Unbeaten Horley under-14s finish third at Sussex Festival

The Horley CC under-14s team that had a fantastic week of Sussex Festival cricket

They were one of only four teams unbeaten all week and if they hadn’t had one match rained off, they might well have made the final.

Horley started on the Monday against Crawley Eagles CC. Winning the toss, Horley bowled first on an overcast, damp day and with superb bowling and fielding, dismissed Crawley Eagles for 46.

Horley reached 47 for three off 13 overs for their first win of the week.

Ollie Millard, William Hofmann, Henry Grimwood and Ryan Bunn took two wickets each and Khyan Patel and Charlie Moseling one apiece.

On Tuesday Horley travelled to Horsham CC who had soundly beaten them last year. Again bowling first, Horley took a couple of early wickets then Jacob Law took a hat-trick.

The first one was a shot down the ground caught well by Luke Smith, the second a fantastic ball that cut back, hitting the top of off stump while the batsman left it, then Law clean bowled the next batsman in.

With two wickets for Joshua Robinson and Hofmann and one apiece for Daniel Sired and Aidan Spalding, plus three superb slip catches by Robin Paulett and a diving backward catch by Spalding and excellent keeping from Bailey Warren, Horsham were bowled out for 59.

In reply, Horley played sensibly to knock off the runs, with Paulett making 14, Ryan Bunn 17 and a quick 25 not out for Smith, including a six off the final ball to secure a memorable win on Horsham’s first XI pitch.

Thursday’s match against Lingfield CC had to be abandoned due to rain in the second innings, but not before Paulett had taken two wickets and Sired, Spalding, Law, Bunn and Grimwood one each.

On Friday East Grinstead CC were the visitors. Horley won their fourth toss of the week and again bowled first. An early run out from Sired didn’t stop East Grinstead scoring well and at 90-2 they were looking good.

An impressive catch in the deep from Smith dismissed the captain but brought their county batsman Shams Suddahazai to the crease to hit a quick fire 45 (while Hofmann's left arm spin caused him problems) before being run out by Bunn, who was keeping for this game.

Two wickets each for Robinson and Smith brought the innings to a close at 156-9 dec from 39.5 overs.

Horley started their reply superbly with Bunn (34) and Patel (15) making 61 for the first wicket, including a huge six by Bunn which cleared the 20ft fencing surrounding part of the ground.

A couple of quick wickets brought Law (32 not out) and Smith (30) to the crease and their partnership of 70 controlled the game, helping Horley to a well-deserved win in 28.2 overs.

It was a memorable week for the boys, with economical bowling, fantastic fielding and great team spirit. Going unbeaten against some high-quality opposition was a real achievement.