Cuckfield are champions - and back in cricket's Sussex Premier

A year after relegation to Division 2, they beat St Peters in the most dramatic fashion to clinch promotion back to the top flight with a match to spare.

The one-wicket win left them 39 points clear of their nearest rivals West Chiltington and unable to be caught in top spot.

There were celebrations on Saturday night as players and supporters reflected on a season of great cricket and impressive consistency.

Cuckfield have won 12 of their 17 games so far, losing four and drawing one, and have amassed more than 100 bowling points.

On Saturday, St Peters won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch that looked to offer the bat and ball equal amounts.

Jimmy Anyon (0-30) opened the bowling for Cuckfield and was met by some aggressive stroke-making from Max Wheatley (13) and Rohan Doyle (25).

Joe White (2-13) took the new ball from the other end and looked to cause problems hitting a consistent length outside off stump.

White made the breakthrough in the sixth over dismissing Wheatley, caught by Ben John behind the stumps.

Phil Smith (2) strode to the crease but soon suffered the same fate as Wheatley with White and John combining for the second time.

Doyle and James Hope (22) looked to rebuild the innings with Hope riding his luck being dropped off White while Anyon beat his outside edge consistently.

They took the score to 67 before Josh Hayward (1-21) came into the attack from his preferred end.

He immediately made an impact, bowling Hope, who had looked to take the attack to the experienced spinner.

Doyle followed shortly after, being caught by Nipun Karunanayake off skipper Ben Candfield (1-23).

Nimanda Madushanka (33) and Varun Khullar (30) then batted well and set the foundations for a strong end to the innings for St Peters, keeping the scoreboard ticking over.

Henry Rogers (2-47) was brought into the attack and quickly picked up the wickets of Madushanka and Sam Wheatley (16) to help keep Cuckfield in a commanding position.

A couple of run outs later and St Peters posted 187-9 from their 45 overs.

Cuckfield entered the second innings in confident mood.

However, Nipun Karunanayake (0) shouldered arms to a ball that jagged back sharply from the bowling of Varun Khullar (2-35) to the second ball of the innings, leaving Cuckfield in a spot of bother.

This brought Joe Cambridge (67) and Ollie Graham (29) together at the crease.

Bothhave been in good form this year and this showed with a commanding partnership of 78 that should have set the foundations for a simple Cuckfield victory.

After Graham holed out to deep midwicket, a 30-run partnership between Cambridge and Oscar Jago-Lewis (8) took Cuckfield to 108-2, a commanding position when only chasing 187.

However, through Dilshan De Silva (2-14) and Wazir Khan (3-41), Cuckfield soon found themselves at 120-7 having lost five wickets for just 12 runs to hand the initiative back to St Peters.

Jimmy Anyon (31 not out) was joined by Josh Hayward (27) at the crease and the pair edged Cuckfield closer to victory, batting diligently while pouncing on any loose delivery.

With 17 runs required, Hayward was trapped lbw by Wazir Khan to add to the growing tension.

Khullar was brought back into the attack and took the wicket of White leaving Cuckfield needing 15 runs with just one wicket remaining, as news came in that a victory would be enough to secure the league title.

Nick Patterson (10 not out) was resolute at the crease, assisting Anyon and striking a sumptuous cover drive to finish the match and crown Cuckfield as champions of Division 2.

After the disappointment of relegation last year, Cuckfield have bounced straight back to the Premier League as champions.

The champions are pictured above: back row (left to right) – Joe White, Joe Cambridge, Jimmy Anyon, Henry Rogers, Oscar Jago-Lewis, Ollie Graham, Ben John; front row (left to right) – Nick Patterson, Nipun Karunanayake, Ben Candfield (c), Josh Hayward.