Three Bridges and Ifield captains gearing up for the August Cup

Cricket captains are looking forward to some competitive cricket as the August Cup starts on Saturday.
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The 40-over competition has replaced the abandoned League fixtures and will take place over the five Saturdays of August with a finals event held in the first two weekends of September.

There are 42 groups in the competition cosisting of siix teams – the groups have been organised by geography and standard.

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Three Bridges are in the toughest group – facing Roffey, Horsham, Preston Nomads, Middleton and Brighton and Hove - kicking off against Nomads this Saturday.

Bridges skipper Conor GoldingBridges skipper Conor Golding
Bridges skipper Conor Golding

And skipper Conor Golding is looking forward to the challenge and is buzzing for the competition.

He said: “It’s a chance for everyone to fit in some competitive cricket when a lot of us thought that may not happen this year.

“Our group is the strongest in the competition which as a team we welcome with open arms, it’s always competitive when you’re playing teams like Roffey, Nomads and Brighton. After all you have the top four from the Prem all in the same group. It’ll be tough ask with a few players missing but I back the depth of our squad all the way.”

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Bridges have four key players missing from last season’s squad including skipper Matt Blandford.

Ifield skipper Jack GrovesIfield skipper Jack Groves
Ifield skipper Jack Groves

Golding said: “We have four regular first-team players out of action for the cup; that’s Adam Jones, Ollie Blandford, Will O’Donnell, who was set to be our overseas for this season, and of course the captain Matt Blandford, all of whom were playing cricket out in New Zealand when lockdown happened. It is a huge blow but it gives opportunities to others who may not have had the chance last year to show everyone what they can do at a higher level. We’ve recruited Raag Kapur, a batting all-rounder who plays internationally for Hong Kong, for the cup – he’s a friend of Archit Patel. Raag will be a great addition to our squad.”

Ifield are in Group A6 along with Crawley Eagles, Ram, Crawley, Felbridge and Sunnyside and East Grinstead 2nd XI - and they pplay the latter onm Saturday. Skipper Jack Groves said: “As a club we’re really excited at the chance to play competitive cricket in the August Cup alongside the Sussex Slam.

“I think the format is appropriate for the circumstances and gives us an opportunity to play against sides we haven’t played against before in a competitive environment.

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“It’s hard to predict who our main competitors will be but it’s nice to have a couple of really local games which should provide that extra incentive to win.

“We’re hoping to bring back a few players from previous years to add to our squad but at the moment nothing official has gone through.”

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