Roffey's Sussex cricket title bid goes to nail-biting last day

Roffey hoped to be crowned champions last Saturday and are not often beaten at home, especially in 50 over format, but they lost a hard fought, low scoring game against fellow title contenders, currently second-placed East Grinstead. Yet, with one game of the season to play, Roffey remain top by 12 points, skipper Matt Davies telling the County Times: “We needed 250, so were 30 or so short, but we had the bowlers for the conditions and created chances and still could have won - only for dropped catches to cost us dear.”

Put in, Roffey got off to a sound start, but, with batsmen having played themselves in, wickets fell too regularly - Bradley Hatchett finishing with 3-38 and Steven Harman 2-13. From 118-5, Rohit Jagota, accompanied first by Sam Henderson, then Jas Bassan, followed by George Fleming, had to rebuild. Jagota made an unbeaten 55 from 65 balls and his partners twenties. An unbroken last wicket stand of 48 carried the score to 222-7, after two earlier reverse sweeps had proved fatal. It seemed likely that Roffey would either need to bowl out Grinstead, or make serious early inroads to have any realistic chance of winning.