Hastings coach was ‘quite confident’ of victory

Hastings Priory coach Ian Gillespie was ‘quite confident’ the cricket club would have won last weekend’s game had the weather not intervened.
Hastings Priory coach Ian GillespieHastings Priory coach Ian Gillespie
Hastings Priory coach Ian Gillespie

Priory were 20-0 chasing a victory target of 196 away to Lindfield in 1st Central Sussex Cricket League Division Two when the match was abandoned due to rain.

Gillespie said: “It’s a long way to go, but at 20-0 I felt we were in the driving seat. But then the rains came and that was it.

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See also: * Hastings’ bid for back-to-back wins thwarted by rain* Hastings coach: We’ve got to put a run together* Hastings Priory and Little Common Ramblers picture special* Hastings close in on promotion spots after victory“It was just frustrating that we had done the hard work and set ourselves up for a victory charge, but it never happened because of the weather.

“I thought we had done the hard work. The movement and activity in the wicket was slow, and I think we would’ve had too much batting. I’m quite confident we would’ve got there.”

Priory had bowled Lindfield out for 195 before tea, with John Morgan taking five wickets and Jed O’Brien four.

“Incredibly frustrating,” added Gillespie. “I thought we did really well in the field. They had a couple of quality players, but we stuck at it really well.

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“The key thing was Morgs’ (Morgan’s) bowling. He’s been sensational this season. He’s top of the bowling averages for the division and he was superb again.

“He took advantage of everything that was in the wicket, got good players out and put us in the driving seat. Jed came on and finished it off. We did a good job.”

1st Central Sussex Cricket League Division Two standings (all played 7 matches): 1 Billingshurst 169pts, 2 St James’s Montefiore 164, 3 HASTINGS PRIORY 152, 4 Bognor Regis 146, 5 Haywards Heath 125, 6 Burgess Hill 107, 7 Lindfield 98, 8 Chichester Priory Park 92, 9 Ifield 72, 10 Goring By Sea 55.