As the mercury rose in July, Storringtons hopes of an immediate return to Division 3 went up in smoke as they went on an untimely run of 4 defeats through the height of the summer. It should be noted that Matt Talbot was without in form batsman Rob Norris and key opening bowler Liam Le Roux for most of this period and things might have been different had he been able to call on them throughout.
The rot set in at Eastergate who had struggled to get their season up and running but finally found some form with the bat. Paul Smith bowled well for little reward at the start of the innings but apart from that the Storrington bowlers never came close to getting on top as the hosts amassed 217 for 3. In reply the only innings of note came from Rupert Davenport with 54 as Storrington were dismissed for just 139.
Storrington were back at home the following week to Southwater who they had narrowly failed to beat in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Southwater batted first and as has been the case for most of the last two seasons were carried through their innings by skipper Johann Brouwer. Quite why the talented South African batsmen wants to play at this level when he should be testing his ability in at least Division 1 of the Invitation league is a mystery but his 71 formed the backbone of the innings as the visitors made 195 all out. Jamie Webber took 6 for 53 and seemed fired up by turning out against a team he played for briefly in between his two spells with the Swans. The reply was Storringtons most woeful effort of the season with the bay as they were blown away for just 69.
Wisborough Green away was next up and after two less than successful attempts when batting second, Storrington were able return to their favoured role of setting a target. They squeezed past 200 with Ru Davenport making his second 50 in three weeks to set the hosts 202 to win. The village green can be very difficult to defend if a batsman gets himself in and after picking up the first three weeks Storrington fell victim to some powerful middle order batting as an unbroken stand of over 100 took Wisborough to a 7 wicket victory.
By this point Matt Talbots hopes of taking his team straight back into Division 3 were beginning to fade and a victory against leaders East Preston became a necessity to keep Storrington in the hunt. Again the lack of depth in the Storrington bowling attack was the problem. Whilst Talbot normally has two of Paul Smith, Alex Barritt and Liam Le Roux to call, beyond that his options are often limited. Dan Le Roux is showing signs of getting back to something like his best with the ball and Webber has shown himself to be capable of going through teams but is only available every other week. East Preston cashed in to make 220 for 8 in 49 overs. Dan Le Roux made 65 at the top of the Storrington innings to move himself closer to 1000 runs for the season in all cricket as well as closing in on Andy Ridleys club record for runs in a league season. Unfortunately he didn't receive the support that was necessary if a serious assault on the victory target were to be mounted and East Preston eventually got home by 51 runs.
Talbots men finally returned to winning ways with a win at basement side Rustington. Batting first, they made 182 as Russell Harding finally got past 50 for the club. Harding has made a number of useful contributions this season but until this point had failed to go on and make a significant score. On this occassion his knock formed the foundations for the innings with Le Roux also making 39 to leave himself needing 3 runs in the last match of the season to overhaul Ridleys record. In reply, Rustington never looked likely to threaten the modest target and Paul Smith picked up a 5 wicket haul to finish them off and finally end Storringtons losing streak. With just one match to play, Storrington can nolonger finish in the two promotion spots but will be looking to finish on a high note at home to Worthing Chippingdale.
Storrington beat Aldwick by 146 runs
This was one of those days when it all came together. The batsmen delivered, the bowlers delivered and the fielders backed them up with a fine display of catching. Aldwick had pipped Storrington to the post in a tight match earlier in the season and having successfully chased on that occasion they obviously fancied their chances of a repeat as they won the toss and asked Matt Talbot to get his batsmen ready. In the absence of the injured Malcolm Carter, Rob Norris joined Dan Le Roux at the top of the order and it wasn't long before Aldwick were wondering what their skipper had let them in for. Having seen off the first over from the lively opening bowler it quickly became apparent that there was not a lot else to back him up. Le Roux in particular cashed in on a particularly wayward spell of bowling from the car park end and as the Swans flew out of the blocks at 6 an over, the tone was set for the rest of the afternoon. Le Roux was in dazzling form, perhaps determined to bring some sporting joy to a day that had been tarnished by the drubbing his beloved South African rugby team had received earlier that day. Norris, fresh from his exploits in the Sports Relief Mile and Hove Superstarts contest wasn't looking so fluent and settled for playing a supporting role to Le Roux. He was dropped three times in total but it could be argued that he deserved some luck after being left stranded on a chanceless 94 not out in the previous match. Le Roux raced to fifty and having been dismissed whilst well set on several occassions this season he seemed determined to make this count. The highlight of the innings was an enormous straight six that bounced in the car part before disappearing over the fence into the Hormare estate. Such was the ease with which Le Roux was dismantling the wilting Aldwick attack that he reached three figures before his partner had brought up his half century. Norris eventually made his 4th fifty of the season and just as they were reaching for the record books in the pavilion, Aldwick finally held onto a catch to bring down the curtain on a magnificent first wicket partnership of 191. Le Roux continued to batter the ball to all parts before he was finally bowled, allowing Russell Harding to play a brisk cameo of an innings, his unbeaten 36 taking Storrington to 256 for 3 before Talbot declared with 42 overs gone.
