Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th May
Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th May
Kent Regional League Match - 46 overs per side
Gravesend III (10 pts) 67-3 (13 overs)
New Ash Green (10 pts) did not bat
Match abandoned
The drama in this game was mostly in the build up. After last week's two fairly strong elevens finding teams was a bit more of a problem this week, with a number of players missing, including all the appointed captains and vice-captains bar Andy Mayers. Having just about got to two sides of ten each NAG were further hit by the loss of Dan Lewsey, throwing up on the morning of the game, causing the late poaching of James Gegg from the second team, with Tim Cooper nobly stepping into the breach to fill in for the seconds. At the last minute there was further decision making to be done as Keith Bushell decided to step into the breach. Andy Mayers deliberated for a minute or two, then on finding the opposition didn't have an umpire decided to gamble on using Keith as a player, and made it pay off by winning the toss and being able to put Gravesend in. Meanwhile off the pitch the sightscreen had blown over during the week, and been mysteriously re-erected by some kind volunteers, but with all the eyeholes torn off the bottom of the tarpaulin it was left a bit more flappy than it had been, despite some hasty repair work.
It was, then, something of a relief to get a game under way, and something of a peculiar start. Gravesend's skipper clearly had a heavy cold, and as a result was perhaps not thinking or reacting at full speed. Mick Sumner's first ball was slightly short of a length, the batsman went to pull, was late on the shot and lifted up the simplest of catches to a bemused Phil Wallis, enjoying the gentlest of re-introductions to cricket after a two year break. With Sumner cranking up the pace and Andy Mayers, standing in as opener for Dan Lewsey, also generating some pace and movement, the next pair, both young, were looking nervous about getting in line, though one in particular timed the ball well when he did hit it. A few runs were added before the inevitable happened and one was edged from a crooked bat gently into the hands of Dean Freeman at second slip, the only mystery with this one being why the batsman turned to look at the umpire and wait for his finger to be raised before walking off. The tone of the game then changed slightly with Gravesend's number four throwing the bat at anything pitched up. He had a couple of lucky escapes, particularly one from Mayers that he left and which cut back and missed the stumps by the narrowest of margins, but hit some very hard shots as well. One more wicket did fall, the number three mis-timing an attempted pull and lobbing the ball up very gently towards Phil Wallis again. The shot may have been as gentle as his first catch, but it wasn't quite as straight to him, and he had to dive full length to hold it well just above the ground. By now the rain was beginning to fall and although another three fours and a top edged six were hit it was decided to go off and get the cover on before the pitch got too wet, something that proved a wise decision as shortly afterwards the rain really started to come down hard. After only a few minutes of this a possibly slightly pessimistic decision was taken to abandon the game, but it proved a wise one, as a short burst of sunshine later on was followed by another very heavy shower, and there would have been no way of getting in a complete game within league rules.
Kent Regional League Match - 40 overs per side
New Ash Green (6 pts) 104 all out (37 overs)
Bickley Park (20 pts) 106-4 (27.2 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 6 wickets
A depleted second team, shorn even of the mighty talents of James Gegg by his last minute call up to replace the ailing Dan Lewsey in the first team, were aided by Tim Cooper, never one to avoid the call of duty in an emergency. Even so they travelled with only 9, meaning lots of work to do in the field, and even more juggling umpires and scorer while they were batting. For all that the team spirit was high under temporary leader Matt Bushe, despite his failing in his first duty and losing the toss. The New Ash Green innings was twice interrupted by heavy showers, but despite the leaks in the covers the match was able to continue. A number of batsmen made a start with all the top four, Luke Shaw, Dillon Pike, Michael Gallagher and Ollie Cooper getting to double figures, but the only one to make double figures was John Howland, batting at number 6 and avoiding the opening bowler, who seems to have been the most threatening. Michael Gallagher played the longest innings, by some distance, and he and Howland had the best partnership, 45 for the 5th wicket. Skipper Bushtaq almost managed to help the tail bat out the overs, but was eventually last out at the end of the 37th over with the total on 104.
