Cricket: New Hastings skipper Scowen celebrates superb start in Premier League

Hastings CC have a new captain – Harry Scowen. We quizzed him about taking on the role, hopes for the season and a winning start to their Sussex Premier League season in which they scored 316 and beat Roffey by eight runs.

Harry, tell us about the line-up for this season with you taking over as captain (proud moment?) and the team's hopes for the season - just making sure you stay up, or aiming higher?

It is obviously a big change for the club, Tom served as captain for 8 years and did a fantastic job in a real transition period for the club. I am very grateful that Tom gave me my premier league debut at 16 and has helped me grow as a cricketer over the years, and has already offered lots of support to me as a new captain. I am incredibly proud to captain the club I have played for since a young boy, it is a real honour and I am thankful to get the opportunity and hope to do the club and the town proud.

We have a few new faces that have come through the door, Adam Keane, a very good friend of mine from university has joined us. A strong middle order batter and gives us another good wicket keeping option. Alex Osborne is back over from Perth as our overseas, and offers stability in the side from the team that won Division 2 last year. Aside from that we are a pretty similar outfit, with the hope that our youngsters will continue to grow as cricketers and people to help us achieve good things this season.

In terms of our aims for the year, it sounds cliche but it is to win as many games as cricket as possible, and enjoy ourselves along the way. We feel we are back where we belong in the Premier League and hope to stay in this league for the foreseeable. For me, I want to build a group that is proud to represent Hastings and enjoys each others company on the pitch, if we work hard and stay together I don’t see any reason why we won’t win games of cricket this year.

It was a fantastic opening game - you must have been pleased to rack up 316 - who were the batting stars and did you feel that was plenty or did the pitch and conditions mean you knew it could be close?

As far as starts to the season go, it couldn’t have gone much better. Roffey are a strong side and have been towards to the top of the Premier League for a number of years so it was going to be difficult. Due to the amount of rain, much of the outfield was very wet and so the boundaries were smaller than normal, so whilst 316 is a very good score, we knew it would be tough to defend. The pitch however was good and had no demons. It was pleasing on a personal note to get my first premier league hundred, almost a fairytale start as captain. Alex Osborne was instrumental at 3 getting a very good 78 as part of a 217 run partnership with me. Seaver Cowley, Adam Keane and Greg Devlin all played a crucial quick fire innings to keep the momentum in our favour. It was great to put such a good score on the board and get a crucial 10 batting points.

And in the Roffey reply, who were the stars of the show, must have been a bit nervy towards the end?

In reply it was a difficult start, the Roffey openers got off to a flyer. The ever present John Morgan got us the much needed breakthrough, with great support from Iden McCleave and Adam page keeping it tight and building pressure. Seaver Cowley again was superb and took a brilliant 4fer to help us get over the line. It was incredibly nervy throughout in all honesty, but there was a real determination in everyone to fight to get the win, and that epitomises the kind of culture we are trying to create. It is one of my favourite wins a Hastings shirt for sure.

Next game is…?

We play East Grinstead this Saturday in a return to Horntye. Something that feels really special for the club, a homecoming of some sort. We know it’ll be tough but hope that we can build on what was a fantastic opening weekend and get some more points on the board, however we know how tough the league is and 30 points can be hard to come by.

We hope that the return to Horntye will mean some more people coming up to watch us on a Saturday afternoon, and in doing so create some excitement for cricket again across Hastings.

Crowhurst Park 1st X1 63-1 v Portslade 1st X1 60 All out

The visitors elected to bat on what looked and proved a reliable pitch. The early exchanges saw Portslade play rather cautiously and struggling with the pace of Jordan Shaw (1- 18) and swing of Josh Jones. Jones (3–7) including 6 wides made the early break through taking 2 wickets in short order.