The imposing total allowed Talbot to set an aggressive field for both Paul Smith and Alex Barritt and both were right on the mark straight away. Aldwicks only hope of mounting any sort of assault on the target appeared to rest with Joel Lodge and he took advantage early on of the attacking fields, driving well through the vacant mid on area on a number of occassions. The first breakthrough didn't take long as Barritt got one to lift and caught the gloves of the batsman to present Le Roux with a regulation chance at first slip. Not to be outdone, Smith then found an outside edge as well and Le Roux took a slightly sharper chance in front of his face. Lodge was still looking solid but he needed somebody to stay with him if Aldwick were to get anything out of the game. Then came an Alex Barritt over which proved the old adage that catches win matches. Firstly a lofted drive looked to have evaded the in-field but Russell Harding ran round from mid off to take an excellent catch as the ball came over his shoulder. Just a few balls later and Storrington got the danger man. A flash outside off stump from Lodge sent the ball of the top edge over the slip cordon. Stuart Carter was fielding at backward point and having sprinted to meet the dropping ball he dived to hold a brilliant catch just inches off the ground. The joyous Storrington fielders rushed to celebrate with their young team mate with a delirious Jamie Webber screaming "catches win matches" and bizarrely kicking Carters downed cap across the outfield.
The gate was wide open now and with Barritts nagging accuracy and Smiths big away swingers, it looked like being just a matter of time. Both bowlers picked up a wicket with slower full tosses that deceived the batsmen and Barritt ended up with an excellent 5 for 46 from 13 overs. Smith, having been replaced by Webbers off spin from the car park end, came back to replace Barritt and quickly finished the job by leaving the umpire with no choice but to give the Aldwick number 11 out lbw to leave Smith with figures of 5 for 30. Barritt and Smith deservedly took the applause as they led the team from the field but would probably miss out to Le Roux as man of the match. Talbot will be well satisfied that things seem to be really coming together as his team aim to bounce straight back into Division 3. This win took them back into the top two and closed the gap on leaders East Preston.
Broadbridge beat Storrington by 19 runs
On an afternoon when the nation was gripped as Englands football team were reduced to 10 men before crashing out of the World Cup on penalties, Storrington also paid the penalty for being a man short as they fell 19 runs short of victory against second bottom Broadbridge Heath. Heath have struggled all season and although they were bolstered by players returning from University, this really was a match where the Swans should have been looking for maximum points. With just two overs gone it appeared that the aim of getting back to the pavilion in time to watch the football wouldn't be a problem as Liam Le Roux and Paul Smith both claimed wickets in their first overs to leave the visitors on 0 for 2. There was not a lot of resistance from the top of the Broadbridge Heath batting order as both bowlers picked up their second wickets. The middle order was a little more stubborn without ever threatening to pile on the runs but the game turned in the final hour of the Heath innings as Storrington lost their way badly. Le Roux was unfortunate to take a wicket with a no ball on two occassions although he could only blame himself for that. Chris Hurst picked up a couple of wickets but two chances went down at first slip as Talbot tried something different with Stuart Carter and Paul Smith bowling some leg spin to give the attack some variety. In the end the Swans were glad to get off the field as Heath accelerated to a total of 185 in 49 overs to leave the hosts with a much higher target than should have been the case.
