Saturday 11th September & Sunday 12th September
Saturday 11th September & Sunday 12th September
Friendly Cricket - 40 Overs per side
Cudham Wyse 264-3 (40 overs)
New Ash Green 153 all out (39.2 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 111 runs
The weather was certainly befitting of an end of season game, even if the fixture list suggested that stage hadn’t actually quite been reached. Cudham Wyse’s ground would have been quite attractive in sunshine, but with overcast skies and a damp ground it wasn’t the most welcoming environment. Joe Elisak deputised as captain, and won the toss, choosing to bowl first against a side who should be at the sort of level New Ash Green would like to be in the KCVL, but which had far more first team regulars than New Ash Green’s own side. John Harley proved once again that his long run up has little impact on his bowling, bowling throughout off two paces and picking up a wicket with the second ball of the match, but after that it was a long hard struggle for New Ash Green. With bursts of drizzle throughout, and steady light rain for the last 10 overs or so, fielding was never easy, and the bowlers were never consistent enough with the wet ball to put pressure on the batsmen, too many loose balls meaning they didn’t have to take risks from the good balls. After Harley’s wicket a century partnership for the 2nd wicket was only broken by a brilliant piece of fielding from Elisak, throwing down the stumps with a powerful throw while falling backwards in the pick up. That wicket was followed immediately by another as Matt Bushe bowled the other half of the partnership, but that was to be New Ash Green’s final success. The wet ball was partly to blame with dropped catches by some of the most reliable fielders, and there were a few in the air that might, on another day, have gone to hand, but the batsmen were ruthless in taking advantage and both reached half centuries before the end, when ten damp fielders were able to scurry back to the shelter of the pavilion.
The rain continued through most of the tea interval, but eventually eased off with just enough time left to make a continuation possible. By now the field was so wet that ‘proper’ cricket was almost impossible. With the aid of sawdust the bowlers were able to keep their feet, but the batsmen were standing in inch deep liquid mud, which made any sort of shot making difficult. Chasing 264 needed some attacking play, but that proved impossible unless the bowlers bowled badly, and in their opening pair Thomas and Rubbianni Cudham had two bowlers steadier than all but John Harley in the New Ash Green attack. They whittled away at the wickets, and each bowled their ten straight through, so that by the half way stage New Ash Green still needed well over 200 runs and Matthew Quantrill, though still there, had made only 18. The conditions and bowling both got easier once the openers had completed their spells, and Quantrill was able to accelerate, particularly against the second change bowlers, who were given a go once the game was clearly safely in the bag for Cudham. Quantrill might have made it to a century if it wasn’t for a freak dismissal, a double bouncing ball a couple of feet outside leg stump hitting his calf as he tried to swing it away for six, and rebounding gently onto off stump to dismiss him for 93, the bowler’s first wicket for Cudham. He picked up another a few balls later as Joe Elisak swung and missed to end the match. The result was a heavy defeat, but bearing in mind the relative number of first team players there was nothing in the opposition to leave New Ash Green feeling that their full league sides could not be competitive at the same sort of level in the league as Cudham’s, provided they get accepted into the KCVL.
Friendly Match - 40 Overs
Town Malling 274-5 (40 overs)
New Ash Green 135 all out (36.5 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 139 runs
This game followed the pattern of the last few years, with Town Malling batting first and rattling up far too many runs for any sort of interesting game to be possible, the big flaw of limited overs cricket when the teams are unevenly matched. John Harley, Martin Ives and Andy Harrington kept things relatively tight, but with an 8 over restriction on bowlers alternatives had to be used, and they all suffered, especially towards the end of the innings when the 6th wicket pair added 150. There was an early wicket for John Harley, a Matt Bushe run out, then a flurry of two for Andy Harrington and one for Ryan Harley momentarily making New Ash Green look as if they were in the game, but that feeling didn't last as the total disappeared out of sight.
Again following the pattern of recent years Town Malling's opening bowlers were tight and soon had wickets tumbling. There was a defiant innings of 66 from Kevin Ives on his New Ash Green debut - and hopfully on the basis of that score not his last game - but only Matt Bushe with 8 and Dave Harley with 5 could get past 1 until the final pair, Tim Cooper with 6 and John Harley with 21 not out, had a bit of a merry time when the game was finally opened up a bit, far too late in the day. Another heavy defeat, probably suggesting that a fairly strong side with little concept of how to play friendly cricket are not the ideal opposition for this time of year.