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Horley win Sussex Festival Under-14s Shield
Katie Field13 Aug 2024 - 18:31
Horley Under-14s have added the Sussex Festival Shield to the league title they won earlier this season.
After their undefeated league campaign, they entered the Sussex Festival full of confidence. Their opening fixture in the Shield was against East Grinstead and Horley had to draw on all their resilience and determination to overcome strong opponents.
Bowling first, Horley expected to take early wickets but the opening partnership of 105 put them on the back foot. However, perseverance from Horley led to the opening batsman giving Henrick Cook a catch off Rayan Patel's bowling and immediately afterwards, a careless runout occurred which led to a flurry of wickets.
Will Basting (3-8) and Tom Jowett (3-12) rattled through the batting line-up as Horley took ten wickets for 39 runs to restrict their opponents to 144. Cook took a superb one-handed catch towards the end of the innings and Josh Bate also took a great catch as Horley's fielding backed up the accurate bowling.
Horley’s reply started badly with two early wickets falling before Oscar Millard added 15 runs to the total to build some momentum. However, this was checked by three quick wickets to leave Horley 29-5. Jowett counter-attacked with a fabulous innings of 47 runs from 30 balls but his dismissal sparked wild celebrations from the East Grinstead team. Little did they know about the strength in depth of the Horley batting line up! From 85-8, Patel (29 not out) and Jamie Chester-Williams (15) played superb innings to take Horley nearer to the victory target. The latter’s dismissal at 115-9 left Horley 30 runs short of the target but Joe Waller (9 not out) and Patel superbly guided Horley towards the required total. As the scores drew level it was left to Patel to steer the ball to the boundary to seal a fabulous comeback victory.
Horley's second match was away at Lindfield and a much-improved performance led to a comprehensive victory.
Having been asked to bat, opening pair, Cook and Dylan Shanks, batted superbly to set a platform for a big score. Shanks was out lbw for 24 with the score on 71 and although Horley lost their second wicket with the score on 84, a series of good partnerships involving Cook (60), Basting (26), James Simner (30) and Jowett (38 not out) propelled Horley to an impressive total of 219-6. Horley declared after 37 overs to give them 43 overs to bowl out Lindfield.
The hosts started their innings well before two excellent deliveries from Cook reduced them to 21-2. However, a partnership of 60 runs really challenged the Horley bowlers and it took a great catch from Basting to break it. This was the first of Shanks's four wickets in seven balls as he bowled magnificently to tear through the Lindfield batting line-up, ending up with figures of 4-12. Waller then continued his excellent festival performance with three wickets for nine runs before Basting finished the game with the final wicket as Patel took his second catch of the match. The last eight Lindfield wickets fell for only 28 runs as Horley secured victory by 110 runs.
Ansty was the venue for Horley's third match and another excellent bowling performance contributed to another victory. Bowling first, Horley restricted their opponents to 95 all out. The wickets were shared around but Basting (3-9) and Cook (2-7) excelled. The final wicket came when Alasdair Elles celebrated his first Festival wicket with the first ball he bowled.
As the rain clouds gathered, Horley knew that they had limited time available to force the result they needed. Cook (41) and Shanks (seven) started at great pace scoring 42 off the first four overs before the rain arrived. After a short delay, the match resumed and Ansty fought back with five quick wickets reducing Horley to 67-5. However, Finley Toward (eight not out) and Lucas Lafon Anderson (18 not out) steadied the innings with an unbroken partnership of 29 to secure another 40-point win which moved Horley to the top of the table.
The final group stage match saw Horley welcome Southwater to Horley Row, knowing that a 40-point win would secure their place in Sunday's final. Horley bowled first and produced another excellent performance, taking wickets at regular intervals to limit their opponents to 102 all out. Shanks (2-8), Cook (2-12) and Waller (2-15) caused most of the damage.
In reply, Horley controlled the run chase well, with important contributions from Cook (47), Lafon Anderson (18) and Millard (26 not out) as they won by six wickets to reach the final.
Sunday's final saw Horley take on Wisborough Green at Felbridge and Sunnyside Cricket Club. Having lost the toss, Horley were asked to bowl and made an early breakthrough when Cook caught and bowled the opening batsman. Wisborough Green rallied and progressed to 51-1, scoring at a good rate. However, Basting dismissed the other opener thanks to a great catch from Cook which led to a series of wickets tumbling. From 51-1, Horley reduced Wisborough Green to 67-7 and then 84-9. However, an excellent partnership for the last wicket took Wisborough Green to a total of 112. Cook (2-8) and Joe Waller (2-12) returned the best bowling figures but there were also wickets for Patel, James Simner, Millard, EJ Waller and Shanks.
Requiring less than three runs per over to win, Horley made an assured start to the chase before Cook was caught for 23 in the eighth over to leave Horley 37-1. A well-executed runout three overs later left Horley in some difficulty at 46-2 but an outstanding partnership of 55 between Shanks (23) and Patel (27 not out) led Horley to the brink of victory before Shanks was superbly caught with just 12 runs needed. EJ Waller struck the winning runs to give Horley a six-wicket victory and bring the Under-14 Shield back to Horley Row for the first time since 2008.