The Storrington reply started badly as Dan Le Roux played on to a ball just outside off stump. Russell Harding got one life when he was dropped at mid off but failed to make the fielding side pay for their carelessness and Talbot was undone by Ovingtons googly. Meanwhile, Rob Norris was looking relatively untroubled as he made his way to a quick half century. The problem was that nobody else was sticking around. Chris Hurst played three trade mark shots over midwicket before being bowled trying to repeat the shot and Paul Smith also looked set to provide Norris with the parner he needed before he was bowled round his legs by Ovingtons leg spin. None of the Storrington batsmen were coping particularly well with Ovington but Rupert Davenport was desperately unlucky with his dismissal. After he got the faintest of touches down the leg side, the Heath wicket keeper didn't get his gloves anyway near the ball but it hit his knee and ballooned into the air to be caught by first slip.
With just three wickets left and still 60 runs needed, it was looking like a tight finish. Norris was still looking solid and with Simon Dennis, Carter and Le Roux still to come, there was no need to panic. Even with Dennis and Carter back in the pavilion and one wicket remaining, Le Roux is a batsman more than capable of handling a situation like this. Even so, the fall of the penultimate wicket seemed to be the catalyst for Norris to look to get the job finished. Having hit the leg spinner for two boundaries and got the added bonus of 4 byes, Norris took a single of the penultimate ball of the over. The final ball of the over appeared to pitch outside leg stump and spin back into Le Rouxs pads but the Heath side all went up with a huge appeal and got the answer they were looking for from the umpire to leave Storrington 19 short of victory and Norris stranded on 94 not out.
The defeat was made all the more frustrating by the fact that Storrington only had 10 players. Its hard to say whether the extra fielder could have saved many runs but certainly an extra person to come out and bat could have made the difference.
Storrington beat Rustington by 9 wickets
The Swans got back on track after the previous weeks disappointment with a thumping 9 wicket victory over basement boys Rustington. Having batted first in every match so far this season, Storrington were asked to field by a Rustington side looking to bounce back from some poor batting performances in recent weeks. Their intention was clear from the outset as they scampered every single they could to get the score board ticking over. Storrington were perhaps caught on their heels slightly and took a couple of overs to tighten up in the field. Liam Le Roux and Paul Smith shared the new ball and it was Smith who made the initial breakthrough, as the Rustington opener walked across his stumps and was hit low down on the pad. Several of the Rustington batsmen led a charmed life with numerous deliveries, particularly from Le Roux being edged through or over the slip cordon. There were also a number of skied shots that either evaded the fielders or presented tough chances that were put down.
The bowlers stuck to the task though with Talbot using just the opening pair plus Dan Le Roux and Stuart Carter. Liam Le Roux bowled a marathon opening spell and was eventually rewarded with three wickets whilst Smith returned an impressive 4 for 36. Carter bowled a mixed spell, combining some outstanding deliveries with some that were too short and got punished throught mid wicket. The youngster finished with two wickets before Le Roux and Smith came back at the death but were not quite able to pick up the final wicket.
A total of 155 was Rustingtons second highest of the season but it never looked like being even close to competitive once Malcolm Carter and Dan Le Roux got to work after tea. The pair took the bowling to pieces as the ball disappeared to all parts during a partnership of 103. For the second week running Le Roux fell just short of a half century but Carter was not going to be moved and with Dan Pickard ensuring that no further wickets fell, the veteran opener smashed his way to an unbeaten 88 as victory was secured in just over half of the available overs. The win moved Storrington back up to third in what remains a very tight top six. The lead seems to be changing hands every week at the moment and Matt Talbot will be keen to knock the current top side of the table when he takes his side to Worthing Chippingdale this week
Storrington lost to East Preston by 3 wickets
The Storrington players could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu as they suffered another narrow defeat, this time at East Preston. For the fifth time out of five this season the Swans batted first and for the fifth time out of five they got off to a good start. They then suffered what is becoming an all to common stutter which left them short of what they should have scored and for the third time this season they took seven or more wickets without sealing victory.
