Mid-Kent League Match - reduced by rain

Upchurch (12 pts) 134-8
New Ash Green (19 pts) 135-8
New Ash Green won by 2 wickets.

New Ash Green put in a gutsy performance to snatch a vital win at top of the table rivals Upchurch on Saturday.

Winning the toss and electing to bowl in the rain reduced contest, Mick Sumner and Vic Mayers gave NAG a great start bowling tightly and keeping the Upchurch batsman down to 5 an over. Mayers was unlucky to see a sharp chance put down by Hurst, before the introduction of Shambrook brought an instant breakthrough.

This brought the Upchurch dangerman, Aussie - Brent McNee to the crease, but he was soon sent back for just 6 with Mayers finding his edge with some extra pace and Hurst hanging on this time to leave the hosts at 60-2.

Mayers managed to bowl through his 7 overs despite suffering from a heavy dose of flu, but you would never have known as he bowled very tightly and posed problems for all of the Upchurch top order. NAG looked as though they might be in trouble when Andy Stuart pulled up with a side strain at the start of his third over and was unable to move let alone bowl. With no seamers left Andy Payne grabbed to ball and bowled a great spell of 11 balls taking the important wicket of Upchurch skipper Phillips into the bargain with Duke taking a great catch on the mid-wicket boundary.

Ian Shambrook and Mick Sumner weere the stars of the show taking 3 wickets each and bowling very tightly at the death to leave Upchurch with an under-par score of 134-8.

Despite losing Andy Cox for 4, Vic Mayers (44) and Vaughan John (16) got NAG of to a very solid start, staying just above the rate until disaster struck and both were out in quick succession. This brought the out of sorts pair of Hurst and Payne to the crease and, although they hung around for a few overs, their inability to get the Upchurch bowling away meant the required rate went up and up. This meant that when Payne was out for 4, Hobbs was sent in to try and smash his way to victory, unfortunately Hobbs was soon out and NAG then managed to lose a further 3 wickets with the score on 93, as Hoddinott, Hurst and Sumner all departed.

This brought number 10 Ian Shambrook to the crease to join Simon Duke who had witnessed the collapse at the other end. With the seemingly impossible task of 41 required off less than 5 overs, the impossible started to happen as Duke and Shambrook played almost text book cricket, forcing the Upchurch fielders into mistakes and hitting boundaries at just the right time. As the NAG 9th wicket pair held their nerve the Upchurch bowling started to become more wayward and the impossible was achieved with a ball to spare. Duke 23* and Shambrook 21* were heroes as the NAG team, many incensed by some of the opposition's behaviour, celebrated into the night.

New Ash Green II v Sibton Park II
Saturday 3rd August 2002

Kent League Match - 100 overs reduced to 80 overs due to rain

New Ash Green 202-4 (40 overs)
Sibton Park 204-7 (36.3 overs)
Sibton Park won by 3 wickets.

Constant light rain delayed the start of the game, and with some very heavy bursts around a full match didn't look likely. However the teams decided to make a start at a point when the rain eased up slightly, and to everyone's surprise the weather then eased up and there was even some sunshine during the game. The start was at 2.30 and the match reduced to 80 overs, a factor which eventually went very much in Sibton Park's favour.

With Keith Bushell being struck down, allegedly by an insect bite, New Ash Green were without an umpire and so forfeited the toss. Inevitably asked to bat in the damp conditions they got away to a good start, with Rob Jansen slotting away the loose balls from opening bowler Chris Heath. He was looking in good touch before being caught at mid-off trying to hit another ball over the top for 28. Gary Browning failed for the first time this season, and Matthew Quantrill having also scratched his way to 28 reached for a wide one from Heath and helped it up to point. Matthew Payne took a quick 23 before being bowled, but Graham Hampsheir and Dominic Adolphe, after a slow start ended up running the bowlers ragged, mixing up quick singles with powerful blows. They put on an unbeaten 113 for the 5th wicket, Adolphe making 60* and Hampsheir 49* to bring up what should have been an impregnable total.

However with Micky Sumner and Graham Hobbs playing for the first XI New Ash Green were short of bowling, and the Sibton Park openers, Heath (again) and Paul Fox went for their shots from the start. They built up a solid base from which to chase a win, before both went in their 30's. After these two the standard of the batting declined, but although the young numbers 3 & 4, Robert Waitt and William Purcell both looked uncomfortable against anything accurate they were both given chances and took advantage of anything loose, and there was far too much of that. Matt Scanlan had only one poor over in his opening spell and bowled well at the end, while Pete Burke was unlucky to concede as many runs as he did to good balls, but Paul Sumner was frustratingly unable to keep control in the middle of some excellent bowling and Kieran Hoddinott bowled a very poor two over spell, costing 20 runs, and also dropped a very simple chance early in Waitt's innings. This allowed another 63 to be added for the third wicket and although Burke and Scanlan eventually picked up three wickets each as the tail struggled towards the target it was by then too late, particularly as a large number of byes were let through by Matthew Quantrill, having a poor day behind the stumps.

Although a good number of bonus points were picked up this defeat probably ends New Ash Green's promotion hopes unless their rivals slip up badly, but they should still be on course for a top four finish, an excellent result in their first season, particularly when they are one of only two teams in the division whose first XI have to have four bowlers every game!

New Ash Green III v Cobham
Saturday 3rd August 2002

Central League Match - 40 overs per side

Match abandoned.

This match was switched to Cobham's ground, which was hit by a cloudburst at around 1.00, no play being possible. The first points the league leaders have dropped, and with four teams out of seven being promoted Graham Hampsheir, now undefeated in 4 weeks, is getting ambitious....

New Ash Green v Crusaders
Sunday 4th August

Friendly Match

New Ash Green 74 all out
Crusaders 75-2
Crusaders won by 8 wickets.

Darren Phillips' very brief match report follows in its unadulterated entirety:

We lost 74 all out batting first in the rain, pennell got 30 not out against the pie chuckers at the end after we were 30 for 6, they got it in 15 overs for 2 wickets, Sam Wilson might of got his first wicket for the club caught be me behind the stumps (Only 2 byes as well)