Park youngsters coming of age

That’s the view of captain Paul Lindfield after the Telham club hit the front in Sussex Cricket League Division Three (East) on the back of a third straight victory last weekend.

Asked what’s made the difference between last year’s eighth place finish and the start of the new campaign, Lindfield said: “I think there’s some players that have really grown of age.

“A lot of the youngsters are really coming to the fore. Brad (Payne) is bowling really well this year, Ed (Smissen) is bowling so well and batting extremely well, and Clive Tong’s bowling well.

“Then you’ve got people like Richard Coleman keeping it so tight and taking wickets when we need them, and Paul Brookes is always going to be one of those players that keeps doing it with bat and ball.”

Park are the only team in the division with three wins, and they go into June 12 points clear of the two other unbeaten sides, Ansty and Crawley, who drew with each other last weekend.

“There’s a lot of good teams in the league and the two teams behind us have both clearly got a good record,” Lindfield continued. “We’re going to be there or thereabouts this year.”

Buoyed by their nine-wicket thrashing of Keymer & Hassocks last weekend, Park travel to eighth-placed Hellingly tomorrow (Saturday) seeking to continue their fine form.

“We’re going into this weekend confident, but not over-confident,” Lindfield added. “Everyone’s enjoying it and that’s the main thing. We’re going out there wanting to do it for each other which is what you want from a team.”

Lindfield is attending a wedding so Laurence Coleman is likely to come in with Martin Menezes taking the helm.