Malcolm Carter and Dan Le Roux got off to a flier, racing past fifty in eight overs. Carter fell victim to a questionable lbw decision having made 27. He appeared to be a long way forward but more significantly, outside the line of off stump when the umpires finger went up. That brought the in form Rob Norris, captain for the day, to the crease but despite a couple of crunching drives, he never looked settled and was comprehensively bowled for 17. Le Roux was still looking good but one particularly crisp straight drive deflected off the bowlers and onto the stumps at the non strikers end to run out the unlucky Paul Smith out for 3. Le Roux was put down at deep mid on before he played the same shot again several overs later and was dismissed for 40. Chris Hurst played another impressive innings in the middle order but also seems to be suffering from the problem that stops Swans batsmens turning thirtys and fourtys into eighties, ninetines and centurys. The failure of the Storrington batsmen to convert good starts into big scores is underlined by the fact that despite averaging over 200 per innings as a team this season, there have only been four individual half centuries and no scores of over seventy.
The last three overs were wasted and the last two batting points went begging as the innings ended on 194 but a good start by the bowlers turned the tables in Storringtons favour in the early part of the East Preston innings. Alan Reeves, making a rare league appearance was the destroyer in chief, first inducing an edge from the dangerous Dallimore before bowling his opening partner. Reeves picked up two more victims in his opening spell before coming back to complete a return of 5 for 65. Alex Barritt also came back to bowl at the end of the innings but Ken Chapmans 66 for East Preston had already got the hosts to within touching distance of victory and although Barritt bowled Chapman with one that nipped back, a few lusty blows by the tail snatched victory for East Preston and left the Swans ruing another missed opportunity. The fact that they have picked up good batting and bowling points when not winning means Matt Talbots men remain very much in the hunt at the right end of the table and a win this weekend against rock bottom Rustington would catapult them back into the top three of four.
Meanwhile Ian Massburys 2nd XI surged to the top of the table with an emphatic 137 run win over Barns Green. Pete Roberts made 78 and Nick Vinnicombe took an outstanding 6 for 21 to keep the 2nds on track to keep up their remarkable record of promotions and relegations over the last few seasons.
Storrington beat Wisborough Green by 94 runs
Third took on fifth as Wisborough Green were the visitors to The Rec and the Green skipper obviously hadn't studied the form book as he won the toss and put Storrington into bat. A quick look at the hosts results this season would have shown the batsman to be performing reasonably well and with a good level of consistency going into this match. With Malcolm Carter unavailable through illness, Matt Talbot was forced to send his third different opening pair of the season out to start the innings and it proved to be the most successful so far as Rob Norris and Dan Le Roux shared a century partnership for the first wicket. Having been dropped in the slips before he had scored, Norris eased his way to his second fifty in three knocks. Le Roux wasn't far behind, going to his half century with straight six. Having reached 103 for no loss progress was halted when Norris was caught just behind square for 60. Russell Harding followed for a first ball duck and when Le Roux was dismissed for 50 and was quickly followed back to the pavilion by his skipper, the innings was suddenly in a spot of bother with four wickets down. Step up Mike Duddy and Chris Hurst, two young products of John Davenports junior academy of the late 1990's. Duddy, on his last match before going away for the summer played with the ease that has typified his three performances this season whilst Hurst had a quick look at the bowling before hitting a boundary and three sixes as his first four scoring shots. The pair took the Swans out of trouble as they raced towards 200 before both perished to prompt another mini collapse. Paul Smith remained unbeaten though and saw the total to 224 before Talbot declared in the 41st over.
The declaration looked competitive to say the least, leaving Wisborough Green 53 overs to chase down the target but Talbot had faith in his bowlers and after a tight start from Alex Barritt and Liam Le Roux, the first wicket fell when Le Roux drifted one onto the pads of the batsman who had stepped right across his stumps. Meanwhile Vallis was batting well at the other end and it soon became apparent he was the key man for the Swans bowlers to get rid of. Barritt bowled a tidy opening spell as usual before being replaced by Duddy who chipped away at the middle order with probably the best spell of bowling of the match. Duddy's return of 7 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for 11 demonstrated how much he'll be missed for the rest of the season. Paul Smith bowled a mixed spell from the top end but as is often his way, desite being punished for one or two loose deliveries Smith picked up the danger man as he had Vallis trapped lbw for a determined 54. With the rock of the Green innings removed and their victory target already out of reach Talbot moved in for the kill. Having come up just short at Aldwick and Southwater the bowlers were up for the fight this time and ripped through the tail, Liam Le Roux coming back to finish with 3 for 25 to wrap up a resounding 94 run win.
