Saturday 26th June and Sunday 27th June 2004
New Ash Green v Offham
Saturday 26th June 2004
Kent League
Match - 100 Overs
New Ash Green
(20 points) 230-7 (50 overs)
Offham (4 points) 133 all out (44.5 overs)
New Ash Green won by 97 runs.
Heavy rain in the week and low cloud and light
rain all morning made for a damp wicket and a degree of uncertainty as to
whether the game would start at all. A poor forecast for the late afternoon
added to the reluctance to start, but as the rain held off and start time
approached the game got under way. Andy Stuart lost the toss yet again, but for
the first time this season didn’t get asked to do what he wanted, and New Ash
Green had to bat first on a still damp wicket. Once again, though, they were
given a steady start by Cox and Quantrill, with
unusually Quantrill getting most of the runs before
managing to run a ball he was trying to leave straight to the keeper who made a
meal of it but held on. With Quantrill having made 25
of the first 33 New Ash Green were away to a good start and Cox and Vic Mayers kept up the good scoring rate, helped by the poor
performance of all the Offham seam bowlers who gave
far too many scoring chances away. 108 were added for the second wicket before
Cox went for 52, in one over bowled by a seam bowler to allow the spinners to
change ends. This was somewhat ironic because the spinners proved to be the
real danger, more because they put the ball in the right place consistently
than because they did a lot with it, but on a wicket which was slow and still a
bit uneven from the damp patches that was all that was needed to slow the
scoring rate. Having been 146-2 after 30 overs New
Ash Green were looking for a very big score, but despite having plenty of
wickets in hand they found it difficult to accelerate now that there were fewer
loose balls to hit. Vic Mayers went for 41 but a
solid and sensible innings of 45* by Andy Payne ensured that there was no
collapse, and indeed a little acceleration in the end meant that a very good
total was posted in what were not easy batting conditions. The two contrasting
spinners stayed on till the end with the young off spinner Seb
Lucas getting 1-65 in 13 and the (slightly) older George Wood 2-42 in 15,
comfortably the pick of the attack.
230 was a total which looked pretty safe if New
Ash Green avoided bowling as poorly as Offham in the
seam department (particularly as they had no full time spin department!) but
with the clouds again looking thicker and slightly heavier rain falling it
seemed to be more a question of how many bowling bonus points could be picked
up before the inevitable abandonment. The removal of Offham’s
overseas player, Luke McCarthy in Andy Stuart’s first over was an encouraging
start, and when Andy Cox induced an edge to slip from Neil Willis soon
afterwards New Ash Green were fairly confident they were not going to lose.
However with the rain getting heavier and the umpires consulting it looked all
over, but then miraculously the rain relented and two more wickets soon fell to
an inspired opening spell from Andy Stuart. When he took himself off with 3-17
in 9 overs New Ash Green were completely in charge,
and with Chris Yue and James Hewitt bowling well at
first change they stayed that way. A good catch from Andy Mayers,
running back and taking the ball coming over his shoulder, and two wickets for
Hewitt reduced Offham to 86-7, and the weather was
actually getting brighter. However Offham skipper
Graham Razey was still there,
and he was joined by Gareth Day. Together they added 44 in 10 overs for the 8th wicket, and with the clouds
suddenly thickening and promising heavy rain New Ash Green were beginning to
run out of time. As the first heavy drops began to fall Andy Cox, now bowling
his leg spin, made the breakthrough, getting Day to pop one up round the corner
for 11 (Offham’s second highest score) before having
George Wood brilliantly caught at slip by Chris Yue,
the 7th catch of the innings, with no drops, once again a stark
contrast to the opposition who missed several vital ones. Cox ended up with
10-6-19-3, and Razey then took a single off the third
ball of Vic Mayers next over to leave young Seb Lucas exposed to three balls. He proved unable to cope
with Mayers’ pace, having his middle stump knocked
back by the second of those balls to give New Ash Green a comprehensive win and
a very useful (and, bearing in mind the weather, unexpected) 20 points. Credit
must go, though, to Razey who carried his bat for 78*
and never sought to go off for the rain, even when it was at its heaviest and
the additional 5 points available for an incomplete match must have been a huge
temptation.
Click HERE for full scorecard from KCL site
Click HERE for latest league table.
Offham II v New Ash Green II
Saturday 26th June 2004
Kent League
Match - 100 Overs
New Ash Green
II (4 points) 160-7 (50 overs)
Offham II (16 points) 162-5 (22.1 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 5 wickets.