Park were bussing in the field, Brad Payne taking a diving catch in the gully, keeping Portslade under pressure from which they never recovered. Loosing wickets at pace the confidence deserted Portslade batsmen as MOM Nick Peters 5-21 ran through the lower order finally succumbing all for 60 in the 22nd Over. Jacob Watson helped behind the stumps with 2 catches and a stumping.

In reply the home side set about the modest target with great gusto. Jordan Shaw (30*) of 18 balls and skipper Steve Powell (17*) romped to victory in just 8 overs.

Crowhurst Park 2nd X1 124-3 v St Peters 122 All out

Park 2nd X1 travelled to St Peters taking maximum points back home. Electing to bat 1st St Peters lost both openers for ducks Charlie Furgason & Rak Patel making the early break through. Mathew Willard (52) and George Prudden 25 steadied the ship before two run outs swung things in favour of the visitor’s

Seb Osmond took 2 useful wickets but it was MOM Charlie Furgason (3-19) struck the final blow with St Peters dismissed for 122

The crows lost an early wicket to Billy Foster but Skipper Joe Lovell (34) was in no mood to let the home side prosper. It was left to James Wilson (43*) and Wayne Russell (17*) to see Park reach their target just 3 wickets down 24 Overs.

Crowhurst Park 3rd X1 95 all out v Wadhurst 1st X1 67 all out

Being asked to bat first on a damp wicket with low bounce the home side found themselves in deep trouble with 7 bats men getting ducks. 4 batsmen made double figures and what valuable runs they proved to be Flanagan (17) Sam Baker (16) Sam Byrnes (11) and Seb Cobbold (25) as the home side were dismissed in 27 overs. Wadhurst bowler Kallam Barrett (7-26) had a match to remember.

In reply the visitors looked to be making steady progress with Fred Milsom (9) Mike Metcalf (21) and James Mc Cullum (9) all contributing. However, the bowling partnership of skipper MOM Jon Peters (5-21) and Sam Byrnes (4-15) dramatically wrestled the initiative back to the Crows as they skittled Wadhurst for 67 inside 20-overs.

Despite their disappointment Wadhurst sportingly followed Park back to the Walcott ground to enjoy early evening refreshments.

Glynde & Beddingham CC started their Sussex League Division 3 East campaign with an agonising one-run defeat at Bolney.

Bolney were bowled out for 265 with Ezaz Elhaq Safi top-scoring with 56 not out, while Louis Baron (3-48) and Charlie Silvester (2-27) did their best to restrict the flow of runs.

Glynde batted well in reply, skipper Archie Burrows with 81 and Matt Blunt (38) getting the side off to a great start.

Ollie Bailey, with 51 not out, and Robbie Mouland (23) added quick runs and the game went to the last ball with Glynde needing two runs to win.

The ball was missed by and the batsman tried to get a single to tie the game, but unfortunately a run-out occurred.

Still, Glynde took a maximum 15 points from a losing game.

Glynde II had a high scoring game against St Peters III.

Glynde scored 298-7, with Archie Howard (60), Tom Silvester (55) and Dominic Harris (42) batting well, but 68 extras enhanced Glynde's total.

St Peters put up a good attempt to chase the runs, but Mike Brooks with 4-42 and Gavin Sutherland (3-54) helping bowl out the away side for 267.

Glynde III won away at Isfield II by 33 runs with Sydney Brandord (60) top-scoring for Glynde in a total of 184-7.

Isfield replied with 151-6 with Tom Hecks (2-14) and Richard Ellinor (2-23) being the pick of the Glynde bowling attack.

On Sunday Glynde travelled to Mayfield for their National Village Cup tie – the venue switched due to a cut-up outfield at Glynde.

Glynde batted first and did well as Charlie Hobden with 62 and Joe Adams (53) added 87 for the second wicket after Archie Burrows had departed for 19.

Further useful runs were added by Robbie Mouland (33) and Dominic Harris (29 not out) as Glynde reached 258-9 from their 40 overs.

