Saturday 3rd June & Sunday 4th
June 2006
Old Brockleians v New
Ash Green
Saturday 3rd June 2006
Kent League
Match - 100 Overs
New Ash Green
(20 points) 129 all out (46.3 overs)
Old Brockleians (4 points) 124 all out (46.2 overs)
New Ash Green won by 5 runs.
Who’d’ve thought it? Pessimism was the order of
the day at the start of the season as many of the squad confidently predicted
repeated drubbings for the first team, but 5 matches into the season they haven’t
been drubbed, haven’t even been beaten, and are joint top of the league. And on
this occasion it was all done without overseas assistance.
Lacking their star batsman New Ash Green took a bold choice on
winning the toss and elected to bat. It looked a good decision as Matt Scanlan (26) and Simon Duke (34) put on 68 for the first
wicket. Frome there on things slipped away somewhat, with only Andy Mayers (12) and Vaughan John (15*) reaching double figures
in a total of 129.
James Hewitt and Andy Stuart made good progress early on reducing
Brockleians to 34-4 before a 5th wicket
stand of 50 looked to be taking the game away from New Ash Green. Andy Cox and
Mick Sumenr ended that stand, and two more quick
wickets once again put them on top before Joseph George, at number 10, became Brockleians second highest score of 26. Once again, though,
Andy Stuart kept his nerve to wrap up the win and maximum points.
Click HERE for latest league table.
New Ash Green II v Bapchild
II
Saturday 3rd June 2006
Mid-Kent
League Match - 92 Overs
New Ash Green
(4 points) 84 all out (39.3 overs)
Bapchild (20 points) 88-3 (19.3 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 7 wickets.
A clear blue sky, green trees filled with
birdsong and a dazzling white strip in a neatly striped green square – it was
hard to believe this was the same field that had been a bog for the last two
weekends. Still lacking an umpire New Ash Green were less unhappy than the last
two times they had been asked to bat first, and the conditions were certainly
much improved. Unfortunately Scott McKechnie, Lee
Saunders and David Baker all failed to take advantage,
being bowled in each of Steve Botting’s opening 3 overs, all wicket maidens. At the other end Matthew Quantrill was looking in some sort of touch for the first
time in the season, and saw off the other opening bowler. With Matt Bushe, promoted to 5, giving sturdy support Quantrill also saw off Botting
with a series of 3 boundaries through the off side in successive balls. Barry
Wood was very tidy, but the spin of Glen Kennett, turning, but slowly, looked
unthreatening and it looked as if the captain and his deputy might build a
decent total. Having reached 48 in respectable time Quantrill
failed to keep down a pull from Kennett and found the hands of the tallest man
on the field, Barry Wood, at backward square leg, and from then on it was a
struggle for New Ash Green. Bushe was bowled in the
next over, and while Dan Lewsey batted soundly Graeme
Poole, Joe Elisak and a rusty Keith Bushell all added to the season’s growing tally of ducks as
the innings subsided to 84 all out.
Even in the improved conditions it was an
improvement on previous batting displays, and gave the bowlers something to
bowl at. Keith Bushell and Graeme Poole both got the
ball to swing, and indeed all the New Ash Green bowlers probably got more out
of the ball than the Bapchild bowlers had done.
Unfortunately it was at the cost of more loose balls, and the Bapchild batsmen were all eager to put those away with some
power. Poole gave New Ash Green hope when he had Lee Cogger
well caught down the leg side by Quantrill and then
followed up by bowling Barraclough for a duck, but
although Luke Shaw bowled another economical spell no further breakthroughs
came until the game was almost up, when Dan Lewsey
induced a mishit from Ricky Dale which Graeme Poole
held well in the covers. There was just time for Joe Elisak
to gain considerable turn in his one over before Bapchild
completed a comfortable victory, but it was a much improved showing by New Ash
Green and gave some hope of being able to get in the mix when one or two more
players are available.
Click HERE for latest league table.
Town Malling v New Ash Green
Sunday 4th June 2006
Medway Sunday League
Match - 40 Overs per side
Town Malling (7 points)
277-3 (40 overs)
New Ash Green (3 points) 127 all out (36 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 150 runs.
The ground at Town Malling lays claim to being
the oldest in the country, though it hardly has the picturesque surroundings
that might be associated with such a claim. A green strip, distinguishable from
the rest of the square only by the crease markings nonetheless played fairly
evenly, and with neither John Harley nor Graeme Poole quite achieving
consistency Malling started soundly. Harley did pick up both openers to mis hits, well caught by Graeme Poole and Matthew Quantrill, but a stand of 171 for the third wicket between
Jon Smyth (100) and Dave Wootton
took the game completely away from New Ash Green. Joe Elisak
produced a decent spell of spin bowling, turning the ball considerably and
deserving much better figures than he achieved, and Kieron
Poole also did well to prevent the scoring rate accelerating when brought on
near the end. David Harley took the wicket of Smyth, stumped by Scott McKechnie, and also prevented too great an acceleration,
and in the end 277 was less than Malling had looked on course for.
It was, of course, far more than New Ash Green
were ever going to get. The Malling openers were decent bowlers at a good pace,
but Quantrill and McKechnie
started soundly. They were unfortunate, though, when Quantrill
hit a good cut that rolled through a hole in the fence into the garden of a
temporarily unoccupied house, from where it could not be retrieved. The
replacement ball immediately started to swing in a way the original had never
done, and McKechnie soon nicked one to the keeper.
John Howland defended stoutly before eventually also being beaten by swing,
from a slower ball, as was David Baker. With the change bowling looking less
threatening than the openers New Ash green were boosted by the return of the
home owners of the house where the match ball had gone. Its return made batting
considerably easier, but unfortunately the introduction of the very slow spin
of Uttridge brought a succession of mistakes form New
Ash Green’s batsmen, Quantrill starting the rot by
hitting the first ball straight to a fielder. Uttridge
took 5-14 and Malling were able to give some occasional bowlers a go. New Ash
green could take some comfort, though, from the fact that every batsman applied
themselves and there were no ducks in the innings at all. Joe Elisak particularly enjoyed the end of the innings, ending
a run of 5 ducks in 6 innings by sweeping a four early on and going on to ‘ruin’
his season’s batting average of 0.17 by making 15*!
Click
HERE for latest league table.