Last night the first team drew its match against Hastings 1, which was enough for us to win the first division championship for the third year in succession. The team finished with 8 points out of 9 with Hastings 1 coming second with 7 points. Not long after the start of the match a mobile phone belonging to Hastings player, Paul Kelly, went off and according to the rules John Henshaw could have claimed a win. However, he sportingly declined to do so and after a few more moves won the game. John has had a particularly successful season in the league scoring seven wins and two draws in nine games. After John's win, draws were obtained by Paul, Geoffrey and me before Luke lost a complex game against Welsh international player, Francis Rayner.
Teams in the first division of the Mid-Sussex League compete for the Mowatt Cup. Godfrey F Mowatt, a preacher and Justice of Peace (c. 1874-1958), presented the trophy for the first Mid-Sussex League in 1923. The original competition, which came to an end in 1939, was for clubs centred around Haywards Heath. The league was revived in the 1967-68 season and at first followed the pattern of the first competition with clubs in the middle of Sussex taking part. Grading restrictions were also applied in the early years. Gradually the league allowed clubs from outside the central area of Sussex to take part and from 1993 it was clearly established that clubs could field their strongest teams. Another barrier was taken away in 2011, when Hastings (and presumably other clubs situated a good distance from the middle of the county) were allowed to play home fixtures. The league is thriving nowadays with four divisions and includes clubs from all parts of the county with the exception of the extreme south western area.
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