With bowling resources thin on the ground finding someone to bowl the extra three overs might have been a problem if the game had gone that far, but it seems Bickley Park weren't anxious to hang about, perhaps eager to get the win completed before darkness or further showers could rob them of maximum points. None of the bowlers were exactly expensive, but after the early loss of their loquacious skipper, bowled by Ollie Cooper, their next pair all but made the game secure. They saw off the opening bowlers and took the total to 73, before aggression got the better of them and Dave Harley finally had one stumped, after a succession of close calls, off Edward Quantrill's bowling. The number three, Suresh Rayan, kept the scoreboard ticking over, and although Quantrill took another, beautifully bowled, and Matt Bushe eventually had the top scoring Rayan caught behind by Dave Harley, Bickley Park had plenty of wickets and overs in hand as they cruised to a six wicket win. It was nonetheless a spirited performance by a nine man side, and the game seems to have been enjoyed all round and was far from the disaster it might have been with so many key players missing.
Second XI Current League Table
Friendly Match - Proper Cricket
New Ash Green 227-6 dec (41.3 overs)
Old Gravesendians 169-5 (37 overs)
Match drawn
An opposition claiming to be weak, rain forecast for later in the afternoon and memories of spending 13 overs in the field on Saturday and then watching it rain, as well as a whole season (so far) of fielding first made it an easy call for stand in Sunday captain Matthew Quantrill to choose to bat first on winning the toss. With both sides reduced by late drop outs, NAG to ten and Old Gs to nine, there were going to be gaps in the field, and a friendly full toss first ball was quickly despatched to the boundary. The opening bowling proved a little tidier after that, if never hugely threatening, but New Ash Green soon managed to get themselves in trouble. Dillon Pike played round a straight ball and Bradley Lonergan was left cursing his carelessness as he failed to put his foot back in his ground after leaving a ball and was stumped by a gentle throw back from the keeper, who was almost embarrassed to appeal. From 8-2 Matthew Quantrill and Joe Elisak had a bit of rebuilding work to do, but they applied themselves, ran hard (there were several all run fours and even more threes) and put away at least some of the bad balls. They had added 99 when Elisak, having got to 50, had a huge and predetermined swipe across the line and was bowled. There was then a mini-collapse as Jasper Holliday and Tim Cooper were beaten by the turn down the slope of Old Gravesendian's only regular league player, Aaron Brigden. Quantrill was then joined by Olly Cooper, and they got things back on track, adding another 98 runs before Quantrill, having reached his hundred, skied one in the air for substitute fielder Elisak to catch. There was still plenty of time for Cooper to make it to his own half century before an early declaration set Old Gravesendians an imposing target of 228 to win.
A long tea, lengthened by plenty of cake eating and the drizzle outside, meant that New Ash Green got little advantage from the early declaration, but no one was too enthusiastic to get back out. With the forecast having predicted light rain followed by heavy rain both sides felt it was only going to be a token gesture returning to the field, but in fact although it remained overcast throughout the rain actually varied between light and none, tending towards none by the end. Nonetheless the damp conditions meant the bowlers couldn't spin or swing the ball, indeed they could barely grip it, and were also having difficulty with their footing. With fielding also being difficult, the ball being like a bar of soap, it is always difficult to get wickets in such conditions, and bowling a side out who were mainly competent if not brilliant proved impossible. There was some early excitement when Matt Bushe got an edge in his first over, held at first slip by the captain, but after that the bowlers had little luck for some time, a few shots going just out of the fielders' reach. Steven Manning made a fairly improbable 50 before being run out by a direct hit from Joe Elisak, hitting the single stump he had to aim at to revive New Ash Green's flagging hopes. A tidy spell from Felix Quantrill and a more tempting one from Jasper Holliday had failed to bring a breakthrough, but after the run out, in Dillon Pike's first over, things changed as Tim Cooper took two wickets, the first a caught and bowled and the second the obdurate Old G's skipper Brigden, finally getting out well caught down the leg side by Bradley Lonergan, having already played a vital unbeaten innings in the defeat of the first team in the previous week's league game. With time running out some further chances were missed, and although Luke Shaw returned for a probing second spell, and took a wicket as well as generating several chances, the start of the final over arrived with three wickets still needed. Even then there was still hope as Shaw induced an edge with the first ball, but the keeper diving to his right could only get fingertips to it, and that was enough to divert it out of the reach of first slip, to whom it might not have carried anyway. The batsmen survived the rest of the over without alarms and the game ended in a fairly tame draw, though considering the conditions and the forecast it was something of a triumph to have not only got a game in but to have had one in which pretty much every player got a fair go at something and everyone seemed to enjoy.