The win takes Storrington to second in the league with the top six still looking very tight. Next week they travel to East Preston with both sides looking to stay in the hunt at the top end of the table.
Storrington drew with Southwater
For the second successive league match, Storrington set their opponents a target just short of 200 and then got through to the tail end but couldnt quite finish the job. At Aldwick two weeks ago the Swans lost a close encounter but on this occassion Southwater were never in the hunt and settled for a draw. A total of twenty three points from those two matches is not a bad return considering neither of them were won but Matt Talbot will hope that his side can find a little more killer instinct as the season goes on.
For the third time out of three this season, Talbots men had first use of the pitch and as is so often the way with this team, it was a story of a number of decent contributions without anybody really going on to a significant score. A total of 194 for 6 was built around 46 from Mike Duddy and 43 from Russell Harding with others chipping in along the way. Southwater never really got going in their pursuit and appeared to settle for the draw at quite an early stage. Storrington chipped away through the top and middle order but in the end could only pick up 7 wickets and had to settle for the draw.
Storrington go into this weekends clash against third place Wisborough Green just 11 points off the top of the table and with the top six sides all in action against each other, a second win of the season could push the Swans all the way to the top.
Storrington lost to Aldwick by 2 wickets
After several members of the side arrived late having been thrown off track by the fact that Aldwicks ground isn't actually in or close to Aldwick, Matt Talbot won the toss and backed his batsmen again after the impressive display at Broadbridge Heath. Dan Le Roux returned to the top of the order to partner Malcolm Carter and the result was another solid start as they raced to a half century opening partnership. As in the previous league match, the good start was followed by the loss of both openers in quick succession. Le Roux was caught behind and Carter bowled, driving at one that drifted back in and past the inside edge. Rob Norris and Russell Harding steadied the ship with Harding starting to look capable of delivering on his potential. His innings was terminated though when he shouldered arms to a very similar delivery to the one that bowled Carter. Norris started to open up a little as the Swans looked to up the run rate but chased a wide one and was caught behind. With the exception of Stuart Carter who was harshly judged lbw, the whole of the top and middle order got themselves in and started to look comfortable before getting themselves out, 32 being the highest score that anyone managed. A brisk 25 from captain Talbot took the total to within touching distance of 200 but the innings ended with 7 deliveries remaining and 190 on the board.
There were wholesale changes as Storrington took to the field. Talbot threw the wicketkeepers gloves to Norris in order that Paul Smith could supplement the bowling attack. Dan Le Roux and Stuart Carter weren't used by the skipper as he preferred Alex Barritt and Liam Le Roux to open backed up by Smith, Mike Duddy and Jamie Webbers off spin. It nearly paid off and was a huge improvement on the bowling and fielding display that had threatened to cost Talbots men victory at Broadbridge Heath. Duddy bowled with impressive accuracy, consistently bowling a good length on or just outside off stump. Meanwhile, Smith showed that he may nolonger have the raw pace of his youth but when he gets the ball in the right places, hes a match for anyone at this level. His 5 for 45 took Storrington to the brink of victory as the Aldwick middle order was steadily chipped away. Eight wickets down was as close as the Swans got though as Aldwick found a tail end hero who rode his luck to steer them home. He may well have been sent packing when Liam Le Roux had a huge lbw shout turned down, the umpire giving the batsmen the benefit of what appeared to be very little doubt as he was hit right in front just outside the crease. The decision probably tipped the balance in Aldwicks favour but to be fair to them, they kept their nerve and picked off the required runs.
Despite the defeat, the twelve points picked up were still enough to move Storrington up to third place. Despite a dodgy long range weather forecast they will go into their first home match of the season against Eastergate still reasonably high on confidence this Saturday and looking to consolidate their place at the top end of the table.
