Kent League Match - 100 Overs

Old Elthamians (20 points) 206-9 (50 overs)
New Ash Green (7 points) 196 all out (44.3 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 10 runs.

Yet another abject batting display by New Ash Green left them precariously positioned in the relegation zone after crashing to a narrow defeat at the leagues traditional strugglers Old Elthamians.

Having lost the toss and been asked to take to the field in perfect batting conditions, things started badly with a sharp chance going down in Meehan's first over to reprieve Gratton. With Gratton, having then survived another chance off Cox, going on to settle down, playing the anchor role while his opening partner Hammond certainly went for his shots, hitting a number of powerful blows to the small boundaries before Meehan yorked him to bring the fall of the first wicket at 28.

This brought the Kiwi Davidson to the crease who looked a classy player seeming to score at will as the NAG bowlers struggled on a docile wicket. Vic Mayers showed his experience in cutting down his pace to suit the pitch and soon started to peg the scoring back and Mick Sumner bowling well in tandem was unlucky to see Davidson dropped at slip.

With the hosts racing on to 110-1 after 23 overs the all-important breakthrough came with Sumner combining with Ginn to dismiss Davidson for 59. This proved a decisive moment as straight after the drinks break Meehan trapped Gratton LBW for 37 and with Cox bowling tightly up the hill, the pressure was now back on the Old Elthamians batsmen. Stuart then replaced Meehan taking 3 wickets in a four over burst to bring NAG right back into the game.

Despite struggling to keep his footing down the hill (having struggled to find rhythm bowling up it earlier), a yorker and two bouncers, one caught by Andy Mayers at square leg the other one finding the stumps via the batsman rib cage brought Stuart respectable but slightly expensive figures of 5-0-39-3. With Mick Sumner bowling very tightly up the hill Vic Mayers (9-2-30-2) returned and took two quick wickets, leaving the hosts struggling at 178-8. Sumner then grabbed his second scalp to snap up Cartwright after a quick fire 28.

With Sumner (14-2-63-2) tiring in the final couple of overs and Cox (13-1-56-0) struggling to find his earlier rhythm coming down the hill, NAG were unable to end a crucial 10th wicket partnership of 15 as the hosts batted out the final 5 overs, though pegging Old Elthamians back to 206-9 was a great effort after they had initially progressed to 119-2 at the halfway stage. With a lifeless wicket and very short boundary it was a score that NAG certainly expected to reach.

Payne and John began the NAG reply, both surviving early scares to push the score to 18 before Payne tried a shot to many to hole out at mid-off for 14. Vic Mayers joined John at the crease and initially struggled against the late swing of Whalley edging two catchable chances through the slip area before settling down and playing some assured shots on his way to 27, before falling to Cartwright.

This brought Kevin Ginn in his new position of number 4 to the crease. Though before he had a chance to settle down Vaughan John was adjudged LBW to the spin of Johns (how ironic!). However, with Ginn now striking the ball with great power and style things looked extremely good as the Aussie raced to 50 in just 35 balls, bringing the milestone up with a pulled six over mid-wicket.

With NAG now well on top racing onto 122-3, the balance of the game started to change again. First Cox (2) edged another Whalley out swinger, with the Kiwi taking a stunning catch at slip. Things took another turn for the worse when Ginn was Whalley’s next victim in his very next over bowled via both his pads trying to sweep a full toss – falling for a whirlwind 59 from 43 balls.

Klus (9) was next to go, when he couldn’t resist a rank long-hop from the erratic leg-spin of Nicholls but succeeded only in spooning a skied return catch, to leave NAG in trouble at 152-6. Andy Mayers joined the assured Duke, but he fared little better, playing all round a straight one for just 2.

With just 3 an over required against a fairly average attack, NAG were inexplicably running out of wickets fast. Meehan combined with Duke to bring the target down to just 21, when Duke’s brave resistance was finally ended, edging behind for 24.

Stuart was next to the crease and before any further runs were added, Meehan became Whalley’s 3rd Victim edging behind for 10. With the last wicket pair at the crease and 21 still required, Stuart and Sumner combined to see of the only real wicket taking threat of Whalley. Just as Sumner had unleashed a couple of blows to bring the required total down to just 12, he tripped up when calling Stuart back through for a routine second, to be run out by half a track laying flat on his face and missing a shoe!

