Friendly Match

Fleckney Village 204-6 dec. (44 overs)
New Ash Green 208-3 (36 overs)
New Ash Green won by 7 wickets

On the 4th game of their Kent tour Fleckeny showed some signs of the wear and tear of playing and drinking for 4 successive days. They chose to bat first on winning the toss, and were contained at first by John Harley and Matt Bushe, with Harley picking up three early wickets. New Ash Green were then thwarted by a partnership of 156 for the 4th wicket between Webster and Hammond, who saw off all the alternative bowlers, with only Olly Cooper managing to keep the runs down. In desperation captain for the day Karl Bartlett turned back to his opening pair, and they responded by both slowing the scoring rate and getting wickets. Bushe made the initial breakthrough, getting Webster for 90 before Harley picked up a 4th wicket, and Olly Cooper contributed a run out. Fleckney eventually declared on 204 after 44 overs, with Harley taking 4-44 in 14, and Bushe 1-31 in 10.

Fleckney had been warned about Scott McKechnie, and even told that he tended to give early chances, but through carelessness or tiredness they failed to take the advice, missing him twice early on in his innings. He and Phil Wallis put on a steady 72 for the first wicket, but when Wallis was bowled for 26 there was a bit of a collapse. McKechnie played out a maiden and then Alan Stevens, a Fleckney player filling in for New Ash Green after the late drop out of the injured Dan Lewsey, suffered the indignity of being LBW to his first ball. Bradley Lonergan survived the hat trick ball, but next ball was well caught in the gully, and it was 72-3. That, though, was it for Fleckney. Karl Bartlett held up an end and towards the end began playing a few more expansive shots himself, including the winning runs with a big four over the top, but it was of course McKechnie who did the bulk of the scoring. He did give some more difficult chances with aerial shots to the boundary, but most managed to evade the fielders and go for six, and when he did mishit he found wide open spaces as he cruised to 137 not out at the end of a comfortable win.

Scorecard