Rye 1st XI v Preston Nomads 1st XI
Rye 1st XI had a tough day at Division 3 Leaders Preston Nomads 2nd XI, after Rye won the reverse fixture at home. Nomads won the toss and elected to field. Rye made early inroads as in-form openers Altaf Ahmad and Tobias Farrow took a wicket apiece leaving Nomads were 10-2. However Nomads fightback was led by Oliver Gatting (60) and Liam O’Brien (91). Nomads continued the onslaught with the bat and posted 273-7 off 45 overs. Ben Clifton and George Wathen with two wickets apiece, earned valuable bowling points.
In reply Rye made a positive start as Rye Concepts MOM James Hamilton 51, and skipper Harry Smeed shared a 60-run opening partnership. However four quick wickets put a hole in the Rye reply. It’s a problem that has affected Rye all season, losing clutches of wickets. They were revived, however, through Mickey Toomey, (48*) and Tobias Farrow (35), as Rye eventually reached 207-7 off 45 overs. A solid performance against a leading club in the County.
Rye 2nd XI v St Peter’s 2nd XI
The 2nds reversed their recent run of bad luck in losing close-fought games, by convincingly beating St Peters 2nds in a match sponsored by The Mermaid Inn.
Rye batted first after losing the toss and got to 183-8 on a slow wicket. This was thanks to patient batting by the whole team, as John Mackenzie top-scored with 43, supported by Scott Balcomb 34, Mark Cook 22 and Craig Pierce 24. It looked a good total and so it proved. St Peters made a positive start as their openers took the score to 40 without loss.
The introduction of Martin Blincow saw him strike in his first over, then John Mackenzie joined in at the other end. They put a strangle on the runs and the wickets fell. Craig Pierce also joined in the pressure and soon St Peters were 85-9. A late rally, but Blincow returned to end the game, as Rye dismissed St Peters for 116. Mackenzie 3-17, Blincow 3-10 and Pierce 3-18, proving too accurate for the opposition, backed up by the wicket keeping of Matt Page 2 stumpings and slipper Balcomb with 2 catches.
Rye 3rd XI v Sidley 2nd XI
Rye third team hosted Sidley seconds for their latest league fixture and on winning the toss the home side asked Sidley to bat first.
The Rye opening bowlers kept the runs down as Callum Hadaway, claiming figures of 0-6 from 6 overs and Toby Channon (1-12) made the early breakthrough. Opening batsman Paul Oxborrow provided resistance and looked to keep the scoreboard ticking.
A tight spell of bowling from Ross Pierce (1-11 from 9 overs) continued to restrict the scoring with Mike Stoneham (3-28 from 8 overs) taking regular wickets. Oxborrow was the only batsman to reach double figures as he finished on 57 not out with Sidley totalling 113-8 from their 40 overs. Cieran Sellwood (1-20), Seb Cameron-Clarke (1-16) and Reece Martin (1-2) were the other Rye wicket takers.
Rye got off to a steady start scoring 17 before the loss of the first wicket. However, wickets then fell at regular intervals with the Rye innings taking a similar shape to that of Sidley’s, opener Ross Pierce playing a sensible innings to maintain the chance of a Rye victory. Trevor Stanley (3-39) and Lawrence Wray (2-26) were the pick of the Sidley bowlers. Ten-man Rye claimed victory in the 33rd over having lost 7 wickets thanks to 64 not out from Pierce. The other Sidley wicket takers were Trevor Ramsden (1-15) and Ian Mollart (1-4).
This Saturday Rye 1st XI have another long day, as they travel to Brighton and Hove 2nds, the 2nds host Crowhurst Parks 2nds in a match sponsored by The Mermaid Inn, and the 3rds host Crowhurst Park 4ths at Icklesham.
On Monday the U11s host Mersham in the final game of the Colts season in the Ashford League. The U16s and U18s are looking forward to the Sussex Junior Cricket Festival which starts for the U18s on July 30 and for the U16s on August 19.
Image Credits: Rye Cricket Club .