Brighton & Hove

Junior Martlets v Brighton and Hove Cricket Club played at The Nevill Ground, Hove

Junior Martlets  151 for 8 (40 overs) Ed Fairfax 28, Harry Rollings 27.

Brighton and Hove CC 137 all out. Adam Cooper 4 for 22, George Ainsley 3 for 26, Ed Firth 2 for 29.

Junior Martlets won by 14 runs.

Following overnight rain the ideal move would have been to win the toss and offer a chance to bat to the opposition. Jack Troak, always a man to delight in a challenge, promptly lost the toss and had to carry the news of the bat first situation to his men in the dressing room! Harry Rollings and Ed Fairfax in fact moved the score on rapidly until one stopped on Harry. Runs became harder to score but Ed joined by George Axton showed admirable patience at the crease. The spinners made it quite hard work but the accumulation continued with useful later contributions from Ollie Bradley and Adam Cooper. The final total of 151 was a genuinely defendable target in the circumstances.

Brighton and Hove made a confident start but Ed Firth struck in the 9^th over with two wickets; a catch behind by Will Hanley and the first of three fine slip catches by Harry Rollings. The catching and ground fielding turned the game in many ways. Adam Cooper’s accurate off spin turned the screw at one end while George Ainsley pace made a real difference too. They ended with 4 and 3 wickets respectively. At 92 for 9 some would have thought the game was in its twilight moments, however cricket is not like that! The number 11 had clearly been saved for just this moment and the score advanced into the hundreds and with 137 on the board the captain intervened. It took three balls of the Jack Troak leg spin to finish the game. It was an excellent win and again played with real spirit and a sense of fun; so good to see that has not been lost amongst younger players.

John Bettridge

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