Southey-Jensen's maiden ton not enough at Eastbourne College

There are many beautiful cricket grounds in England, but few can rival the splendour of the Eastbourne College First XI pitch. Bathed in glorious sunshine and temperatures reaching 23 degrees, London New Zealand made their annual pilgrimage to the south coast for one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the season.

In keeping with tradition, the toss was somewhat manufactured to ensure that the hosts would bowl first, a decision that nobody seemed particularly upset about.

London New Zealand Innings – 261 all out (37.5 overs)

Adam Khanbhai and Cheyne Voss got London New Zealand off to a flying start. Voss, searching for form, struck two beautiful straight drives in his very first over before Harry Jordan produced a pinpoint yorker to end his innings for 12 in the fifth over.

Khanbhai continued the early momentum with a brisk 18 before falling victim to one of the great cricketing crimes – being sold firmly down the garden path by Ollie Burgess. The Burgess family, it should be noted, have a long and colourful history of running people out at Eastbourne, and Ollie was clearly keen to ensure that tradition remained very much alive.

Any concerns over the early wickets quickly disappeared thanks to Peter Southey-Jensen.

In only his second appearance for London New Zealand, the left-hander produced an extraordinary display of clean hitting, bringing up his maiden club century from just 62 balls. It was a magnificent innings, featuring a stream of boundaries and several towering sixes, and at one stage he looked capable of batting all afternoon. Eventually, he departed for exactly 100, receiving a well-deserved ovation from both sides.

Andrew Milward also played an entertaining cameo, becoming the grateful beneficiary of a succession of loose full tosses. With minimal fuss and maximum effectiveness, he flat-batted boundaries to both sides of the ground, including several towering sixes, helping maintain the momentum and ensuring the Eastbourne bowlers received little respite.

At the 20-over mark, London New Zealand were cruising at approximately 182-3 and seemed destined for something comfortably in excess of 300. Instead, the innings rather lost its way.

One of the day's great moments involved Richard Burgess, the club's all-time leading run scorer. Having top-edged the ball into the air, Burgess appeared to obstruct the wicketkeeper's path to what would have been a straightforward catch. The appeal for obstructing the field was immediate and, after a lengthy conference, both umpires agreed that he should have been given out.

In a wonderful act of sportsmanship, Eastbourne skipper Lee Gash withdrew the appeal.

Justice, however, arrived one ball later. Charles, standing for London New Zealand, saw the next delivery thud into Burgess's pads and, according to some, could scarcely raise his finger quickly enough.

The collapse was completed by a superb five-wicket haul from Thomas Van Rensburg, who transformed the game and restricted LNZ to 261 all out.

On most grounds the total would have felt highly competitive. On this surface, with a lightning-fast outfield and absolutely no forgiveness for anything short, it felt perhaps 40 or 50 runs light.

Tea

As ever, Eastbourne's hospitality was exceptional.

Ham, sausage rolls, salads, noodles and even tomato soup awaited the players, and it disappeared at a rate that suggested several members of both sides had been fasting beforehand.

Old Eastbournians Innings – 262-5 (31.3 overs)

The father-and-son combination of Shekhar and Shayan Aryan took the new ball for London New Zealand and, despite bowling with admirable effort, found little reward. Any loose delivery was quickly dispatched to the boundary and the hosts raced away.

Captain Voss tried almost every conceivable field setting to stem the flow of runs, but the conditions heavily favoured the batters and there was little margin for error.

Josh Dowsett was particularly destructive, hammering 111 from just 75 balls before retiring to allow his teammates some time in the middle. The scorebook may record him as retired out, but in reality he simply walked off to give others the opportunity to enjoy the glorious batting conditions.

One of the highlights of the innings came courtesy of Shekhar Aryan. With Vincent Marten attempting a quick single, the ball was struck firmly to mid-on and Shekhar swooped before producing a direct hit of the highest order to send him back to the pavilion.

Aside from that and a handful of deliveries that stayed unusually low—including one from Ollie Burgess that skidded through to dismiss Lee Gash—the hosts remained in complete control throughout.

Dave Coutts, Andrew Barkle, Vaughan Robertson and Peter Southey-Jensen all tried valiantly to break the momentum, but it was one of those afternoons where almost every bowler ended up travelling at something approaching double figures.

In the end, the Old Eastbournians reached their target with five wickets to spare and more than six overs remaining.

Afterwards

As always, the result mattered rather less than the occasion.

Another wonderful afternoon was spent at one of the country's most picturesque grounds, played in excellent spirit and rounded off with the customary speeches, warm hospitality and, most importantly, a few well-earned beers enjoyed in the late afternoon sunshine.

Our sincere thanks go to the Old Eastbournians for once again hosting us so generously.

We cannot wait to return next year.

Photos

Peter Southey-Jensen celebrates his maiden ton

Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College

Quite the spread at Eastbourne College