Harry Baldwin

Match report: Sussex Martlets Seniors vs, Harry Baldwins Occasionals

Venue: Parham Park   Date: June 29, 2025

When we assembled at the pavilion at Parham Park to survey the sun-baked pitch, there was not much in the panorama which would not have been similar in the 17^th century, when the elegant house at the top boundary end was first built.

We were put in to field by the Baldwins, and William Wingfield-Digby (4 overs– 2 for22) bowled tidily down the hill, frustrating the openers with a series of swinging, seaming balls on a perfect length, with added bounce from the dryness of the track. Arran Aris (4 -0-7) took the other end, and gave the batsmen a different menu, varying his length, line, and pace.

Inevitably, the batsmen succumbed to some rash cuts and drives, and the Baldwins were soon two down, after a catch behind taken by Phil Savage (who went on to claim a stumping and a run-out) and a stunning grab by James Dahl at Point.

Time for the Baldies to re-group, which they did, for a while, until an impetuous run-out sent Tom Cullen back to the pavilion. Jonathan Cake – a stylish batsman – started to play himself in, but then he charged a ball from Paul Walker (4-3-8) and was stumped. Paul quickly claimed another two scalps, including our own dear Degsy, who was generously guesting for the opposition, and hardly deserved the merciless sledging he received.

The Baldwins were gravely wounded; the middle order flattered to deceive for a while, but they struggled to score against the prodigious turn of Paul Lack (6 – 1-44) and the guile of Stuart Ritchie (1-1-3). We had bowlers galore to play with – David Brooks (4-0-16) came on at the top and fired in a series of fast darts, while Dan Jackson ((4 -0-28) bowled fine leg breaks without any luck, which a wrist spinner does need from time to time.

The Baldwins tail fought back, with some ferocious hitting from young Iggy Cake and a steady accumulation by Robin Catchpole, who was finally undone by Jeremy McGahan (2-1-3). With one wicket left to take and a fervent desire for the tea break and some shade, David Mann (0.2 – 1-4) came on to bowl and delivered the coup de grace – a first ball which invited the drive to Mid-on, followed by the same again, only for the catch to be expertly taken by Dan Jackson on the boundary.

This capped a fine fielding performance by the Martlets, and we went in for tea thinking that a target of 136 was within easy reach.

But the Baldwins had a secret weapon in store – a young fast bowler called Tom Cullen, who fired off a relentless array of fast balls, just short of a length. At the other end, left arm orthodox teasers from Viresh had Dave Mann (57) and James Dahl (10) scratching their heads for a while.

James succumbed to a bouncer which followed him, Stuart (6) was bowled by a full pitched delivery from Iggy Cake, while Dave Mann, fired up by what he described as rather feeble English sledging (compared to what he grew up with at home) dug in, ducked and weaved, and punished the bad deliveries.

We had reached 100 in 18 overs, with two wickets down, and seemed to be cruising until hubris intervened. John Gibbard finally got his Mann, but even then, with Phil Savage (25 not out) accumulating and William Wingfield-Digby (13) showing some style at the other end, there was little cause for alarm, until Will walked down the track and missed. Out strode Arran (5) to finish things off, but the Baldwins were not about to surrender, and he perished – another good catch; Paul Walker (0)  decided to get things finished quickly. Back to the pavilion he came – we were now 132 for six and some frantic pad-strapping ensued.

Dan emerged from the rustic pavilion with a mission to stop the rot, which he duly did, with a powerful pull to the mid-wicket boundary.

The Martlets had cruised to a fine victory. John Coleman as Umpire and Mike Charman as scorer had also played a blinder, and the post-match discussions were held in hot, golden sunlight. Paul Walker regaled us with his story of a wild, Darcyesque swim in the Parham lake, we all took photos of the splendour, and started to imagine next year’s fixture.

Jeremy McGahan

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