In reply Mayfield lost wickets at regular intervals with only Felix Holt (22) scoring good early runs.

Tristan Killops (46) batted well and there were good mid-order runs from Will Nicklin (36) and Joe Joyce (22), but with the run rate required ever increasing Mayfied were bowled out for 208.

Louis Baron (3-21) and man of the match Charlie Hobden (3-53) were the pick of Glynde's bowling attack, while young Wyatt Watson, making his competitive debut for the Glynde first, did well, finishing with 1-32 from his six-over opening spell of bowling.

Glynde now travel to Ifield in the third round of the Sussex group.

Barcombe v Brighton & Hove 2ndsSussex League Div 5 CentralB&H 241-9 in 40 overs, Harry Stewart 2-52; Barcombe 88 all out in 21.2 overs, Will Marler 34. B&H won by 153 runs.

Robertsbridge 3rds v Barcombe 2nds

Div 11 East (N)

Barcombe 198 all out in 38 overs, Keith Savage 52 Dave Apps 52; Robertsbridge 196-9 in 40 overs, 65 extras (51 wides). Barcombe won by two runs.

Hailsham CC 1st XI

Western Road hosted the first game of the 2024 Division 4 season, with Hailsham hosting newcomers Chiddingly on a beautiful summer-like day. Chiddingly won the toss and elected to field on a green wicket.

Openers Tibble and Moritz set the tone early in the innings, taking the attack to the Chiddingly openers either aggressive batting and positive running. After surviving an edge to the slips the ball before, Tibble was removed with an excellent catch behind the stumps, with Peacock and Ollie McDonald quickly removed afterwards with a run out, and another catch behind respectively.

However, runs still piled on for Hailsham, with excellent cameos from Dawber (34) and Dunning (38), supporting the imperious Moritz. Almost inevitably, Moritz brought up his chanceless hundred, and removed the shackles with some extraordinary shots. Despite the brilliance, he was run out for 127; but still the runs continued. Tom McDonald took over as the aggressor and thumped a super 68* off just 48 deliveries, as Hailsham posted a monster 336-6 from their 45 overs.

With morale high, Hailsham took to the field and found breakthroughs immediately. 3 wickets in the first 3 overs left Chiddingly in a precarious position at 7-3. Mornington (56) looked to play the bowling positively to wrestle his side out of trouble.

Despite the wickets falling around him, he continued to plough on, with only Williams’ (52) dismissive batting as any real support. After Bellett wrapped up the tail, Chiddingly were all out for 174, meaning Hailsham ran out winders by 164 runs, with wickets for Anthony (3-27), Bellett (2-18), Crouch (3-37, and Tom McDonald (2-13).

The S Lyons Electrical player of the match went to Matty Maritz for a beautifully constructed 100. Hailsham travel to East Grinstead next week, looking to make it back to back wins to start the season.

Hailsham 2nd XI

The 2nd XI kicked off their Division 6 East campaign with a trip to sunny Fort Road to face newly promoted Newhaven. The sides are well accustomed, as they’ve faced each other multiple times over recent years while both attempt to scramble up the greasy pole of the Sussex Cricket League. Skipper Lewis Williams won the toss, and after lengthy conversations throughout the morning, the decision was taken to put the hosts in to bat.

The Hailsham bowlers quickly got into their work, with both openers claiming early wickets. Young Jack Coughlan (1-11) - who had impressed in pre-season - continued his excellent form with an exceptional spell with the new ball. He claimed the first wicket after opener Daryl Tullett feathered one through to Tom Hicks who took an excellent diving catch. There was no let off from the other end either, with Diesel Hallett (2-25) blowing away a couple of the other members of Newhaven’s top order.

