Priory pip Bexhill in tight T20 derby

Hastings Priory celebrate the fall of a Bexhill wicket during the Gray-Nicolls Sussex T20 Cup derby at The Polegrove. Picture by Simon Newstead

After Sussex Cricket League Division Two side Bexhill won the toss and batted against Premier League outfit Priory, openers Jack Richardson and Malcolm Johnson both made 15 off 12 balls.

Johnathan Haffenden (34 from 31 balls) and Tim Hambridge (28 from 23) batted Bexhill into a strong position, but the innings rather fell away in the latter stages with none of the final six batsmen reaching double figures.

The home side was eventually all out for 152 off the final ball of the innings with Finn Hulbert’s 4-29 the pick of Priory’s figures. Freddie Hulbert took two wickets, and there was one each for Jack Coleman and Elliot Hooper.

Elliot Guest dismissed Priory’s top three batsmen, including Byron Gould (25) and former Bexhill overseas player Dave Lowery (9), but a decent partnership between Leo Cammish (46 not out) and George Eldridge (30) seemed to put Priory on course.

Adam Maharaj-Newman (10) and Freddie Hulbert (12) chipped in, yet Priory still needed eight off the last over. The first three balls produced a single and a pair of twos, prompting the field to come up, and Cammish clubbed the winning boundary down the ground.

Callum Guest and fellow spinner Josh Beeslee, who conceded just 13 from his four overs, took a wicket each for Bexhill. Priory’s reward is a home tie against league leaders Preston Nomads.