14/06/2026
First XI Match Report sponsored by Shanaz of Lewes.
Barcombe 1st XI - 198-9
Preston Nomads 3rd XI - 197-10
Barcombe win by 1 wicket.
With sunshine returning, Barcombe made the journey to Fulking hoping to continue their excellent start to the season. Regular skipper Harry Stewart was missing with rumours of his whereabouts swirling around. Was he absent for breaking team protocol when disastrously spilling a pint on a trip to Lords? Was he scouting locations for houses with his new best mate, channel 4 icon Phil Spencer? Or was he at a wedding in Essex? Whatever the answer, Allan Trower - returning after an early season sabbatical - stepped into his shoes and promptly won the toss, electing to field first.
Trower was reunited with his long-suffering partner Joe Wheatley and it looked like the team were in for a long afternoon as the ball was dispatched to all parts from the sluggish deck. Scratching their heads, the pair were beginning to look bereft of ideas when Trower finally forced one to be hit straight up and caught. When Wheatley then clean bowled the other opener, Barcombe looked to be well back in the game.
The scoring rate slowed - with the occasional boundary being struck - as Josh Wheatley and Harry Austin continued to apply the squeeze. Austin looked dangerous, bowling with control and maturity and he got his rewards - clean bowling 3 of the Nomad's middle order to put Barcombe well on top. Wheatley chipped in at the other end - picking up the set batsmen courtesy of Paul Coppard's safe hands in the deep. He had perhaps been put off by the fact he had to pour his own squash during the drinks break. David Christmas replaced Austin and maintained the pressure - adding one for himself in the wickets column. Barcombe's fielding had been excellent, led by the relentless cheerleading of the lesser-spotted Matt Cordwell making his annual outing.
Trower turned to Matt Tucker and after discussions about where to place the fielders, and assurances that a deep midwicket would not be required, he was dismayed to see the ball disappear in that direction repeatedly. The experiment didn't last and Coppard was summoned to stem the lower order hitting, which he promptly did - tightening things up and clean bowling the number 10. The innings closed with Trower enacting a direct hit run out that would have been harder to miss and Nomads finished on 197.
With most of the top order missing, Barcombe sent out Tucker and Kane Black to set about the chase and they began positively - feasting on a diet of short or overpitched deliveries. Tucker fell, utterly confused about how the ball had ended up where it did, but Black and Josh Wheatley continued to take the attack to the opposition - mixing resolute defence with attacking elan.
When Wheatley fell, he was simply replaced by another as Joe Wheatley entered the fray. Still the runs came and, even when Black fell for an excellent 47, proving that plenty of time allows to bat maturely, Coppard and Wheatley carried on Barcombe's seeming merry march to victory.
One thing is certain with Barcombe - you never know how much you are always in the game as the next collapse could be just around the corner. From 165-3 they lost Wheatley and Ade Broadway (entering the duck cup) and then more catastrophically suddenly found themselves 175-8 as Coppard, Cordwell and Austin all fell in the space of one over. The clubhouse was a frantic hive of activity as people tried to pad up, explain how to do the scoring and get out to square leg umpire all at the same time.
After the chaos settled, George Christmas and Trower were left in the middle. Twenty runs to score, overs not an issue but with only David Christmas to come - things were tense. Suddenly the Nomads fielders were alive, stopping everything and squeezing the life out of the run chase - waiting to pounce on any mistake. Trower rode his luck, managing to be dropped twice in one over but Christmas (G) was more assured. Confidently blocking and looking for the loose delivery to put away. Aided by some wides, the pair began to edge Barcombe closer and with the crowd now swelling to around 12 people, a grandstand finish was on the cards. Disaster almost struck as when running a single, Trower and Christmas collided - sending shockwaves up to Devil's D**e. Somehow, both stayed on their feet and completed the run and when Trower finally got a chance to free his arms and send a straight drive for 4, Barcombe looked odds on at 194-8.
Then another twist! Trower spooning a full toss and running out of luck meaning 4 were still required and only two Christmas's present at the crease. The squad needn't have worried as Christmas (G), having found the fielders with consecutive drives, finally got one away to give Barcombe the victory. It has been a superb team effort - with everyone chipping in at some point - and maintains Barcombe's excellent run of chasing. Next week the team return to the BRG to face high-flying Lindfield.
Player of the Match - Harry Austin for an excellent 6 over spell to pick up 3 wickets.
