Offham (13 points) 233-5 dec. (49 overs)
New Ash Green (4 points) 153-8 (51 overs)
Match Drawn

As usual missing virtually a full XI of first team players New Ash Green selected a young team, with an eye on the future. Offham started strongly seeing off the opening attack of Andy Cox and Micky Sumner and the change bowlers, and eventually it was one of the young contingent, Lee Saunders, who made the breakthrough ending the first wicket partnership at 135. After that it was the spin of Matt Scanlan that bought wickets, three early ones giving New Ash Green some hope of reigning in Offham before a fifth wicket partnership carried them past 200, Scanlan eventually ending it and finishing with 4-56 when Offham declared one over early.

They may have ended up regretting leaving the declaration so late. After a steady start from Ian Martin and Vaughan John New Ash Green lost three wickets with the score stuck on 35. Andy Stuart and Matt Scanlan then led a partial recovery before Andy Cox took over and stayed till the end. A couple of run outs added to the pressure, but Joe Elisak showed more ability than he perhaps gives himself credit for by staying in to deny Offham the win or even maximum bonus points, and giving Cox time to reach 54*. For a team containing only five players who would have been considered first team at the start of the season it was a good result and shows that the near future should see a revival in first team fortunes. As a side note (added two weeks later) it is notable that Offham eventually missed out on promotion by 1 point, so their failure to pick up the final wickets was vital!

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High Halstow (3 points) 100 all out (45.4 overs)
New Ash Green (20 points) 101-2 (24.3 overs)
New Ash Green won by 8 wickets

What a difference a week (and a few changes in personnel on each side) makes. Coming off the back of a 126 run drubbing by the same opposition a week earlier New Ash Green could feel slightly more confident with a few players returning to the fold, but the bowling attack was still 75% of the attack that had conceded 270 runs a week earlier and several second team regulars were playing in the firsts. This week, though, the bowlers performed with far greater discipline and didn't allow the High Halstow batsmen the luxury of easy runs as they had done a week previously. Paul Sumner started with 6 maidens and the key wicket of Jim Quirke in his opening 7 over spell, and Keith Bushell also produced 6 maidens and conceded just 13 runs in 12 overs. He and Sumner between them didn't concede a boundary in taking a combined 5-25 from 22.4 overs, and the batsmen found little relief in the bowling of John Harley (1-35) and Dan Lewsey (3-28) other than Lewsey's first three balls which all went for four. The fielding was also a step up on the previous weeks, perhaps highlighted by Simon Freeman's good low catch to remove the dangerous Miles Kember just as he looked as if he might lead a Halstow recovery. In the end it was only the aggressive hitting of Sam Kember at number 8 that carried Halstow's run rate above two an over, and as if to illustrate the change of fortunes he was carelessly run out before he could seriously change the balance of the game.

New Ash Green's weakened side had managed to reach 144 a week earlier, so a target of 101 looked a formality, with High Halstow missing one of their two opening bowlers. Jim Quirke still remained a potentially danger, bowling at a decent pace and extracting considerable bounce from his shorter balls, several of which flew over the batsmen's heads. However James Oliver looked oddly more comfortable against him than he did against the much gentler pace of Ian Bateman at the other end, so it was fortunate that Matthew Quantrill took most of the strike against Batemen and quickly hit him out of the attack. A brief shower looked the only threat to New Ash Green's progress at this point, with High Halstow quick to mutter about not being able to grip the ball, but the rain soon lifted without interruption and didn't return till the game was over. Oliver perished to the first change bowling of young Jake Barrett, who bowled a very useful five overs, but Matt Dehaney helped to see off him and Quirke, and from then on the only pressure was the looming grey clouds on the horizon. Dehaney was bowled by Ant Cherry trying to keep the board ticking over, but Paul Sumner kept his strike rate over 100 and brought the victory up with more than 20 overs to spare, with Quantrill at the other end (having previously twice been out this seaon with 2 runs needed) finally able to secure a not out. Had this week's New Ash Green side played last week's High Halstow side and vice versa we might have had two evenly contested matches instead of two trouncings, but such are the vagaries of selection at this level of club cricket!

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