Christ’s Hospital

Sussex Martlets v Christ’s Hospital 1^st  XI

At Christ’s Hospital on Wednesday 1 July 2026

The Sussex Martlets assembled at the 1^st XI cricket pitch for their annual game against Christ’s Hospital.  The square and the pitch were in glorious condition surrounded by the uninterrupted Sussex countryside and the grounds and buildings of Christ’s Hospital.  It would not be too far a stretch of the imagination to see a Sussex CCC game being played at this venue.

Batting first were the Sussex Martlets.  The openers were Oscar Harman and Willie Boulter, neither of whom survived the opening bowling partnership of Logan Adams and Will O’Brien.  To the crease came Harcharan Mudhar and Toby Rawlings who set about taking the bowling attack apart in a partnership of 170 runs until Rawlings retired out on 100.  Harcharan continued to 83 not out.  Following a fleeting visit to the crease by Tayyab Mahmood, the new match manager for this fixture, Ben Whelpton joined the party for a final partnership of 58 runs.  The Martlets declared on 253 runs for 4 wickets after 35 overs.

This fixture was not graced by the Martlets veteran batter Sam Carter who, when this game was previously played accumulated a century.  Carter claimed that moving the fixture from a Thursday to a Wednesday meant he had a work day to interrupt his pleasure.

The Martlets opened the bowling with Alex Collins and Derek Horsham.  The first wicket fell in the first over, with Massimo Phillips clean bowled by the first ball he faced nipping back from Alex Collins.  Collins second over was similarly productive taking a fine edge from O’Brien into the safe hands of Boulter behind the stumps.  The next over resulted in Horsham getting into the action with a ball that gripped on the surface resulting in Josh Silva lobbing the ball up for a nonchalant catch to be taken by Mudhar.  Joshua Pullen fell to Rob Burgh bowled and Horsham took his second wicket likewise bowling Adams.  It was an inauspicious start for Christ’s Hospital who were at 35 runs for 4 wickets at one stage.

At the wicket were now Noah Gibson-Brown and Seb Fisher, who put on the most productive part of the innings by Christ’s Hospital accumulating 61 runs.  However in an inspired change of bowler, Mahmood brought in former match manager of this fixture, Stuart Ritchie.  Protecting the leg side, Ritchie bowled two of his slow deliveries back of a length which were despatched to the boundary.  Playing a three card trick, his next ball was on a length with Gibson-Brown clean bowled middle and leg.  Ritchie went on to take his second wicket in the next over with Fisher reaching for a wide ball and offering up a catch to the safe hands of  Whelpton.  Whelpton then claimed a wicket in his short spell, but the pièce de résistance  was Rob Burgh off the bowling of Collins and a ricochet from the slip cordon throwing down the stumps with a direct hit to run out Tanush Shar in a moment of delight for the Martlets.  The innings of Christ’s Hospital and the match were wrapped up by Collins clean bowling Ben Bacon.

The fixture against Christ’s Hospital is long standing and the school is one of our most generous hosts each year.  Lunch was taken in the school buildings in the Courtyard Room  where we were surrounded by portraits of former headmasters and no less than that of King Edward VI

Grateful thanks go to the Director of Sport & Cricket, Dave Messenger, for whom this was his last ever game of cricket in charge before leaving Christ’s Hospital.  Grateful thanks also go to the umpires on the day, Richard Young standing for the Martlets, and longstanding Martlet himself Martin Bodenham who stood for Christs Hospital.  Similar thanks go to our scorer Roger Lusted.

Parting thanks given to Dave Messenger, the Martlets adjourned to the Bax Castle where we were pleased to be seated far away from the bar as possible and were mostly oblivious to the World Cup football between England and DR Congo, save for the cheers emerging from the bar when Harry Kane scored the two goals required for England to progress to the last 16 of the World Cup.

Stuart Ritchie

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