Eastergate rediscover form ... Wittering can't beat Selsey

It’s all in the latest round-up from our local West Sussex Invitation League teams, below. Eastergate v Arundel Invitation League division one Eastergate earned an impressive five-wicket win to halt their losing run. Arundel skipper Joe Bain elected to bat first on a decent-looking pitch, but the Eastergate bowling attack responded by restricting themto just three runs per over. The key wicket of Bain at 39-2 led to a batting collapse to 56-5. Top scorer Nick Murray (28) led a mini revival, but three quick dismissals by keeper Andy Smith standing up to the stumps – two catches and a stumping to dismiss Murray – left Arundel struggling to see out their 40 overs. They battled to 130-9. Rejo Raju took 3-31, Jack Bateman 2-20, Jack Saunders 2-26 – all from nine overs each. Incredibly in a limited overs match, the Eastergate bowlers achieved 11 maidens, supported by sharp and much-improved fielding and catching. Despite the early loss of skipper Jack Stannard, Eastergate were scoring more freely than their opponents, led by opener Curtis Drake, who scored a first half-century for the first team. Drake went for an impressive 57 from 58 balls, and it was left to Josh Cole (21 not out) to steer his side home in the 33rd over. The winning boundary was hit by Andy Smith and the home side finished on 132-5. Eastergate’s win lifts them to seventh in division one and they hope for an improved run of form and a mid-table position. The 40-over win-or-lose format seems to suit Eastergate. They welcome Ram to the Sportsfield on Saturday. Selsey v West Wittering West Wittering won the toss and elected to bowl against local rivals Selsey. Selsey, sitting bottom of division two, had claimed only one victory this season so far, against West Wittering just three weeks earlier. Wickets fell at regular intervals for the opening bowlers who had Selsey 48-3 and looked to push forward. But some confident batting from Brad Rose (68) and Peter Horner (48) helped to steer the hosts towards a healthy 201-9 at tea. A strong batting line up on paper for Wittering gave them confidence that the chase was on. But opening bowler Tom Amis had other ideas. Amis had the ball moving both ways and dismissed three of the top four for no runs. No2 batsman Gareth Lendrum could only watch from the non-striker’s end wondering whether he might get the chance to bat. But bat he did. Lendrum showed immense quality at the crease scoring a season’s best of 92 before he and two more were quickly removed, leaving West Wittering 150-8. A flurry of well-timed shots from the tail brought Wittering back into the game, eventually needing only five runs off seven balls. But a superb catch at mid-on dismissed the last Wittering wicket. This was a great win for Selsey, but brought frustration for their neighbours, who are looking to fight their way out of a mid-season slump. Aldwick v Horsham 3rds Division three Aldwick’s resurgence continued with a comfortable win over Horsham by 21 runs despite only posting a par score of 188-6 from their 40 overs. Once again, opener Ed White showe he is a class act and anchored the innings with a superb unbeaten 92. White was supported by Ryan Purvis (23) ,Harry Rosser (15) and Ollie Smith (32*) after his early partners had fallen cheaply. Rakesh Parekh was the thorn in the side for the early batsmen with 3-18 and later on Mark Haines (2-52) helped Horsham keep the home side restricted. It looked promising for Horsham as openers James Brehaut (40) and Oliver Haines (32) gave cause for concern to the home side with a 78-run opening partnership. However, after the good start it fell away for the visitors thanks to wicket-taking spells from Charlie Barnett (2-18), Jamie Murphy (1-24) and especially Liam Hicks (3-32). Horsham finished on 167-7 and Aldwick earned another valuble 30 points. This week Aldwick face table-toppers Scaynes Hill. Barns Green 2nd v Aldwick 2nd Division six Aldwick twos have almost certainly accepted the inevitability of relegation this season, but will try their best not to end in bottom place. But they will not achieve this small comfort with batting displays like the one on show away to Barns Green. Aldwick managed only 72 all out in the 31st over with Will Pegg (33) making nearly half the total. The only other batsmen to make double figures was Aiden Miles (12) as the rest fell to the bowling of Owen Maskell (3-21) and Danny Conway (4-26). Barns Green made easy meat of the visitors’ low total marching to victory inside ten overs losing only one wicket. Opener Tom Ott (33) was unbeaten, Conor Blachard (13) fell to Will Pegg (1-38) and then William Austin (28*) joined Ott to knock off the runs with ease. The only highlight for Aldwick was nine-year old Finlay Sampson’s unbeaten five following his debut last week – which shows promise for the future. This week they face West Wittering twos. Barns Green 3rds v Bognor 3rds Division ten west On neutral turf of Storrington, Bognor met Barns Green with both sides looking to chase down league leaders Clymping. Bognor’s Elvis Millen struck a brisk 38 before being caught and the Green took wickets regularly, Greg Monk bagging 4-28 as Bognor ended on 152-9. In Barns Green’s reply, Bognor’s Harry Lindsey took 4-28 and Glenn West 4-46. However, Monk made 36 not out as Barns Green won by one wicket. Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking sports news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be among the first to know what’s going on. 1 Make this website your homepage 2 Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/Sport-Sussex 3 Follow us on Twitter @SportSussex 4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). 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