Ford, with figures of 2 for 37, and Elliot Scott, who impressed with 3 for 30, ensuring Chi had a manageable chase.
Chichester’s reply got off to a shaky start. Tom Ellis Cole struck early, clean bowling Toby Toft for a duck, and further dismissals left the visitors in real trouble at 57 for 4. A loose shot from Miles O’Grady and a misjudged leave by Sean Dobbs compounded matters, raising hopes of a Billingshurst fightback.
At this point, Lewis Hawes held the innings together with a commendable knock of 62. True to form, his stay at the crease included a run-out — this time skipper Mike Smith fell questionably short of his ground for 9.
That dismissal brought Jonny Heaven to the crease. Continuing his explosive form, Heaven struck a blistering 44 from just 30 balls, including a towering six off Barr. His innings wasn’t without drama, however — a hostile bumper soon after left Heaven in urgent need of new trousers, but he recovered to play a crucial hand in the chase.
With the finish line in sight, Ford and Scott, already influential with the ball, combined to see Chichester home. They guided the side to 185 for 8, securing victory with 5.2 overs still remaining.
Chichester’s promotion hopes remain firmly on track, and attention now turns to their next fixture: a home clash against Ansty on Saturday 23rd August at Goodwood – come along and support the team.
CHICHESTER PRIORY PARK CC 2’s win by 122 runs
Chichester Priory Park CC - 2nd XI 274 / 8 (40) Vs West Wittering CC - 1st XI 152 / All out (31.4)
Chichester Priory Park 2nd XI recorded an emphatic victory at Goodwood on Saturday, overcoming West Wittering 1st XI by 122 runs in a match that showcased their strength with both bat and ball.
Having been asked to bat first, Chichester’s innings was given early impetus by Arran Goode, who struck a fluent 45 from just 37 deliveries, peppering the boundary with ten fours. His positive approach set the tone for what was to follow. At the other end, Callum Baily looked equally assured, compiling a well-constructed half-century. His 57 from 48 balls, also laced with ten boundaries, provided the backbone to the innings and ensured that the scoreboard continued to tick over at pace.
Ben Hubbard added further substance with a composed knock of 48 from 60 balls, working the gaps smartly and punishing anything loose, while Ed McCarthy’s lively 38 from 42 balls offered valuable acceleration in the middle order. Although wickets fell at intervals to prevent any single player from dominating, contributions throughout the line-up, combined with a costly 40 extras from the opposition, propelled Chichester to a commanding total of 274 for eight from their forty overs.
Faced with such a daunting target, West Wittering’s reply faltered almost immediately. Both openers were dismissed cheaply by the lively Tom Symington, leaving them on the back foot at 9 for two. From there, wickets fell regularly and any hopes of a serious challenge quickly faded. Dominic Fecher provided the one bright spot for the visitors, compiling a determined 64 from 73 deliveries with eleven crisply struck boundaries. He was briefly supported by James Staight, who made 30, and Joseph Pink, who added an unbeaten 26 lower down the order, but the rest of the batting could not withstand the pressure applied by Chichester’s bowlers.
Symington was the chief destroyer with the ball, making vital breakthroughs at both ends of the innings. He was well supported by James Mayne, who struck decisively in the middle overs, and Stanley Mayne and Daniel Brown, who each chipped in with wickets of their own to ensure the pressure never eased. The attack worked as a unit to bowl West Wittering out for 152 in just 31.4 overs, sealing a comprehensive win.
This 122-run triumph underlined the balance and depth within Chichester Priory Park’s 2nd XI, with contributions coming from across the team. Strong partnerships at the top of the order, coupled with clinical bowling, ensured a comfortable margin of victory and another full haul of league points. For West Wittering, despite Fecher’s spirited resistance, it proved a difficult afternoon against an opponent who were superior in every department.
Brighton & Hove CC - 4th XI 247 / 6 (40.0) Vs Chichester Priory Park CC - 3rd XI 243 / 5 (40.0)
Brighton & Hove CC win by 4 runs
Chichester 3XI miss out by 4 runs, after supper chase to overturn the home sides 247.
Chi 3's visited Brighton Cc 4th XI on a warm day at the Nevill Sports Ground and having won the toss the home team had no hesitation in batting first on a good-looking pitch.
Opening bowlers Guy Montgomery and Willem Hodgson started well and It was Hodgson who struck first down the hill to remove the Brighton opener cheaply. The 2nd wicket partnership however played steadily and with some good batting took the score to 137 before the 2nd wicket would fall, The introduction on Ewan Edwards taking the reward for the earlier efforts for Montgomery and Caleb Cossar up the significant hill, after this solid start however wickets fell at regular interval and only some hefty blows in the final overs took the final tally to 247-6, spot on with the 250 that was consider a fair score at the start, George Hopkirk bowled with great energy and control to get though his 8 overs for only 31 runs albeit wicketless, for Edwards finishing the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets
In reply Jes Goode and Fred Huggett opened the innings for Chi and were soon 1 down with Jes Goode back in the pavilion, the early wicket and some accurate bowling made fluency difficult and whilst Ewan Edwards and Huggett steadied the ship, the scoreboard pressure you could sense was telling on the batters, Huggett was bowled and Safi Khan soon followed, this brought the experience Stuart Gillett to the crease - it was this experience partnered with the youthful Edwards where things started to change, both batters rotated the strike with Gillett punishing anything short of offline, the pair added 80 before Edwards was undone down the hill by a decent delivery, for a well well-earned 62, This brought Elliot Goode to partner Gillett and these pair continued to run aggressively and pressure fielders on a difficult outfield, Gillett continued the manage the partnership , and despite some tight bowling arrived requiring 12 to win from the last over, the first 4 balls yielded 6 runs, before Gillett was caught right on the Long Off Boundary on the penultimate ball for a superbly crafted 101, a six from the last ball was too much this time and Chi finished 4 runs short on 244. Elliot Goode finishing unbeaten on 31.
A great game of cricket and whilst disappointing not to get over the over, great to see a batting masterclass from Stuart Gillett, we go again next week knowing that increased intensity over 80 overs is often the difference when things get tight.
Rupert and Nelly were on the role of scoring and despite a bit of chaos from the pair they managed to get it sorted and did very well.
Home on Saturday to Broadbridge Heath in Priory Park, 1pm start.
CHICHESTER PRIORY PARK CC WON BY 6 WICKETS
Chichester Priory Park CC - 4th XI 102 / 4 (18.4) Vs Pagham CC - 4th XI 100 / All out (30.3)
On an unexpectedly cloudy Saturday afternoon Pagham won the toss and elected to bat.
This was a decision they may have regretted after just one delivery as keeper Ollie Ford snapped up a catch off Jamie Edwards bowling.
Edwards bowled two excellent spells ending up with four wickets and was superbly assisted by both Oscar Dutton and Toby Lewis who also affected a run out to take the final Pagham wicket.
A total of 100 always looked short of being enough to seriously challenge Chichester 4th eleven’s deep batting line up and so it proved. Openers Eli Yambo and Todd Trundle made a brisk start before both were dismissed leaving Jacob Murphy, who top scored with 26 and the ever-dependable Toby Buck who made a solid 20 not out to bring home the win.
Retiring captain Tim Gregory was delighted with the win as was Paul Walker who is returning to his home county of Yorkshire for next season.
Final game away at Keepers Green against Aldwick CC 1pm start.