After being asked to bat first, New Ash Green
made a steady start through Dan Lewsey and Dave
Stevens. After the loss of Stevens for 7 newcomer Rob
(Hugo) Boss made an immediate impact on the game. The fresh faced graduate
began cutting and pulling the Offham bowlers and was
particularly severe on anything short of a length. The second wicket stand
yielded 80 runs as Lewsey played the sheet anchor
role with great effect. Boss was eventually dismissed to a sharp return catch
by Blakeburn for 52, all but
six of his runs having come from boundaries. Rob Wills then joined Lewsey at the wicket at shone briefly before being bowled
by Offhams overseas star Currin
for 13. This brought Darren Phillips to the crease who struggled to score
effectively when NAG were looking to raise the pace towards the end of the
innings. Graham Hampsheir, Paul Sumner and Chris Hoddinott all perished quickly in the push for runs and the
end, Blair Wilson hit the ball hard in the limited time available and Dan Lewsey finally lost his wicket after scoring 43 runs.
Paul Sumner made a tidy start to the Offham innings, bowling a good line and generally being
difficult to score from. Lewsey at the other end was
equally tight and two great catches from Phillips at gully (in successive
balls) gave New Ash Green hope of defending the relatively small target. This
was short lived however as Curren was brought to the
crease – in the space of
26 balls, Currin scored 63 runs and was
severe on anything! The last three overs from Lewsey and Sumner went for an incredible 54 runs and balls
were lost constantly in the gardens surround the small village ground. The
partnership of 91 from 6 overs was eventually brought
to an end when Blair Wilson bowled Currin. How
different things might have been had Chris Hoddinott
held on to the chance given by Currin before he had
registered a single run!!
After all the excitement, Keith Bushell restored normal service and took a couple of
wickets but by now the damage had been done and Offham
strolled home in only 22 overs with five wickets in
hand.
In summery, NAG got off very lightly, Currin had previously scored 206* from 80 odd balls on the
same ground earlier this season! Whilst it was damaging being on the end of
such an onslaught, it really was amazing to watch!
Click HERE for full scorecard from KCL site.
Click HERE for latest league table.
New Ash Green III v Wickham
Park III
Saturday 26th June 2004
League Match -
38 Overs per side (reduced by rain)
Wickham Park III 217-6 (38 overs)
New Ash Green III 96 all out (34 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 121 runs.
After a good response from players old, young
and very young, the availabilities problem of previous weeks were
averted and the 3rd team game was able to go ahead, with a very youthful
looking team led once again by Matt Scanlon - the average age circa 19, ranging
from the team OAP's Alan Carter (39?!) and Jasper Holliday (pushing 28) to
representatives from the under 13's in Andy Oliver, Kieran Poole and Ben
Cooke. As in previous weeks, the lack of an umpire saw New Ash Green
forfeit the toss, and
At this stage the score was 149 without loss
from 24, and New Ash Green staring down the barrel of a 250 plus total (apparently
discussions in front of the pavilion had 260-270 the declared par score at that
point). In his hour of need Scanners looked to his (relative) veterans,
and threw the ball to the partnership of Alan Carter and Matt Bushe. Alan, recovering from a knee injury, took a
wicket in his first over from the Redhill Road End
with an unorthodox delivery (best described as a grubber - for more info ask
the bowler himself!) that took the opener Medland's
middle stump to remove him for 39. Matt Bushe
them more than matched that in his first over as a newly converted leg break
bowler as he found that rough that Scanners had created, getting one that
pitched outside off to take the off stump of the other opener, Bowles, for
99, proving the old adage that one brings two. Alan then kept up the
pattern by removing Watson, the number 3, for 13, thanks to a wonderful catch
above his head going backwards by Graham Poole (apologies at this stage to
Graham for my over-enthusiastic reaction! - Jasper).