It was a farcical end to another farcical batting display. Special praise to Old Elthamians who despite being short of resources in the bowling department, kept plugging away to a deserved victory. Only the NAG batsman will know how they failed to chase 206 on a feather bed pitch, with lightening outfield, small boundary against an innocuous attack. Six of the top seven all got good starts but no one was able to maintain the discipline needed to see it through. Unless a way is found of consistently being able to bat 50 overs and reach scores of 200, then an immediate return to regional cricket is much more than just a threat, it’s a real possibility.

New Ash Green II v Old Elthamians II
Saturday 14th June 2003

Kent League Match - 100 Overs

Old Elthamians (2 points) 104 all out (47 overs)
New Ash Green (16 points) 107-6 (44 overs)
New Ash Green won by 4 wickets.

The Junior Football club's five-a-side gave New Ash Green seconds a chance to get a taste of the future by playing their game at the Manor Field, which it is hoped will be their future home base. On a perfect summer's day the surroundings were certainly extremely pleasant, and while the wicket and outfield need more work to bring them up to scratch the day certainly held a bright promise for the future if arrangements can be made to make this a permanent base.

Unfortunately on such a sunny day Pete Burke lost the toss and New Ash Green had to field first. Old Elthamians started solidly, making a comfortable 3 an over that might have been more had the outfield been more effectively cut. A few chances were missed, none of them easy, but perhaps of the sort that should be taken at this level. Pete Burke and Matthew Scanlan both bowled soundly enough without success, but when Graham Hobbs came on for the 14th over a catch was finally held by Scanlan at square leg, and soon afterwards Sharad Bawdekar replaced Pete Burke and the scoring rate slowed even further. At 60-1 at the drinks break Old Elthamians were beginning to worry about the need to up the rate, but the consistent accuracy of both spinners made that difficult and as the batsmen tried to break the shackles the wickets began to fall, and the run rate fell still more. Now the chances that were offered were taken and Graham Hobbs finished his 15 overs with 3-31, while Sharad Bawdekar picked up the 10th wicket with the last ball of his 14th over to finish with 6-24 as well as completing a run out with a deft catch and flick on to the stumps from Rob Jansen's throw from the boundary. The innings had subsided to 104 all out, and none of the wickets could be directly blamed on the pitch, which actually played remarkably well.

This should have left an NAG side packed with batting with a relatively simple task, and they set off confidently enough as Matthew Quantrill (17) and Rob Jansen (20) put on 35 for the first wicket, and looked pretty comfortable in doing so. Just as Old Elthamians' heads seemed to be going down Quantrill edged an attempted pull from a short ball and things changed around. Wickets started to tumble and runs became much harder to come by. There was some relief when opening bowler Raisey completed his spell, but When Matt Payne stubbed his bat into the ground and was caught in the first over from the change bowler and Dominic Adolphe was adjudged LBW shortly afterwards New Ash Green had slipped to 63-6. The two batsmen at the crease have had contrasting fortunes this season - Gary Browning had edged two runs and been out twice in 4 balls, while Pete Burke, failing to set the league alight with his wicket taking this year is instead leading a charge on the batting averages and was leading the division with an average of 123 before this game. Add to his batting misfortunes a mysterious injury to his heel picked up in the field, and no one much fancied Browning to last for long, but after a couple of balls where he looked a bit uncertain he suddenly started unfurling a range of elegant shots. Pete Burke, meanwhile, was looking like a man in form, and soon New Ash Green were transformed once more from a side that didn't know where their next run was coming from to again being in command. Burke rattled off three boundaries, triple the number that Old Elthamians had managed in their entire innings, and in producing the winning runs with another boundary took his league average over 150 for the season.

In the end it was a comfortable win, as it should always have been, but the distinct wobble in the middle had reminded New Ash Green that no side can be taken for granted in this league, as the first XI were discovering to their cost. For the seconds it ended up a satisfactory day all round, rounded off nicely by a gathering of all three teams for a barbecue at the Manor Field - let's hope for more days like this in the future.

