Saturday 7th May 2005
Downham & Bellingham v New
Ash Green
Saturday 7th May 2005
Friendly Match
- 45 Overs
Downham & Bellingham 205-5 (45 overs)
New Ash Green “about 90 all out” (? overs)
New Ash Green lost by around 115 runs.
Only a brief phone report at present – hopefully a full report
and scorecard to come, but it seems only Cox and Rob Boss bowled well, the rest
were poor and only Hewitt batted well, making about 33.
High Halstow II v New
Ash Green II
Saturday 7th May 2005
Mid-Kent
League Match - 92 Overs
High Halstow (19 points) 161 all out (44.2 overs)
New Ash Green (11 points) 130-9 (47 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 31 runs.
With only one warm up game more than half the New Ash Green squad
were playing their first game of the season. The wicket at High Halstow was in good condition though the broken down
tractor on the outfield was testimony to a slight shortage of outfield cutting!
The tractor was successfully pushed off the field, a short burst of rain
departed and the game started only 15 minutes late. Halstow
captain Darren Peake won the toss and elected to bat,
but Mick Sumner and Pete Burke carried on the previous week’s good bowling form
with a tight start, getting the first wicket in the 3rd over when
Sumner bowled Donnelly for a duck. Thereafter both bowlers were tidy and Sumner
beat the bat several times, but not a lot else was happening for the fielding
side and Simpson and Peake put on comfortably the
best partnership of the match, 72. New Ash Green’s change bowlers lacked
consistency, Dan Lewsey aside, though they all
produced some good balls. 10 year old Ben Cooke was unlucky to see a simple
chance spilled at cover off his bowling, but was not quite as consistent as he
can be, and Matthew Scanlan also struggled to get his
line and length right. Scanlan did get some
prodigious turn and it was he who made the eventual breakthrough when Simpson
played on, beaten by the turn. Dan Lewsey was more consistent getting Peake
cought behind for the game’s top score of 35, and
when Pete Burke returned the ball started to swing and wickets began to tumble.
Mick Sumner also returned for a second excellent spell, giving up just one
scoring shot in his last 4 overs. All of Halstow’s middle order got into double figures, but none
could accelerate, and only a few lusty blows from Carl Dockwray
saved them from complete collapse as Burke took 4 wickets in his second 5 over
spell, to finish with 4-34.
161 was less than it had looked like Halstow
might score at one stage, but it was still a very defendable total, even with
one extra over to bowl. Halstow’s main 4 bowlers did
less with the ball than New Ash Green’s, but all 4 were consistent, and on a
low, slow early season wicket consistency was certainly crucial. New Ash Green
needed to have a pair stay in and get used to the pace of the pitch to launch
an attack, but they lost wickets, mostly carelessly, every time they seemed
likely to do that. New player Dan Walton looked very sound as he accompanied
Matthew Quantrill in putting on 39 for the 3rd
wicket, the biggest stand of the innings, and when Dominic Adolphe
smashed his first ball down the ground for 4 there were brief hopes of a
spectacular innings. However when Adolphe and Quantrill were out in quick succession, soon followed by
Alan Carter and Matt Scanlan, New Ash Green’s hopes
seemed to have ended. A solid innings from Dan Lewsey
and an aggressive one from Mick Sumner, both making 20, kept vague hopes alive
for a while and at least ensured a reasonable haul of bonus points. New Ash Green
also had the satisfaction of denying High Halstow full bonus points as despite
surrounding Ben Cooke for 10 balls they could not get him out, and indeed he
fired two shots past the close fielders for runs.
Defeat by 31 runs was not the start New Ash Green had been
looking for, but High Halstow are a much improved
team since the last time the two sides met, and had New Ash Green had one more
consistent bowler the scores might have been very different. With several possibles soon to start their season and a little more
improvement from some of the less experienced bowlers there is still every
reason to hope that they can compete for the top positions.