The victory brings the curtain down on a very successful season for the team who have displayed incredible spirit and determination throughout and have produced a number of excellent performances.
Bowling first, Horley expected to take early wickets but the opening partnership of 105 put them on the back foot. However, perseverance from Horley led to the opening batsman giving Henrick Cook a catch off Rayan Patel's bowling and immediately afterwards, a careless runout occurred which led to a flurry of wickets.
Will Basting (3-8) and Tom Jowett (3-12) rattled through the batting line-up as Horley took ten wickets for 39 runs to restrict their opponents to 144. Cook took a superb one-handed catch towards the end of the innings and Josh Bate also took a great catch as Horley's fielding backed up the accurate bowling.
Horley’s reply started badly with two early wickets falling before Oscar Millard added 15 runs to the total to build some momentum. However, this was checked by three quick wickets to leave Horley 29-5. Jowett counter-attacked with a fabulous innings of 47 runs from 30 balls but his dismissal sparked wild celebrations from the East Grinstead team. Little did they know about the strength in depth of the Horley batting line up! From 85-8, Patel (29 not out) and Jamie Chester-Williams (15) played superb innings to take Horley nearer to the victory target. The latter’s dismissal at 115-9 left Horley 30 runs short of the target but Joe Waller (9 not out) and Patel superbly guided Horley towards the required total. As the scores drew level it was left to Patel to steer the ball to the boundary to seal a fabulous comeback victory.
Horley's second match was away at Lindfield and a much-improved performance led to a comprehensive victory.
Having been asked to bat, opening pair, Cook and Dylan Shanks, batted superbly to set a platform for a big score. Shanks was out lbw for 24 with the score on 71 and although Horley lost their second wicket with the score on 84, a series of good partnerships involving Cook (60), Basting (26), James Simner (30) and Jowett (38 not out) propelled Horley to an impressive total of 219-6. Horley declared after 37 overs to give them 43 overs to bowl out Lindfield.
The hosts started their innings well before two excellent deliveries from Cook reduced them to 21-2. However, a partnership of 60 runs really challenged the Horley bowlers and it took a great catch from Basting to break it. This was the first of Shanks's four wickets in seven balls as he bowled magnificently to tear through the Lindfield batting line-up, ending up with figures of 4-12. Waller then continued his excellent festival performance with three wickets for nine runs before Basting finished the game with the final wicket as Patel took his second catch of the match. The last eight Lindfield wickets fell for only 28 runs as Horley secured victory by 110 runs.
Ansty was the venue for Horley's third match and another excellent bowling performance contributed to another victory. Bowling first, Horley restricted their opponents to 95 all out. The wickets were shared around but Basting (3-9) and Cook (2-7) excelled. The final wicket came when Alasdair Elles celebrated his first Festival wicket with the first ball he bowled.
As the rain clouds gathered, Horley knew that they had limited time available to force the result they needed. Cook (41) and Shanks (seven) started at great pace scoring 42 off the first four overs before the rain arrived. After a short delay, the match resumed and Ansty fought back with five quick wickets reducing Horley to 67-5. However, Finley Toward (eight not out) and Lucas Lafon Anderson (18 not out) steadied the innings with an unbroken partnership of 29 to secure another 40-point win which moved Horley to the top of the table.
The final group stage match saw Horley welcome Southwater to Horley Row, knowing that a 40-point win would secure their place in Sunday's final. Horley bowled first and produced another excellent performance, taking wickets at regular intervals to limit their opponents to 102 all out. Shanks (2-8), Cook (2-12) and Waller (2-15) caused most of the damage.
In reply, Horley controlled the run chase well, with important contributions from Cook (47), Lafon Anderson (18) and Millard (26 not out) as they won by six wickets to reach the final.
Sunday's final saw Horley take on Wisborough Green at Felbridge and Sunnyside Cricket Club. Having lost the toss, Horley were asked to bowl and made an early breakthrough when Cook caught and bowled the opening batsman. Wisborough Green rallied and progressed to 51-1, scoring at a good rate. However, Basting dismissed the other opener thanks to a great catch from Cook which led to a series of wickets tumbling. From 51-1, Horley reduced Wisborough Green to 67-7 and then 84-9. However, an excellent partnership for the last wicket took Wisborough Green to a total of 112. Cook (2-8) and Joe Waller (2-12) returned the best bowling figures but there were also wickets for Patel, James Simner, Millard, EJ Waller and Shanks.
Requiring less than three runs per over to win, Horley made an assured start to the chase before Cook was caught for 23 in the eighth over to leave Horley 37-1. A well-executed runout three overs later left Horley in some difficulty at 46-2 but an outstanding partnership of 55 between Shanks (23) and Patel (27 not out) led Horley to the brink of victory before Shanks was superbly caught with just 12 runs needed. EJ Waller struck the winning runs to give Horley a six-wicket victory and bring the Under-14 Shield back to Horley Row for the first time since 2008.
The victory brings the curtain down on a very successful season for the team who have displayed incredible spirit and determination throughout and have produced a number of excellent performances.
Further reading