Littlehampton edge past Chipps in a thrilling clash

It proved to be a run-fest at The Sportsfield as Littlehampton chased down 252 to clinch a three-wicket success over Division 1 new boys Chippingdale.

The pressure was on the home side at the halfway stage after Aaron Tugnutt’s 109 ensured Chipps reached 251-8 from 49 overs.

Littlehampton needed contributions all the way down the order if they were to have any chance of taking victory.

Jack Turner (69), McLeod Cox (41) and an unbeaten 27 from Michael Askew provided just that as they made 253-7 from 43.3 overs.

Littlehampton skipper James Askew hailed his side’s batting performance after facing an uphill struggle at the halfway stage.

He said: “We batted excellently well to chase the total down.

“With chasing any total that size, you have to bat well and everyone contributed.

“We knew with the wicket so flat that 251 was a very chaseable target.

“I think we were all a little disappointed with ourselves at the halfway stage. We didn’t bowl very well as a unit and our fielding was the worst I have seen from us in a long time.

“There were some positives to take from the final ten overs in the field, though, when we did well to restrict them as we could easily have been chasing well over 300.

“We were always up with the run-rate in reply and Jack (Turner) batted brilliantly. For a 16-year-old he showed great ability and maturity in his innings.

“Louis (Paul), McLeod (Cox) and Michael (Askew) then all used their experience to see us through in the end.”

Askew asked Chipps to bat but openers Tugnutt and skipper Josh Bourne (27) gave them a perfect platform. The pair shared a 86-run stand before the first wicket went down.

Tugnutt would continue his innings, while Jerry White (23) and Dan Robinson (34) teed off at the other end.

Opener Tugnutt eventually fell for 109 but a brief 20 not out from Spencer Morris helped Chipps post 251-8 from 49 overs.

Skipper James Askew did a fine job with the ball, taking four of the final five wickets to fall and finishing with figures of 5-44 from his 12 overs.

Littlehampton had a slight wobble in their chase, losing openers Thomas Lee (14) and Chris Heberlein (27) to leave them 45-2.

Turner then played a match-winning innings for the home side. The 16-year-old talent struck 69 off 65 balls to edge Littlehampton closer.

Cox fell nine short of his half-century while Paul made 25 as contributions came throughout.

Michael Askew was unbeaten on 27 from only 20 balls at the end as Littlehampton reached 253-7 from 43.3 overs.

Bourne’s three wickets for Chipps were not enough.

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