New Ash Green III v Headcorn II
Saturday 14th June 2003

Friendly Match - 40 Overs

Headcorn 246-4
New Ash Green 188-7
New Ash Green lost by 58 runs.

Once again we are indebted to Alan Carter for producing this report - this week he was asked to write the report because Graham Hampsheir 'didn't want to brag'. That may be hard for anyone who was at the Manor Field on Saturday evening to believe, but that's his excuse. All I can say from an editor's point of view is that personally I find that controlling the match reports is the perfect opportunity to blow my own trumpet - after all no one else will!

On a very hot day with an artificial wicket, no teas and no facilities, the game was actually very enjoyable as New Ash Green put Headcorn in to bat. Robin Wills bowled very well without making a breakthrough, and with Paul Rourke equally struggling to take a wicket it was left to the skipper Graham Hampsheir to break up the first wicket partnership of 83. With good deliveries forcing mistakes which unfortunately went to ground, it was a rank full toss that made the breakthrough, the batsman toe-ending it back to the bowler who dived forward taking it a couple of inches above the ground. Good spells by debutant Blair Wilson and brother Kier, followed by the entertaining bowling of Lewis Cooper, and a long outfield kept the runs down although this was assisted by fantastic fielding from Sam Wilson, Blair Wilson and in particular Lewis Cooper who is looking like the best fielder in the club despite having played just two games! Alan Carter came on towards the end, claiming a wicket with the last ball of the innings. Headcorn opener, S.Marks having eventually been dismissed for 124 aided the Headcorn total to 246 for 4 from their allocated 40 overs.

New Ash Green's reply got off to a steady start with Dan Lewsey scoring 22 and Blair Wilson looking more than capable for 16. Kier Wilson and Shane Hampsheir got frustrated by the tight leg spin from P.Sparkes and the familiar 3rd team collapse had set in. Graham Hampsheir showed his intention from the start - hitting his 2nd and 4th balls for six from Sparks and the next ball falling just short of the boundary. John Sharpe, Lewis Cooper and Sam Wilson all departed without bothering the scorer and the score was now 62 for 7. At this point Robin Wills joined Hampsheir at the crease and together they amassed a new club record for the 8th wicket with a stand of 126*. Hampsheir brought up his fifty with his 3rd six and raced from fifty to his century in only 17 balls after needing six runs from the last over for his ton with Robin on strike, Wills managed to take a single from the first ball and Hampsheir hit his 7th 6 of the innings from the next ball. Wills ended 22* and Hampsheir 111* from 68 balls including 7 sixes and 11 fours.

Harbledown II v New Ash Green
Sunday 15th June 2003

Kent Village League Match - 40 overs per side

Harbledown II (0 points) 133 all out (34.5 overs)
New Ash Green (6 points) 134-2 (23.2 overs)
New Ash Green won by 8 wickets.

At last village cricket as it should be - a sunny day, superb teas, a small ground with a view over the south downs, a host of entertaining anecdotes provided for the future, a fast outfield and a slightly crumbling wicket. All that spoiled the day for New Ash Green was Andy Mayers incorrect call at the toss and the fact that they therefore had to field first in the heat.

When Kevin Ginn's first ball was hit smoothly through the covers for 4 it looked as if they might have a challenge on their hands, but although opener Andy Gutsell continued to play some elegant shots Ginn and Keith Bushell once again frustrated the batsmen with their accuracy, and they soon began to take risks. Gutsell's otherwise stylish innings ended when he was bowled having an ugly heave at Bushell and Ginn picked up two wickets as the opening bowlers once more bowled through, with Ginn taking 2-24 and Bushell 1-26. The batsman who had queried the number of overs they had left and seemed nervous of Ginn's pace must have been disappointed when the bowling change brought on two quicker bowlers in Andy Mayers and Marc Klus. Klus mixed a lot of good balls with a few loose ones and took 2-30 in 5 overs, while Mayers took 2-32 in 8. Having been in serious trouble at 67-6 Harbledown recovered somewhat, mainly through the efforts of Neil Turner, who unlike most of his helmeted team-mates showed no sign of being frightened of the quicker bowlers but flung the bat very effectively at anything slightly off line. He made 28, all in boundaries, before falling to Vic Mayers, who took 2-11 in a very mixed 2 over spell in which he varied his line, pace and style virtually every ball, starting with spin, then going off his long run before reverting again to spin. He was replaced by Matthew Quantrill who was slogged for one six before wrapping up the innings courtesy of a stumping from John Harding as the batsman attempted another big hit.

