Haff returns as Sidley skipper

The 27-year-old was elected during the club’s Annual General Meeting on Monday night with promotion-winning skipper Scott Woodroffe having stood down.

Haffenden was a Sidley player for several years and captained them in 2006 - when they finished second-bottom in Division Two - before making the cross-town switch to Bexhill in time for the 2007 season.

He skippered Bexhill from 2008-10, leading the club to a runners-up finish in Division Two in 2009 and with it promotion to the Premier Division for the first time since 2000.

Although their stay in the top flight lasted only one summer, Haffenden presided over a Bexhill side which put up a spirited fight and captained England international Monty Panesar on a handful of occasions.

He played in Bexhill’s two pre-season friendlies in 2011, but made a dramatic return to Sidley in time for the start of the league campaign following a personal issue with a team-mate at The Polegrove.

Haffenden went on to scoop the Division Three (East) batting award having scored 656 runs at an average of 43.73 with four half-centuries and a match-winning 100 not out away to Crowhurst Park.

See tomorrow’s Bexhill Observer for the full article.