Bexhill captain: No reason why we can’t win league

Bexhill lie third in 1st Central Sussex Cricket League Division Three East and are 30 points behind leaders Preston Nomads seconds approaching the midway point of the season.

But Bexhill have won four of their last five matches, the latest of which was a convincing victory away to previous pacesetters Seaford last weekend.

See also: * Burgon stars as Bexhill knock leaders off their perch* Bexhill up to third after continuing perfect home record* Aussie ace hits hundred as Hastings drawAsked if he believes Bexhill can win the league, Haffenden said: “I don’t see why not. We seem to be clicking very well, all 11 of us. It’s good at the moment.

“We’ve got a very good XI, but other teams play well at their grounds and we’ve got to make sure we do what we’re doing right.

“We had an up and down start and our availability hasn’t been great, but now we’re doing well and we are where we probably should be.”

Bexhill have been comfortable victors in all three of their home fixtures so far and their next two games will both take place at The Polegrove.

They will complete the first half of their league campaign with a visit from eighth-placed neighbours Eastbourne seconds tomorrow (Saturday) before starting the second half against sixth-placed Crawley Eagles next weekend.

“We play well at home,” continued Haffenden. “We’ve got two on the bounce at home and we’ll be looking to win both of them. Whether we bat first or bowl first, we’ll be confident.

“If we can make sure we win every home game and win the majority of our away games, we’ll be in a very good place.”

Haffenden was ‘very pleased’ with Bexhill’s display in the seven-wicket victory away to Seaford when opening batsmen Cameron Burgon scored 117 and Liam Bryant 56.

“We played very good cricket to be fair. Very pleased. We started very well with the ball and to keep them down to 220 on a small ground was very good. Very happy with the first half.

“We’ve got quite a lot of confidence in our batting at the moment, and they’ve formed quite a good partnership up top. They can score runs quickly, both of them, and it’s a good thing to have.

“Cam batted well, it was good to watch.”

1st Central Sussex Cricket League Division Three East standings (all played 8 matches): 1 Preston Nomads II 206pts, 2 Seaford 194, 3 BEXHILL 176, 4 Portslade 148, 5 RYE 134, 6 Crawley Eagles 133, 7 Brighton & Hove II 126, 8 Eastbourne II 121, 9 Rottingdean 100, 10 HASTINGS PRIORY II 87.