Bushey (or Mattlain Bushtaq as he was being dubbed by some team-mates then)
followed this with a very tidy maiden, before a spell of consolidation by the
numbers 4 & 5 saw the score move on to 196 for 3 from 33. Matt then
had Wade caught by Nicky Hunt at mid-off for 11, and Alan finished off
with 2 stumpings from the ever-impressive
Scanners in his last 2 overs. That left the
After another fine tea from the Cooke family
(many thanks guys) captain Scanners started looking around for guidance in his
batting order. Graham Poole boldly stepped up to open, and Matt Bushe volunteered himself to do likewise (perhaps
feeling that having kept and taken 2 wickets wasn't enough involvement in the
match?!). After a lusty 4 and a single through the slips Graham departed
for 5, which sent Jasper Holiday out at number 3, certainly the highest he'd ever
found himself in a batting order. These 2 saw
off a couple of overs from the openers, with Jasper
pulling Sanderson behind square for four with what looked dangerously like
the acquisition of a genuine shot! Bushey then
saw his terrible run of form with the bat continue as he was bowled without
troubling the scorers, so Scanners came out at 4 with a captain's innings
needed. He and Jasper played sensibly for a short while, before Jasper
tried to follow another pulled 4 with an ugly attempt at an on drive - the
deserved result being the loss of his off stump for 8. This saw Jamie
Oliver come out to bat with the score 23 for 3 from 8, with New Ash Green
already falling well behind the required run rate. A spell of
consolidation followed in a spell of maidens - Jolly waited 21 deliveries
before his first run - before Scanners was bowled by the first change bowler
(the aptly named Bowles) for 14. With the score 32 for 4 from 13 we were
treated to the first time that the Oliver brothers had batted together in a competitive
match as Andy joined Jamie. Andy gave his brother great support playing
second fiddle in a 13-run partnership before he too departed, bowled for
1. Matt Ashford then came and went quickly at number 7 without scoring -
a lack of net and match practice, he said, promising to work on remedying
that. This left New Ash Green 47 for 6 from 20 and in need of
something special as Alan Carter walked out at number 8. By this stage
Jolly was making steady progress with his innings, and in the best partnership
of the innings (34 in total) he found some acceleration with a range of scoring
shots, taking himself within sight of a possible 50 before he was caught for 35
off Wade. Nicky Hunt then came in at number 9 but was unable to repeat
his bowling success as he too went without scoring. This sent the well
padded Ben Cooke out at number 10, looking to frustrate the
In conclusion, this was a game that
New Ash Green v Street End
Sunday 27th June 2004
New Ash Green 140-9
Street End 84-0
Match Abandoned - Rain
Confusion reigned at the start of this match, with skipper Andy Mayers stuck in traffic with his dad, and Dan Lewsey and Alan Carter not arriving due to a communications
mix up in the week and their inability to get a connection on their mobile
phones from the pub they were at. With the victorious Under 13 team still
mostly present on the ground two replacements were found for Dan and Alan, who
unfortunately later turned up having received a half message. Matthew Quantrill stood in for Andy Mayers
at the toss, and by agreement New Ash Green batted first. The plan to open with
Quantrill and Vic Mayers
was stymied by Vic still being about 20 miles away, so John Howland stood in as
opener, but after a promising start he was beaten by one that moved back in to
him. John Harding, bidding to revive the legend of A Man Barely Alive, came in
at three, and batted very solidly. Although not quite able to whip balls away
on the leg side as he once did his defence was sound and he and Quantrill actually ran a couple of threes as they put on 52
for the 2nd wicket. They had seen off the opening bowlers and built
a solid base when Quantrill tamely pushed one back to
the bowler for 34, and a quick flurry of wickets reduced New Ash Green’s hopes
of getting a big total, though Matt Bushe finally
ended his run of 0’s and 2’ by making 3, including a genuinely good shot for
two to mid on. The late arriving Mayers made a useful
pair at 7 & 8, though, and Vic made 14 and Andy 22*, while John Harding was
run out for 30 looking for a quick single near the end. The total of 140 was
not great, although the craters in the wicket were testament to the very
indifferent bounce that now seems to be the normal state of the once batsman
friendly square at New Ash Green. Particularly with the new ball there were a
number that popped unpleasantly, and the ball never really came onto the bat,
so the score was not as poor as it looked.
Bowling with an old ball, though, New Ash Green didn’t benefit
from the bounce to quite the same extent, and in Andy Smith Street End had a
batsman prepared to hit hard at anything loose. Although Keith Bushell clearly had the other opener stumped (not out,
because according to their captain who was the square leg umpire ‘his foot was
on the line’?!?!?) very few other chances came New Ash Green’s way and Street
End seemed to be heading for an easy win. However what had been a beautiful
summer’s day had been slowly turning greyer as a very dark cloud crept in from
the west. As it approached the wind picked up almost to gale force and the
temperature plummeted. The game carried on in very dark conditions and near
storm force winds as the rain refused to come and then started very lightly.
Eventually, however, after Smith had reached his 50 the rain became heavier and
the players left the field. In a moment of madness they returned 20 minutes
later, but the two minute gap in the rain was wasted in looking for the bails
as the umpire forgot that he had taken both sets off, and by the time three
more balls were bowled it was once again raining heavily. This time it took
only a few minutes for the captains to agree the game was over and New Ash
Green were deprived of the chance of a dramatic comeback….
Click HERE for full scorecard from KCL site