St James Montefiore

Sussex Martlets 212 – 5, Matt Tucker 55*, James Waylett 51

St James Montefiore 215 – 1, Ali Raza 10, Charles Davies 72*

Tragically, Sandy Ross died during this fixture last year. The Martlets flag was flown at half-mast and a minutes silence was observed in his memory before the match.

Martlets won the toss and batted first in a 40-over match. Ian Cox and Sam Carter got the Martlets off to a good start with an opening stand of 49 from the first ten overs despite good bowling from our host’s Pakistani professional. The off-spin of the St. James’s captain, Bradley Hatchett, was the undoing of the Martlets top three batsmen. The Martlets fell ‘behind the rate’ as a result of tight bowling and agile fielding, not reaching 100 until the 24th over. James Waylett and Matt Tucker put on a run-a-ball century stand, both reaching their 50’s to help the Martlets up to 212 for 5.

212 always looked to be a bit light on such a quick outfield – and so it proved! Despite a genuinely hostile but ultimately unlucky spell from Alex Neilsen, the St James’s openers put the Martlets bowling to the sword. Overseas star, Raza Ali, reached his century from just 94 balls. Charles Davies remained unbeaten on 72; his brother, Adam (Sussex Academy) blasted 32 from 18 balls as our hosts took just 31 overs to reach their target of 213 to record a 9-wicket victory that ended this rather one-sided affair.

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