Rottingdean 2nd XI drew with Fletching 2nd XI
Rottingdean finished on 149-9 as they clung on for a dramatic draw with Fletching.
Skipper Ali Horscroft kept up his dismal run and is proving to be a bit of a useless tosser…having lost every one this season so far.
With Andy FitzGerald 59 maintaining his run of fine form and Mark Horscroft 50 finally raising his game for this level of cricket Fletching got off to a solid start.
Fletching looked well on course for maximum batting points when they reached 174 for the loss of only 4 wickets. However the tail collapsed with the last 6 wickets tumbling for only 10 more runs. Mark Smith was the pick of the Rottingdean strikeforce taking 5-56.
Chasing 185 to win, Rottingdean must have been fairly confident. Three early wickets stymied this confidence somewhat and with JJ Ticehurst 3-40 getting a decent amount of pace and bounce from a fantastic wicket runs were hard to come by.
Andy Horscroft was outstanding in the field and held onto three catches and this set the tone for a much improved performance in the field. After some stubborn resistance from the Rottingdean pairing of Mark Smith 37 and Mark Gibb 19 it was the Horscroft brothers, Andy 2-18 and Ali 3-28, who broke the deadlock and turned the match in favour of the visiting side.
It soon became clear that victory for Rottingdean was out of the question so it was a question of survival for the tailenders. When JJ Ticehurst returned to the attack he immediatley picked up a couple of wickets and it was left to Ali Horscroft to bowl the last over needing just the one wicket. With every Fletching fielder crowding the bat Rottingdean’s final pairing gallantly defended and held on for the draw.
Fletching 16 points drew with Rottingdean 13 points.