Fine victory keeps Rye top

James Hamilton was Rye Cricket Club's man of the match during the victory over Hellingly.

The Sussex Cricket League Division Four East leaders won by three wickets with an over to spare away to bottom-of-the-table Hellingly.

Rye captain Harry Smeed won the toss and elected to bowl. Rye got off to a great start with James Smeed claiming a wicket in his first over.

A 62-run partnership between Steve Hook and Harry Gape got Hellingly back on track, but the introduction of Harry Smeed paid off immediately as he removed Hook for 22 and in the next over Tobias Farrow dismissed William Hutchings first ball to leave Hellingly 64-3.

What happened next will go down as missed chances for Rye as David Rippengal (56) alongside Gape (77) took Hellingly to 176.

Cleon Reece was reintroduced and he removed both batsmen in quick succession to get Rye back in it at 184-5.

Wickets continued to fall, with Harry Smeed picking up four to leave Hellingly 209-8, but a partnership of 38 took Hellingly to a competitive total of 247 all out off the final ball.

Rye felt confident about the run chase, but got off to a bad start by losing three quick wickets to leave them 45-3.

Concepts of Rye man of the match James Hamilton (69) and Dan Seabrook (64) took Rye to 119, and when Mickey Toomey (56) joined Seabrook, they put on a further 81 to leave Rye 200-5.

A few wickets fell at the end, but a mixture of great running between the wickets and finding the boundary at the right time ensured Rye got over the winning line.

Still unbeaten Rye remain 10 points clear of second-placed Rottingdean at the midway point in the season. They will begin the second half by travelling to Cuckfield seconds this coming Saturday.

Standings (all played 9 matches): 1 RYE 215pts, 2 Rottingdean 205, 3 St Peters 195, 4 Buxted Park 178, 5 Glynde & Beddingham 154, 6 Mayfield II 134, 7 Cuckfield II 132, 8 Bells Yew Green 131, 9 CROWHURST PARK 121, 10 Hellingly 98.

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