Storrington drew with Ferring
With Storringtons first free weekend in the league fixtures coming just one weekend into the season, Matt Talbot and Ian Massbury would have been delighted to see the wet weather set in on Saturday morning. The majority of league matches fell victim and both sides remained in strong positions. Both skippers took a week off and handed over to former 1st XI captain Dan Le Roux for a friendly match at Ferring. The Swans continued their trend of fielding only ten players and at this rate it could catch on as they followed up last weeks comprehensive victories for both XIs with much the better of this damp draw.
Batting first, Le Roux persisted with the experiment of sending younger brother Liam out to open the innings. He failed to trouble the scorers before returning to the pavilion but this brought Stefan Dennis and Jon Orman together and they set about making themselves feel good with some powerful strokes all around the ground, Dennis going on to make his first half century for the club. He fell shortly afterwards and Orman followed but any joy that Ferring felt at the double breakthrough would have been tempered when they saw Le Roux striding to the crease. It was on this ground where he smashed 175 in a Sunday friendly last season and once again he cashed in to make an unbeaten half century as Storrington eased passed 200.
Ferring never looked like mounting a serious pursuit of the victory target and wickets fell steadily from the outset. There were only two significant acts of resistance from Ferring, one a dogged knock from their number 4 and the other a swashbuckling cameo that saw the first four balls of an Orman over going for 18 runs before he struck back and removed the danger man. Le Roux shared the bowling around with eight of the 10 players turning their arm over.
With the light fading rapidly, Ferrings last wicket pair managed to survive the last two overs and gained a draw. It was a good run out for Storringtons side, made up primarily of 1st XI players. Dan Le Roux played himself into some form, Paul Smith got to the crease for the first time this season and three of the clubs front line bowlers all had a good work out. Back to league action next Saturday.
Storrington beat Broadbridge Heath by 67 runs.
Matt Talbots men kicked off their bid to make an immediate return to Division 3 with a resounding victory at Broadbridge Heath. Last season it took until the first weekend in June for the 1st XI to open their account but this time Storrington were up and running straight away against the other side relegated from Division 3 last season. With both sides struggling with player availability at the start of the season it ended up as a 10 a side fixture but any gaps in the field that this created were negated by a very lush outfield which made hitting boundaries a challenge.
Talbot won the toss and showed his confidence in the batsmen by taking first use of the pitch. Underrated batsman Liam Le Roux was promoted to open the innings with Malcolm Carter and although runs were at a premium for the first 10 overs, they made a solid start. Once they'd seen off Heaths lively young seamer, Carter started to up the ante and the run rate picked up. A straight six into the trees took him to 50 when the total had only just passed 70 and he was starting to show that even at 48 he's still got plenty in the tank. So, it was unfortunate when Le Roux ran him out for 67, looking for a second run. Le Roux followed Carter back to the pavilion shortly after when a ball that kept low hit his middle stump. Rob Norris and Russell Harding had the task of consolidating after the two quick wickets and then moving the total towards 200. They went about it well, initially picking up ones and twos where they could before becoming more aggressive as they reached the last 10 overs. Norris hit two big sixes over mid wicket and two straight back down the ground and Harding effortlessly dispatched one back down the ground as well. Harding fell just before Talbots declaration but Norris finished unbeaten on 63 having offered just one chance off the last ball off the innings. 208 for 3 represented an excellent effort that would have been worth a lot more on a quicker outfield.
It appeared that Storrington were going to rely heavily on the Le Roux brothers and Stuart Carter to deliver the lions share of their overs with Jamie Webbers off spin also an option. As it happened, the opening bowlers struggled with their line, length and rhythm and Webber was on to bowl as early as the 14th over. Despite losing a couple of early wickets, Heath were racing along above the required run rate, helped by an alarming number of extras, which eventually totalled more than any one batsmen contributed to the total. Webber and Liam Le Roux tidied things up though and helped Talbot to exert a little more control over proceedings. Talbot also turned to Malcolm Carter who showed that he can still be relied upon to consistently put the ball on the spot. He finished with figures of 6 overs, 4 maidens 1 wicket for 2 runs. It was, however, Webber who was turning in the match winning bowling performance. Three lbws and two clean bowled dismissals showed that theres no substitute for bowling straight as Webber finished with an outstanding 6 for 22.
So, thirty points and a flying start to the season. Talbot will be pleased with his top order batsmen but he'll be well aware that the bowling and fielding will need to be better as the season goes on.
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