Rampant Rye skittle rivals for 37

Kshemal Waingankar took five wickets, Harry Smeed three and Craig Pierce two as Rye made it maximum points from their opening two league matches. Rye travelled to Wisborough Green in the far side of West Sussex on Saturday looking to build upon their win over Keymer & Hassocks the previous weekend. It was clear upon arrival the ground was damp and that the wicket hadn’t been covered the night before. Consequently, upon winning the toss, Wisborough Green asked Rye to bat first on what looked a sporting wicket. As predicted, it was hard work for the batsmen with the ball holding up in the surface, and the opening partnership of 17 between Mickey Toomey and James Hamilton was broken when the latter fell to a good return catch from Ben Thatcher. In the early stages, Ben Clifton was the linchpin of the Rye innings with a well-compiled 23 on what was quickly becoming a very challenging wicket for the batsmen. When Clifton fell to Nick Barron, however, Rye found themselves in trouble at 55-5 and concerned about posting a competitive score; in the opinion of the players, a total of 100 would be more than competitive given the conditions. Despite the concerns, Jack Dudley made an excellent contribution towards the end of the innings. Dudley (23) - in his first full season for the first XI - and Smeed put on 27 for the ninth wicket to take Rye to a total of 90 all out. Dudley showed his capability with the bat, a testament to the coaching programme at the club as he has progressed through from the juniors in the last couple of seasons. Rye struck with the very first ball of the home reply as Hamilton caught Chris Francis off the bowling of Waingankar. In partnership with Pierce (7-3-9-2), Waingankar reduced Wisborough Green to 5-5 from seven overs. The procession of wickets continued, leaving Wisborough Green 20-8 before Smeed (6-3-6-3) and Waingankar (12.2-5-21-5) finished off the job inside 30 overs. The only resistance came from James Sadler, who fought well to make 19 not out. The excellent catching and fielding from Rye ably supported the excellent disciplines shown by all the bowlers. Rye will seek to make it three out of three when they host Stirlands this coming Saturday in a match sponsored by My Sweet Old Etcetera.