Kent League Match - 100 overs

New Ash Green (1 pt) 111 all out (38 overs)
Barbados Overseas (16 pts) 114-4 (25.4 overs)
Barbados Overseas won by 6 wickets.

With no first team or third team game New Ash Green were able to put out one of their strongest sides of the season. However it all seems to have gone badly wrong - reporting purely from the scorecard it seems that Dominic Adolphe took a long time to score not many, but more than John Harding or Vaughan John, Graham Hampsheir scored a fairly good 25, but only Duncan Shannon and Marc Klus of the rest got into double figures, though Marc at least managed a 6. It appears that the opening bowlers were fairly quick, but otherwise it seems to have been poor batting that accounted for the collapse.

Pete Burke and Mick Sumner got the bowling away to a reasonable start, reducing Barbados Overseas to 39-3, but the number 4 Erwin John scored a rapid 60 to get the game over pretty quickly, with one wicket for Andy Payne New Ash Green's only further success. I have now been told that Micky Sumner bowled rather too many short balls, which accounted for most of the 4's scored by Barbados Overseas.

New Ash Green v Exiles @ Bridge
Sunday 25th August

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

Exiles @ Bridge (0 pts) 159 all out (34.2 overs)
New Ash Green (6 pts) 160-5 (26.2 overs)
New Ash Green won by 5 wickets.

A late arrival by Exiles meant a late start, and Exiles were equally slow against New Ash Green's youthful bowling attack of Robin Wills and debutant Stuart Shriever. Wills got the first breakthrough when Exiles opener prodded at a full toss and lobbed it gently to silly mid on. He was deprived of a wicket on the next ball when a very obvious snick was caught by John Harding but not given out. Shriever did take a wicket, caught by Wills, but Exiles began to pick up the pace. Kieran Hoddinott, claiming to be very tired, bowled one very poor over and with Keith Bushell already in action at the other end New Ash Green's bowling resources were thin enough that Matthew Quantrill was called on to bowl his first spell of seam bowling of the season. He started with a wayward over, and with Bushell not having much luck at the other end the run rate was racing up over 5 an over and a big score looked on. Quantrill settled down and tightened things up a bit until he was unsettled by being 'no-balled' for allegedly bowling a bouncer above shoulder height. This would come as something of a surprise to those who know the pace of his bowling, but even more of a surprise to those on the ground who saw the (admittedly short) batsman pull the ball to fine leg from about waist height. Quantrill lost his control for a few balls, but regained it enough to make the breakthrough by clean bowling Corrigan. With that breakthrough made New Ash Green turned to the spin bowling of Christian Hoddinott, and he had immediate success getting the remaining opening batsman stumped in his first over. With Shriever coming back to finish his overs and take another wicket to end up with 2-22 in 9, wickets began to tumble, and Hoddinott particularly ripped through them. Matthew Quantrill took a sensational catch, diving full length at short mid-wicket to catch a full blooded pull one handed and John Harding took his second stumping next ball. Hoddinott missed his hat-trick, but although Matthew Quantrill missed two more diving chances off him which he got fingertips to but couldn't quite hold, he eventually got his third catch and Hoddinott's fifth wicket, before returning to bowl Exiles' 10 year old number 11 first ball and end the innings one run short of earning a bonus point. Quantrill finished with 2-40 from 7.2 overs, but Hoddinott was the star of the show with 5-27 in 7.

New Ash Green lost Duncan Shannon early on to a juggling catch between slip and wicket-keeper, but Kieran Hoddinot had gone out with the intention of playing positively, and took it to extremes by stepping away outside the stumps and swinging, or charging the bowlers. Exiles opener looked distinctly bemused when he was smashed back over his head for 6 in his second over, and by the end of the 4th over there were 4 men on the boundary including long on and long off. Hoddinott adapted sensibly hitting the ball into the spaces he had opened up, and by the end of the sixth over the score was 49-1, forcing the first bowling change. With the spinner dropping short frequently the run rate didn't slow and had gone past 70 in the tenth over before Hoddinott was caught at mid-wicket for 37 to end a partnership of 58 for the 2nd wicket. Matthew Quantrill had been looking solid at the other end, more like his old self, but the loss of Hoddinott brought a relapse as he lunged flat-footedly at a straight ball and edged behind. Charles Duguid then flung the bat for an entertaining 17 in 11 balls before being bowled, and John Howland followed soon after for 0 to reduce New Ash Green to 102-5. There was still a lot of time, though, giving Darren Phillips the chance to play himself in before metamorphosing from nervous prodder into authoritative stroke-player as he opened up, while Christian Hoddinott at the other end played his shots from the start. Neither looked in any difficulty as the runs were knocked off with more than 13 overs to spare, both ending up with 26* in an unbroken 5th wicket stand of 58.

A good 5 wicket win and maximum points for New Ash Green's penultimate Sunday league game of the season, with what on paper was one of the weaker teams they have put out. A mid-table finish may be slightly disappointing, but until the club's culture changes back to including Sunday cricket we are unlikely to make the progress that our Saturday status might suggest we should. In the meantime great credit should go to those who have been Sunday regulars for the success that has been achieved with a side that has on average probably been weaker than a Saturday 2nd team.