New Ash Green (20 points) 173-5 (46 overs)
Pembury (8 points) 142 all out (44.5 overs)
New Ash Green won by 31 runs

As close to a full strength side as they have been this season and playing the side above them in the league, this looked like the best opportunity yet for the New Ash Green first XI to break their duck. Things didn’t start well, with the toss lost and although Matthew Quantrill and Ian Martin started steadily against the pace of Neil Hemstalk, Quantrill was given out LBW to one that he (and others) felt might have been a bit leg sidish. The umpire, Keith Hemstalk, was in no doubt – “That’s out son.” Three balls later Matt Scanlan got one that jagged back sharply and it was 12-2. Ian Martin and Marc Klus rebuilt the innings though, aided by a Pembury side who looked in need of one of Vaughan John’s special fielding sessions, as several chances went begging, and Klus excited the crowd with a huge straight six off Hemstalk. The pair saw off the opening bowlers and looked as if they might really start cutting loose when Klus missed a pre-determined sweep to the spin of Paul Kelly and was bowled for 31. Not long afterwards Martin had the bizarre experience of being given out LBW to a ball he didn’t think he had touched in any way, purely on the basis of it ballooning out of the batsman’s marks over the stumps. When Vic Mayers edged the returning Hemstalk behind and the score had slumped to 105-5 things looked dire, but Lee Saunders never looked in any difficulty surviving, while Andy Mayers played a few shots until the last three overs when he opened up and ensured that 11 were added in each of the 44th and 45th overs, before a massive 21 were added in the final over including an enormous straight driven six. A final total of 173-5, with Mayers reaching his fifty in the last over then advancing to 66 not out, looked very defendable, though the one regret was that with some power batting to come New Ash Green hadn’t accelerated a little earlier.

New Ash Green almost had the perfect start when Andy Mayers dived full length to take a brilliant catch in the first over, only to have the ball slip out of his hands as his elbows hit the ground. Initially both Micky Sumner and Matt Dehaney gave a little too much width, which the Pembury openers took advantage of, but both settled down and the run rate declined, putting some pressure on the batsmen. When Scanlan replaced Dehaney for the 14th over the score had reached only 34, and the batsmen were starting to feel the pressure. The result was an injudicious slog at Scanlan well held by Micky Sumner, and in the very next over a rash pull at Sumner was well held y Paul Sumner running round to square leg. With Dehaney judging a good catch in the deep soon afterwards Pembury were 44-3 and the game was turning. The next pair managed to stay together but seemed to be slipping further and further behind the rate until a few good shots off Scanlan picked it up again. Sumner finished his spell, and with the game in the balance Lee Saunders started what turned out to be the crucial spell. More relaxed than he has been most of the season he generated tremendous pace from a short run, and had both batsmen in difficulties. His second over was exceptional, working over Rice-Tucker as he beat him for pace four times, then bounced him, and followed up with a perfect high speed Yorker to splay the stumps. Skipper Neil Hemstalk tried to counter-attack, which only resulted in him scooping two balls in the air which just evaded fielders before Saunders fired in a straight full toss that beat Hemstalk for pace and forced its way through his pads onto the stumps. With Paul Sumner now replacing Scanlan and also keeping it tight Pembury rapidly fell behind the rate, unable to up the pace without taking near suicidal risks. Direct hits from Andy Mayers and Matt Dehaney went unrewarded, but another run to Mayers was so suicidal that there was time for a less accurate throw to be gathered and thrown onto the stumps. Saunders finished his spell with 2-12 from 7 overs, at which point New Ash Green were in the remarkable position of having eight overs left and being on the brink of victory while the previous week’s two best bowlers had not bowled a ball between them. Paul Sumner and Vic Mayers mopped up the tail with the aid of solid catching from Arron Ward and finally from a diving Micky Sumner, triggering jubilant celebrations as the elusive victory was finally wrapped up. It is still a long haul to close the gap at the bottom of the league, but this should have given a few players the confidence and belief which has been sorely lacking, and should not be the last such result this season.

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Pembury (20 points) 287-4 (46 overs)
New Ash Green (2 points) 90 all out (44.1 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 197 runs

After two successive wins it was back down to earth with a bump against what seems to have been an unusually strong Pembury side. So much so that it is probably best to brush over what happened quickly. Pembury's opening batsman was dropped early on off an apparently fairly simple chance, and this set the tone for the New Ash Green fielding which was poor throughout with the exception of David Baker's direct hit to get a run out. Each of the three main bowlers too a wicket, but all were expensive and Pembury piled up a massive 287-4.

In reply New Ash Green could only muster two double figure scores, although most batsmen managed to stay in a while and they ended up less than two overs away from preventing Pembury taking maximum points. It was, nonetheless, a crushing defeat by 197 runs and they will have to hope that a week off followed by tour gives them a chance to regroup before the next league game.

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Arlott 143-9 dec. (43 overs)
New Ash Green 90 all out (34 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 54 runs

Standard Sunday procedure - win the toss, bowl first and keep the runs down. John Harley and Matt Bushe did a good job initially, Bushe making the first breakthroughs, and Lee Saunders and David Baker also had good spells. Kieran Poole lost some of the confidence he seemed to be finding on his last bowl, but still managed to pick up a wicket, as did Elliott Harris in a one over spell. The bowling was mostly pretty tidy and was backed up by good fielding and catching, with Graeme Poole in particular taking a blinder.

Keeping Arlott down to 144 in 43 overs should have put New Ash Green in a strong position, but a decent opening attack found the top order batting somewhat lacking. David Baker clubbed two early fours, but then played on and it was downhill from there to 32-6. The lower order rescued a little bit of pride, Elliott Harris top scoring with 16, but despite the Arlott pace bowlers taking so long to bowl their overs that New Ash Green would have had far few overs to survive for the draw than they had bowled themselves they couldn't quite do it, and ended up being all out for 90.

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