HCC Women win Sussex T20 Cup

The Horsham Women's cricket team won the 2018 County T20 Cup at Hove on 9th September

Further information

Well done to our women’s cricket team who lifted the county T20 trophy on 9th September!

More details about this victory and the rest of the season for the HCC Women’s team below, plus here’s a picture of the winning team…

Women-T20 winner 2018

Southern League Championship 2018

The 2018 Championship season has finished in very positive winning way, with 5 wins on the bounce  (1 conceded by away team) followed by an exciting draw to end the season.

The start of the season was less positive, with Horsham having to concede 3 early games to lack of available players; losing players to examinations and County commitments. We will continue to face this difficult going forward as the ECB have put all County and Super league matches on Sundays throughout the season next year causing clashes (we lost 7 players because of this)

However a strong performance against Hayes at home saw the winning run begin. An unbeaten 120 by Hannah Phelps, and bowling 3 for 35 from Jo Humphreys the highlights.

Over the season our solid performance in the field and with the ball has kept opposition scores down between 115 and 202 runs.

We have seen some excellent performances with the ball, something frequently commented on by our opposition. Flora Bertwistle has seen her best performance with the ball, with Izi Noakes having changed her run up proving to be as formidable as ever. Great to see the Beadle girls returning to form following a season out with injury.

As already mentioned Hannah Phelps has led from the front with the bat, also mention must be made of batting contributions from Flora Bertwistle, Izi Noakes , Izzy Collis and Ariana Dowse. Flora and Ariana batting out a winning match against Ashford without the loss of a wicket all on a pitch which looked more like a straw field due to the 35 degree heat.

The local derby match against Brighton and Hove; after having suffered the only playing loss of season to them, was a must win.

The win was undoubtedly swung by a wonderful batting stand between Jess Rippin, (batting 8) and Tyla White (batting 10) adding 55 towards the final score of 201. With bowling figures of 3 for 25 from Bethany Beadle, 2 for 19 from Flora Bertwistle and 2 for 30 from Sophie Whittington, Brighton and Hove were bowled out for 166 in 37.2 overs.

A very satisfying win.

Particularly pleasing was the performance this season of some of our younger players particularly with the ball. Sophie Whittington, Tyla White, and Sara Sadiq. Also the welcome return of Ellie Robinson after injury. Giving them the opportunity to bowl against such good opposition has seen them improve through the season.

Mention must be made of Stephanie Donovan’s performance as wicketkeeper. Knowing that regular keeper Ariana Dowse was unavailable at the start of the season, due to County commitments, Stephanie accepted the keeping gloves for many of our matches; no mean feat with some of the fast and spin bowling that we have at Horsham.

The final Championship match was played on Sunday 2nd September and it was great to finish the season with a well deserved draw against the league winners Ickenham. It was a fantastic match played in the true spirit of cricket and ensures that Horsham will continue playing in the Southern League Championship again next season.

The Sussex Women’s T20 Competition.

Having been undefeated in our division the women went to the semi-finals and finals on Sunday 9th September with high expectations. On the day Horsham beat Eastbourne in the Semi Final, and Bognor in the Final to lift the T20 trophy. A strong batting perfromance saw HCC post 149 runs in their 20 overs – in reply Bognor were bowled out for 45.

To all the players who have played for Horsham this season, whether every fixture or just a few, everyone has played an important part in the team’s performances in 2018. Thank you.

Thanks also must go to Melinda Bertwistle, and Karen Whittington for keeping score, and making sure it all added up. Also to Keith Walder, for umpiring. We are very grateful.

We would also like to thank the excellent crowd support we have received particularly at home matches which has made a huge difference to all the team

We look forward to cricket in 2019, with plans to reinstate our junior girls section, and encourage more young players to be involved in our teams.

2018 Awards:

Senior player of the Season:        Flora Bertwistle

Under 21 player of the Season:   Sophie Whittington

Captain; Hannah Phelps

Bowling and Batting figures

Flora Bertwistle         50 overs   8 maidens     162 runs   18 wickets best  4/40

Sophie Whittington   50 overs   9 maidens     179 runs   10 wickets best 2/6

Bethany Beadle         47 over    5 maidens     248 runs   8 wickets   best 3/25

Hannah Phelps     9 games   7 innings   3 not out     317 runs     high score 120*

Flora Bertwistle   8 games   6 innings   3 not out   155 runs       high score 40*

Izzy Collis               6 games   5 innings   3 not out   139runs       high score 46*