STAIGHT SLAUGHTERS SLOPPY STEYNING

Steyning were dismissed for just 147 and then dropped several chances in the field as Littlehampton raced to an all-too-easy eight-wicket win.

With a Steyning victory pulling Littlehampton back into trouble and possibly lifting Steyning above their hosts, it was amazing that Little-hampton could just stroll to the 30 points.

Second-bottom Steyning still have six games to go and, now, will probably need at least three wins to have a chance of staying up. However, they cannot afford any more performances like Saturday.

Four dropped chances went down in the field as well as several misfields where one Littlehampton run was suddenly a boundary four.. Batting-wise, Steyning just did not apply themselves to the wicket.

Jibran Khan with 34 from 36 balls was top-scorer before he was one of Benn Challen's three wickets. Challen took 3-10 from 9.3 overs.

Right-arm paceman Luke Vinter '” a Sussex Development XI player '” also caused Steyning problems and took 4-32 from his 12 overs.

Steyning's opening batsman Nick Colley was at the crease for 91 balls for his 22, before he was fourth man out on 80. Nobody stayed with him long enough for his side to get up to a defendable total. Andy Ridley, at No 9, with 29 boosted the low total late in the innings .

Littlehampton got off to a rapid response in their reply, and their run-rate just kept on increasing as the overs went by.

Neil Mansbridge was the unluckiest bowler. In his second over, Matt Staight lofted a shot over Jeremy Green at second slip and then next ball, Staight edged to Jibran Khan at third slip but Khan '” diving to his left one-handed '” put the opportuniry to ground. Both shots ended up at the boundary which moved the score on to 45-0 after 10 overs.

In the next over, bowled by Jeremy Green, Chris Heberlein hoisted up a chance for Matt Sewell but the youngster dropped the difficult chance. Heberlein had not looked comfortable all afternoon and he was out off the first ball of Dave Mates first over '” clean bowled by the right-arm spinner.

This only brought Chris Kirkham to the crease and he and Staight crashed boundary after boundary. Staight smashed three of one Rob Wakeford over, and Kirkham cracked 23 off three Andy Simmons overs.

Staight reached his 50 with a fine back-foot drive but Kirkham was out seven runs short of his. Staight finished on 76 not out off 84 balls with 15 fours. Kirkham's 43 included seven fours off only 37 balls.

Just before Kirkham was out, to sum up Mansbridge's fortune, Andy Simmons dropped a dolly at mid-off.

For match report of Littlehampton's Sussex League Cup quarter-final at Haywards Heath on Sunday, see this week's Littlehampton Gazette.