The opening pair was then backed up by Hailsham’s change bowlers, with Shibin Abraham (2-19) and Michael Tutt (1-15) bowling with discipline and being rewarded with wickets. Shib took a particular liking to the middle stump, clattering into it twice in two balls. The innings was rounded off by a Hollie Young (3-11) off-spin masterclass, showing excellent control and variation which was reflected in her figures. Both Hallett and Coughlan came back on towards the end of the innings in order to finish up proceedings - but it was a Chatfield direct hit which rounded off the Newhaven innings, with the hosts finishing all out for 84.

Rob Wilkinson (25) and Tom Hicks (19) got the visitors off to a solid start at the top of the Hailsham innings, with Hicksy clipping the ball away beautifully off his pads. Unfortunately a mistimed flick led to an LBW decision for Hicks. Ryan Bennett (5) and Will Royall (1) came and went - both played a couple of beautiful shots before being dismissed cheaply.

Chatfield (18) joined Wilkinson at the crease, and the pair steadily put on 45 runs, creeping Hailsham towards the target. Despite their intention to get Hailsham over the line, both bats were dismissed in quick succession which brought Lewis Williams (7*) and a hurried Michael Tutt to the crease. The pair got the job done, with Williams looking solid at the end and scoring the winning runs.

The Smoking Aces player of the match goes to Jack Coughlan, with the 15 year old producing a spellbinding display of seam bowling - the performance showed skill and maturity way beyond his years.

Hailsham 3rd XI

Hailsham 3s hosted a local derby against Herstmonceux 2s at Roebuck Park to begin the 2024 season. Hopes are high after a top 3 finish which saw the team narrowly miss out on promotion last season.

After winning the toss, Hailsham decided to bat first. Some excellent, economic bowling from Herstmonceux on a challenging wicket saw Hailsham reduced to 41/6 just after the halfway point, with Hailsham requiring a mini miracle to put up a par score. With a partnership of 71, Andy Swansborough (45) and James Abbott (23), with a supplementary hit from Alex Renals (18 off just 7), Hailsham got to a defendable score of 145 off 40.

Knowing this was not par, Hailsham would have to bowl near perfectly to win, with the outfield speeding up and the benefit of seeing the pitch for 40 overs putting Hersmonceux in the driving seat.

Hailsham’s bowlers all done well, supported by excellent fielding from all, to run Herstmonceux close, however the away team would take away 30 points with 7 balls and 3 wickets spare.

Hailsham 3’s travel to Tunbridge Wells next week hoping to put on a good innings and keep up the high quality fielding and bowling.

The 3’s SJ Landscaping player of the week is Andy Swansborough for his game saving 45 runs.

Bexhill Strikers 231 (30pts); Sidley 180 (15pts)

Sidley Cricket Club's first team began the new season with a 51-run defeat away to neighbours Bexhill Strikers on Saturday.

Sidley were bowled out for 180 chasing a target of 232, although they did at least pick up 15 points from the Sussex Cricket League Division 11 East (South) encounter.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, it soon became clear that Strikers were in no mood to hang around and they duly raced to 231 all out in just 28.1 overs.

Aravind Ramesh blasted 77 from just 40 balls with seven fours and seven sixes, captain Jose Antony made a brisk 42 from 32 and wicketkeeper Shaijan Selvaraj 34 from 18.

Steve Ramsden and Jamie Ramsden picked up three wickets each for Sidley, Gopinath Sellappan took a couple, and there was one each for Mark Gransden and Craig Ramsden.

Although opener Jackson Jesupatham made 55 and Steve Ramsden looked good in his 36, the run chase proved beyond Sidley at a sunny Little Common Recreation Ground.

Craig Ramsden (18), Gransden (17) and Chris Hunnisett (16) were the only other batters to reach double figures as the visitors were dismissed in 35.5 overs.

Sandeep Satheeshkumar and Ramesh did much of the damage with 4-35 and 3-49 respectively. Sidley's matchball sponsor was Heart of Sidley.

A big day lies in store for Sidley this coming Saturday as they contest their first home league fixture in their own community since 2012.