It was the turn of The Provincial Grand Lodge of Sussex to host the annual Mark Inter Provincial Cricket Tournament, which took place on Sunday 22nd July in the picturesque surroundings of Ardingly College.
Click here to view the second slideshow of photographs from the Mark Inter Provincial Cricket Tournament
The yearly competition and family day brings together teams and supporters from the Mark Provinces of Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex with each taking it in turns to host the day.
The day saw four close and entertaining matches. In the first, Kent narrowly lost out to Middlesex having set them a respectable target of 8.5 runs per over which they reached off the penultimate delivery of a tense final over and dictated the tone for the day. In the second match Sussex overcame a spirited Surrey performance to see their way through to the final once again.
Before the Middlesex Sussex final, Kent took on Surrey who set them a seemingly modest 63-6 off 10 overs which due to some tight bowling and fielding they spiritedly defended until Kent finally overcame them in the 9th over, losing only 2 wickets in the process.
In the final, for the Norman Todd Cup, the Sussex XI set Middlesex at testing target of 114-4 off their 12 overs. The match swung to and fro, eventually leaving Middlesex needing to score 7 to win off the final over. Standing at 108-3, if they didnât lose any wickets a tie would win the game for them. Up stepped Sussex Captain Dave Moon-Watson to bowl the over of the day in which he returned figures of 5-3 and lead the hosts to victory. This and his other efforts during the day earned him the Player of The Tournament trophy.
The Bill Balderson Memorial Trophy for the day’s ‘Champagne Moment’ went to Ben Barker of Kent for an instinctive caught and bowled, which he took diving and just inches off the ground.
Thanks must go to Sussex’s PGM, RW. Bro. Martin Wilson and his organising committee for a most enjoyable day. Likewise, thanks are extended to the players, umpires and to everyone who attended for their continued support of this annual event. The proceeds of the day help to swell the 2019 Mark Benevolent Fund Festival which is being hosted by Sussex and will culminate in a Festival Dinner on Saturday 6th July 2019 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Brighton.