With a very quick outfield and plenty of batting 133 represented a comfortable target for New Ash Green, and although they have had a few wobbles chasing such targets in the past today was not one. Andy Mayers and Matthew Quantrill put on 102 for the first wicket before Mayers was out for 37, opening his shoulders to give other batsmen a chance. Harbledown's bowling was fairly ordinary apart from Matt Showler who came on first change and proved to have a lively pace and reasonable line. However the runs continued to flow with Mayers very strong off his legs and Quantrill effective on anything pitched up, and after Mayers departure and that of John Howland Quantrill spoiled Showler's figures as his last two overs went for 32 runs, including a big straight six. With Dominic Adolphe struggling to find the big hit he was looking for Quantrill finished off the match with another smooth off drive for 4 to take him to 70*.

However having been on the field for the whole innings Quantrill had missed much of the day's entertainment, as regular gales of laughter drifted over the field from the direction of the pavilion. Snippets of events concerning his father had reached the ears of Andy Mayers and almost caused him to miss one ball completely, but the initial entertainment was provided by Dominic 'Two Phones' Adolphe, who throughout the innings kept up constant conversation on one or other, and sometimes both, of his mobile phones. Since many of these conversations seemed to concern various of his female acquaintances, and some seemed to verge on the pornographic as he sought to placate his ladyfriends, who were clearly sorely missing his presence, the waiting players were kept royally entertained. Even this was surpassed however by Vic Mayers adventures in the toilet. The first that other players were aware of was when mysterious noises were heard from inside the pavilion. Being a warm sunny day, no one was inside, and queries as to what the noise was met with the suggestion that it was Vic singing. Nothing further was thought of this for a few minutes until eventually he emerged from the pavilion with a slightly miffed inquiry as to whether anyone had heard him as he had been locked in the toilet and had eventually had to climb out through the six inch gap between to of door and ceiling! It was this inquiry that had been heard by Andy Mayers in the middle and nearly brought a premature end to his innings as he struggled to avoid joining the rousing chorus of laughter from the sidelines. Quite how Vic had managed to get locked in never became clear, but the door he had climbed over was still locked when the sides left the ground at the end of the day!

Further entertainment was still to come in the form of a trip to the pub. Although it was some distance away in Canterbury the promise of a free barbecue lured the majority of the New Ash Green team into making the trip on fairly scanty directions. After John Howland had led Matthew Quantrill through a full 360 degree spin round a roundabout in a scene reminiscent of tours past, a manoeuvre which allowed the remaining three vehicles carrying NAG players to catch up, the five car convoy circled Canterbury's inner ring road and set out on the road to Sandwich and Littlebourne. As the Sunday game against Littlebourne is at home reconnaissance of their ground seemed a little pointless, so having got a couple of miles outside of Canterbury the entire convoy did a U-turn and headed back into town where at the first roundabout it split into three groups as different drivers took different views of how to find the pub. In the end John Howland and Matthew Quantrill got there first by the often under-estimated method of asking a local who knew where the pub was for directions, and thanks to the miracles of modern technology the rest of the convoy, having failed to find the pub and noticing that their team-mates were not aimlessly circling Canterbury, were able to seek directions by mobile phone and find their way down the narrow streets to their goal. It turned out to be worth the effort as the warm evening allowed the team to sit out on the small patio, partake of the free burgers and sausages provided by the pub to lure unsuspecting cricketers into the maze of inner Canterbury and listen to more of Dominic's mobile phone conversations and Vic's attempts to explain how he came to be locked in a toilet. As Kevin said, a good day was had by all, and we played some cricket as well!