Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th July
Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th July
Kent Regional Cricket League - 46 Overs per side
Snodland (12pts) 137 all out (44 overs)
New Ash Green (20 pts) 141-8 (40 overs)
New Ash Green won by 2 wickets
Catches, taken or dropped, figured large in the story of this game, as so often at this level of cricket. It was hard to know what to make of the ground at Ryarsh, after initial warnings of vandalism to the wicket. In fact although there were some repaired patches they were so close to the stumps that they seemed unlikely to pose a problem to the batsmen, and the thick coating of yellow grass seemed firm and even. As it turned out the pitch actually played very well, and with a lightning fast outfield it is something of a mystery why this was such a low scoring game. Blessed with an umpire for the third week in a row, and with the opposition again not having one Mick Sumner decided to have a look at the pitch from a bowler's perspective despite the heat and put Snodland in. He started tidily himself, and Dan Lewsey struck in his first over to remove Snodland's skipper, bringing together the two star all rounders in the side, Boston and Thursting. They did manage to score at a steady rate, Boston in particular hard on anything loose, but as the bowlers tightened up he became impatient and hit a massive skyer off Dan Lewsey. Paul Sumner back pedalled desperately from extra cover, and never looked like he was under it, but somehow managed to hold a superb catch behind his head. With Lewsey picking up another Mick Sumner's luck finally turned when he took Thursting's edge and Vic Mayers juggled the ball at slip before holding on to it and reducing Snodland to 36-4. After that it was a battle of attrition for a while, the scoring rate plummeting, but wickets coming slowly. Lewsey picked up two more, to end with 5-33, but Sumner missed the stumps by inches repeatedly and failed to take another, ending with 1-35. Vic Mayers and Paul Sumner replaced the openers, and the scoring rate mostly remained slow, but now the fielding slipped as Carl Bird was missed on several occasions, not easy but ones that probably should have been taken. He stayed to the end of the innings, without ever really striking the ball well, and was joined in a 7th wicket stand of 55 by Chris Knight, but when he finally fell the rest didn't give much support to Bird. Bird was dropped again, though it was a full blooded drive that Karl Bartlett did well to parry straight to Mick Sumner, who got the ball in to complete an easy run out, then Paul Sumner bowled number 10 and got an edge from number 11 which deflected from the keeper's thigh into the safe hands of Matt Bushe in the gully to wrap up the innings with two overs to spare, Paul Sumner 3-41, and Vic Mayers a very economical 0-21 in 10 overs.
With the batting conditions excellent and Snodland's star bowler Boston not seeming as quick as he had when playing for Loose two seasons ago, it should have been a relatively easy chase even for a side so unused to winning as New Ash Green. There had been an improvement in their self-belief last week, but this week some seemed like rabbits in the glaring headlights of impending victory! Makeshift opener James Gegg batted solidly, taking two fours off Boston before being bowled off his pads, and at the other end Matthew Quantrill knocked the other opener Bell out of the attack, after being dropped from a very hard hit flick square which went through the fielder's hand and stopped just inside the long boundary, allowing the batsmen to run 4. Anything slightly loose from the bowler after that went for 4, and he was soon out of the attack to be replaced by Thursting, thus again having the star pairing in action together for Snodland. This time they were more effective, mostly through the efforts of Thursting, than they had been with the bat. Matt Clark was LBW to Thursting after a great drive for 4 off Boston, Quantrill surprisingly misjudged the line and was bowled, and Baker and Bartlett also perished, leaving New Ash Green precariously poised on 66-5. There is more depth to the batting line up now though, and these were still good conditions. The Sumner brothers saw off Boston, and though Mick Sumner fell to Thursting the change bowling looked far less effective. Paul Sumner struck some powerful blows, with Vic Mayers happy to support in his first innings of the season, and as Snodland shuffled the bowling things looked comfortable for New Ash Green. Sumner struck three fours in Gary Knope's first over to move to 46, but then managed to get himself bowled by the last ball. Adam Reeves perished shortly afterwards in Thursting's final over, giving him figures of 5-29, and it became a battle between New Ash Green's tail end batsmen and Snodland's tail end bowlers. Truth to tell, though, Snodland's change bowlers were not as good as New Ash Green's, and New Ash Green's batsmen, certainly Mayers, were a class above Snodland's tail. Dan