Mid-Kent League Match - 46 overs per side

New Ash Green (19 pts) 203-6
Herne Bay (7 pts) 145-9
New Ash Green won by 58 runs.

No report for this game as I was away and so was Andy Stuart, but the scores were as above. Vic Mayers opening the batting made 56, but no one else in the top order got many, then Andy Cox (37*) and Graham Hobbs (48*) put on 88 unbeaten for the 7th wicket in not much more than 10 overs, Hobbs making a lot more than a run a ball. Hobbs then opened the bowling, taking 2-50 in 11, James Hewitt at first change took 2-9 in 9 and Vic Mayers wrapped it up with 4-16 in 8. Herne Bay recovered from 73-8 thanks to Hackshall making 43* at number 9, but never looked like getting to 200.

Bapchild II v New Ash Green II
Saturday 20th July 2002

Kent League Match - 100 overs

New Ash Green 219-5 (50 overs)
Bapchild 155 all out (36.3 overs)
New Ash Green won by 64 runs.

Thunderstorms were threatened by the forecasters, but the wicket looked dry, if slightly patchy, as the captains went out to toss. This turned out to be something of a formality as Bapchild had no umpire and so had to concede the toss. This being one of those days when neither side would have minded losing the toss this was not much of a penalty, but with depleted bowling resources New Ash Green decided to bat and try to rack up a big score - a brave option in view of their batting performances so far this season, particularly as Gary Browning, their only consistent run scorer so far this season, was missing.

Initially it was slow going as Bapchild's Zimbabwean all-rounder Rob Waller bowled consistently wide of off stump on a good length and at a decent pace, making him very difficult to score off. At the other end Steve Botting achieved accuracy accompanied by variable bounce and some movement off the pitch. Although the batsmen never completely ground to a halt it was slow going, and the loss of Matthew Quantrill for 7, bowled off bat, pad and foot by a rare straight ball from Waller in the 13th over didn't help. Darren Phillips and Rob Jansen carried on steadily, though, carrying the score to 53-1 at the 25 over point. Despite the normal tendency of New Ash Green's batting to collapse badly this was still being greeted by the doom-mongers on the sideline as a complete disaster, and although the scoring rate began to improve as the game proceeded the batsmen were still coming in for criticism. In fact they were doing an excellent job, building a platform from which all the bowlers could be attacked with freedom over the last 20 overs or so. Darren Phillips started to go for his shots, including an effortless straight drive for 6, before he was bowled by the returning Waller for 52 ending an excellent partnership of over 100 for the 2nd wicket. Matthew Payne was run out in a manner reminiscent of his brother for 2, but Dominic Adolphe after a few balls to get his eye in launched a ferocious all out assault which netted him 37 in 15 balls, including 3 sixes, one of which disappeared do far into the heavily grassed neighbouring field that it couldn't be found. Paul Sumner and Rob Jansen continued to attack, and when Sumner went in the last over Chris Hoddinott joined in with a crisply struck 4 from his first ball, the score ending up on 219-5, New Ash Green's biggest score of the season by some distance. Jansen ended up with 84 not out, and if he could possibly be criticised for being a bit slow to start improvising in attack at the end he had otherwise done a superb job in laying the foundations for the attack at the end on which the total was built.

With Mick Sumner on holiday, Graham Hobbs having been a last minute call up to the 1st XI and Sharad Bawdekar dropping out injured New Ash Green were somewhat depleted on the bowling front and more than usually dependent on Pete Burke, so were glad to have a big total to defend. Burke started off with huge amounts of swing, too much for the batsmen to get near on occasions. Paul Sumner, opening the bowling in his brother's absence, was prone to an occasional short ball but produced some good ones. After Burke removed one opener Sumner had the number 3, supposedly a first team bat who had gone on at length in the field about what a useless bunch the 2nd team were, caught behind for 0. This brought in Waller, who immediately looked to play powerful shots, and had the ever optimistic Dominic Adolphe convinced he would knock off the runs with ease. Burke bowled the other opener to reduce Bapchild to 31-3, but Waller after pulling a loose ball from Sumner for 4 tried the shot again to a better ball and top edged gently to short fine leg. Running round from slip Adolphe was comfortably under the ball only to let it slip straight through his hands, much to his chagrin. It was a miss which changed the tone of the match for a while as Waller and his new partner counter-attacked effectively and upped the scoring rate considerably. For a while they were scoring with freedom at both ends, and looked capable of turning the game round completely, but the first change of bowling brought the breakthrough as Kieran Hoddinott's 2nd ball, a rank longhop outside off stump was mis-hit tamely into Pete Burke's hands at mid-off. The next batsman immediately smashed the loose balls in the rest of the over away, but in Burke's next over he was caught and bowled, Burke apparently defying gravity to stay in the air long enough to snatch the ball one-handed out of the sky, and when Botting was removed in the same over to make it six down the game looked over. Waller was suffering from some sort of thigh injury and batting with a runner, but he was still on the attack, and Adolphe was convinced he would still win the game. Pete Burke soon beat him again though, inducing an edge which carried to slip for a routine catch to Adolphe - who put it down again. Although Hoddinott produced a superb ball to bowl Bapchild's skipper, Lincoln, and a run out and LBW accounted for their two young players, Waller continued to score heavily. With over 100 needed for the last wicket the task seemed impossible, but the number 11, Chittenden, claimed that in 18 innings in his career he had never got out, and although a touch lucky on occasions he maintained that record determinedly, while Waller's score continued to mount at the other end to Adolphe's dismay. A simple run out chance was missed by Kieran Hoddinott and nearly 60 had been added for the last wicket before Waller put up a huge skyer toward square leg, where wicket keeper, fine leg and mid-wicket all set off to get under it. In the end it was Matthew Payne who got there and held onto the ball safely to end Waller's valiant innings for 92, and bring Pete Burke 6-58 and another maximum haul for New Ash Green in their quest to get back in the promotion hunt.

New Ash Green v Staplehurst Village
Sunday 21st July

Kent Village League Match - 40 overs per side, max. 9 per bowler

Staplehurst Village (1 pt) 181 all out
New Ash Green (6 pts) 183-7
New Ash Green won by 3 wickets.

A full match report will be posted in due course, but the following outline has been phoned through to me. Staplehurst were bowled out for 181. Vic Mayers took 3-8 (or it might have been 3-18?) Kieran Hoddinott 2-34 and Chris Hoddinott 5-16! In reply New Ash Green won relatively comfortably, Andy Payne (improving every Sunday) made 37, Darren Phillips 49, Andy Mayers 31* and Chris Hoddinott 17* (quite a useful 8th wicket pair!)

Another 100% weekend for the club, though with the numbers available on Saturday its probably lucky we didn't have a 3rd XI game!