Bexhill return to winning ways

Once again, a strong all-round showing by influential skipper Sam Roberts proved key to The Polegrove side's performance as he top scored with the bat and returned the best bowling figures.

The wicket was the fastest of the season so far, so Bexhill decided to bat and use the Australian as an opener for the first time this season.

The decision quickly bore fruit as Roberts and John Holland put on 60 runs in 23 overs for the first wicket.

The skipper hit 10 fours and a six as he raced to 87 off 108 balls, sharing a second important partnership of 50 with Matthew Blackman (35), who smashed five fours himself.

The middle order was once again lacking a decent scorer as Bexhill tried to chase quick runs before declaring.

Preston struggled with the bat in reply against what their scorer referred to as the "best-balanced attack in the league".

Indeed, with eight games played Bexhill have conceded just 1,111 runs, an average of 138 a game and no score above 200.

Leading the attack, Roberts used pace and then slow spin to capture 4-20 in 16 overs.

Blackman topped off a decent all-round effort to finish with 2-19, backed by some strong fielding and smart catching.

With Rakesh Patel (3-27) and Mark Nightingale (1-33) also on song, the Nomads were finished off before they could threaten with only skipper Michael Strong making any progress.

BEXHILL 193-8 (28pts)

PRESTON NOMADS 109 (4pts)