Lewsey was still struggling for form, but with plenty of time to get the runs was happy to block and let Mayers score, and having got his eye in supporting Paul Sumner Mayers began to play some shots when the chance arose. They chipped away at the total with the occasional four and a huge six, and when the target came down to six and below the crowd were on their feet every time a short ball or full toss was bowled with the short boundary looming. Somehow the batsmen couldn't find that killer shot though, and a few more were chipped away. With 4 needed Lewsey finally did time a pull from a short ball, and a foot either side would have been game over, but instead he found the square leg fielder, who parried it and fell backwards. The ball came down on his chest, but as he tried to grasp it it rolled down his side and just touched the ground before he got his hand round it. The drama wasn't over yet, though, as Lewsey was standing and watching this while Mayers had run, and they were now virtually next to each other at the batsman's end. The fielder recovered to throw the ball to the keeper as Lewsey woke up and started running, and the keeper's relayed throw underarm passed him as he was nearly there. There followed a flurry of bowler, batsman and stumps, but Lewsey had just made it home. Fed up with the tension Mayers struck two to level the scores and with the field in smashed one over the top for a straight four to finish the game off, bringing New Ash Green two wins in the first half of the season and real hope of more if they can keep everyone playing and bring in one or two more regulars.
Scorecard
Current League Table
Kent Regional Cricket League - 46 Overs per side
New Ash Green (7 pts) 153 all out (46 overs)
Mote IV (20 pts) 154-5 (24 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 5 wickets
With a relatively beefed up side for various reasons stand in captain Jasper Holliday took the bold decision to bat first on winning the toss. As ever John Harding anchored the top half of the innings, and when he fell for 22 Olly Cooper took over in the middle, before being sadly run out for 37 within sight of a maiden 50. This left the innings at a disappointing 107-9, but Ashley Woodward and John Harley used up (exactly) all the remaining overs in putting on 46 for the last wicket, in contrasting styles, setting a very respectable target of 153.
New Ash Green may have been unlucky to find the Mote on a strong day, though, as the top three batsmen had all figured in the Mote third team the previous season. It was these three who made the difference, all making over 25 and opener Robert O'Brien batting through for 75*. Once the first two wickets were taken Mote struggled, falling from 106-1 to 111-5, three wickets for Sam MacNeil, but the number 6 was able to support O'Brien and they saw the Mote through to a safe victory.
Scorecard
Current League Table
Friendly Match - Proper Cricket
New Ash Green 37 all out (20 overs)
Chelsfield Park 41-0 (5.2 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 10 wickets
A dismal performance all round. Chelsfield Park chose to bowl first, and a respectable (but not excessively good) pair of opening bowlers ripped through the top order, with Karl Bartlett's drive for 4 possibly the only redeeming feature. The change bowlers might have been thought to be easier, though Walker was actually the leading wicket taker this season, and the New Ash Green lower order had no answer to them, though a scattering of suicidal run outs throughout the innings didn't help the cause. Chelsfield Park started with a six off the first ball of the innings from John Harley, and proceeded to knock the runs off in no time.
With the match over before tea it was decided to play a 15 over beer match, and if there had been suspicions that Chelsfield Park were being a little over-competitive in the first game they were confirmed here. One of the opening batsmen from the main game came out to open the batting again, and he was followed by a series of proper batsmen playing to score as quickly as they could. In the circumstances Edward Quantrill's figures of 1-17 in 3 overs, the most economical, were impressive as all the bowlers took some stick in conceding over 130. With New ash Green largely reversing an already dismal batting order it was something of a surprise to see the main strike bowler opening, followed by the leading wicket taker, and with 4 wickets falling in the first two overs the game was never a contest. A few trick shots and a chance for the youngsters to bat was what the contest should have been about, and that at least happened with Edward Quantrill and Ryan Harley able to enjoy a second bat to go with their bowling. Quantrill senior added to the “entertainment” by reverse sweeping a 4 then being caught at fine leg from a “Dilscoop”, and not to be outdone Harley senior (David) batted left handed and hoicked a four through mid-wicket before it was all mercifully over.
Scorecard (for the main game - the beer match is on paper only)