Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd June
Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd June
Kent Regional League Match - 46 overs per side
Wimington (20 pts) 238-4 (46 overs)
New Ash Green (2 pts) 127-9 (30.4 overs)
New Ash Green lost by 111 runs
Every season there seems to be a weekend when, for no apparent single reason, half the club is not available. This weekend was that weekend – hopefully for the only time in 2013. With something like 8 of the top 10 batsmen not available, as well as 2 bowlers, and at least a couple of key second team players it took desperate measures to get two sides out at all. Joe Elisak took a taxi straight from the airport to the ground to arrive on the field an hour into the first team game, Ollie Cooper delayed his departure for his family holiday in order to play for the seconds, and in order to avoid taking too many of the second team's regular players the first team brought Keith Bushell and Vaughan John out of retirement as well as bringing in the captain's brother-in-law, who turned out to be a very competent batsman. There was a point when it looked as if there might even be two elevens, but a couple of drop outs on Friday and Saturday morning meant both sides had ten – which turned out well, as both their opposition also had ten. To add to the fun for the first team traffic problems meant that it wasn't just Joe Elisak who was late to the ground – at what should have been tossing time there were only 5 home players. Wilmington didn't press the point too much, and the match eventually started about ten minutes late. Having an umpire Wilmington chose to bat first, and started against 8 men, which turned to 9 after about 3 overs and eventually to 10 after 14. Despite some rain during the week the wicket was surprisingly hard and there was a good deal of bounce and movement. New Ash Green didn't help themselves, dropping both Nicholson brothers when they were on low scores, and both went on to get half centuries, meaning that New Ash Green could not get through to the relatively weak Wilmington tail. Andy Mayers, bowling off only a couple of paces, bowled tidily, with some very good balls, and probably deserved more than the two wickets he took, and Dan Lewsey also bowled better than his figures of 1-52 would suggest. The gaps in the field, some relatively elderly legs and throwing arms and a certain amount of luck when the ball went in the air meant Wilmington's aggressive batting paid off, and they were able to keep up a steady run rate. Vic Mayers bowled with pace and accuracy with the wind behind him, but struggled more when he switched to bowl into the wind, to allow Joe Elisak to bowl with the aid of the slope. Mayers did pick up one wicket, but although Elisak bowled some good balls the score kept mounting steadily, and by the end New Ash Green were left chasing 238.
With a full batting line up, on a pitch where the ball was still coming onto the bat, New Ash Green might well have been in with a shout. Andy Mayers got them off to a flyer, and for most of the first half of the innings they were up with the required rate, but ultimately the absence of so many batsmen caught up with them and they couldn't quite make it to even the first bonus point. Mayers scored a rapid 30 before edging a lifting ball to slip, and Matthew Quantrill was looking very solid until one lifted and cut in on him, leaving him helpless as it rapped his gloves and went to the keeper. Tim Cotton conceded more in his first two overs than he has in many spells this season, and 14 runs came from the first over of the change bowling. However in the next over Joe Elisak was pinned in front by one that kept a bit low and was given out LBW, much to Wilmington's relief as they had already had two players warned for dissent at their own umpire's decisions not to give earlier appeals out. Steve Metson stroked a number of fours in making 25, but Vaughan John couldn't summon up any Welsh wizardry in his first innings for 4 years, Vic Mayers mis-timed an attempted pull, Paul Sumner picked out the one fielder on the boundary and Matt Bushe was bowled as the wickets tumbled rapidly. Keith Bushell and Dan Lewsey had a spirited last wicket stand, but it prolonged the inevitable for only a short while. It was a heavy defeat, but in many ways not as bad as it appeared. Cricket is often a game of fine margins, and had those two early chances been taken against the Nicholsons it might have been a very different game, and certainly a full strength New Ash Green side would have been much closer to a victory. Two weeks of heavy defeats have ended any thoughts that promotion might be an option, and in a tight league have sent the side plummeting down the table, so it is essential that we bounce back and show that whilst we may not merit promotion we certainly shouldn't be flirting with relegation.
Kent Regional League Match - 40 overs per side
New Ash Green (20 pts) 199-3 (40 overs)
Old Elthamians (4 pts) 137 all out (37 overs)
New Ash Green won by 62 runs
The second eleven, even without their skipper, Ashley Woodward and Matt Bushe, three fifths of their bowling attack for much of the season, bounced back well from their heavy defeat by league leaders Sidcup last week. It was another ten aside game, and Old Elthamians asked New Ash Green to bat first. This may have been a sign of weakness, as their bowling seemed to pose little problem for New Ash Green's openers, Luke Shaw and Martin Ives putting on a season leading 88 for the first wicket before Ives was caught for 23. Shaw went on to his second fifty of the season before he was LBW just after the hundred had been reached. The out of form Dillon Pike again found a fielder, and New Ash Green also lost Dave Harley, who had to retire hurt after taking a blow to the chin, but after that the very much in form Ollie Cooper, with an unbeaten 70, and James Turner with his first runs of the season in making 20, saw them safely through to the end of the innings without further loss, setting Elthamians the nice round figure of 200 to win.
It was already a tough target, but must have looked insurmountable after Luke Shaw had bowled the numbers 1 & 3 batsmen for ducks in the first three balls of the innings. They recovered slightly after that, but never looked like threatening a win, the main issue being how many bonus points each side was going to get. Shaw got one more wicket and Ollie Cooper took one as well, and with the scoring rate low New Ash Green were able to switch to the slow bowling of two sixteen year olds. Edward Quantrill had not had many chances to bowl in the previous few weeks, while Vikesh Sethi was making his debut, and had also not bowled recently. Both were expensive in their first couple of overs, triggering a revival mid-innings, but both settled in and picked up a wicket each, while getting back in control of the run rate, Vikesh looking to have real potential with his well flighted spin. Once those two had finished Cooper and Shaw returned to finish their spells, Cooper getting one more wicket, while the vice-captain took advantage of his position of power to get himself a nice cheap tail end wicket. With three overs left it looked as if New Ash Green might miss out on the final bonus point, with Jordan White looking very secure, but an instinctive piece of fielding from Sethi, stopping a well hit shot and immediately flicking it back onto the stumps produced the final wicket needed to get the second team back on the promotion track, with the rest of the season beginning to look like a straight fight between them and Bickley Park for the second promotion spot.
Second XI Current League Table
Friendly Match - 40 overs
New Ash Green 183-4 (40 overs)
Addington 155-5 (40 overs)
New Ash Green won by 28 runs
As with the previous day this was the weekend when no one was around. Much effort was put into finding a team, with a number of possible players from both New Ash Green and other clubs, including Ash, Hartley and Wilmington expressing an interest but not quite making it to a commitment. Thanks to the Mayers twins enough were raised to fulfil the fixture, though when Joe Elisak could not be persuaded to rise from his death bed on the morning of the game the team had to travel with 9, though it was a good 9. As the opposition had similar problems and had only ten this meant that the club's three fixtures throughout the weekend had involved a total of only 59 players, with not one team actually consisting of eleven players. Nonetheless those who made the commitment, on both sides, ignored the threatening clouds, occasional bursts of rain and various aching limbs to enjoy a thoroughly good game of cricket in a nice setting on a very green and juicy track. Matthew Quantrill, stand in captain, lost the toss, and despite the track was relieved to be asked to bat with only six players on the ground at that point. The remaining three arrived in time for the start, though, and with the help of a press-ganged Anna Stock scoring were able to shuffle enough umpires and child minders around to manage to keep the game running even with just the nine players. Quantrill and Matt Bushe set off steadily against a youthful opening attack, one of whom was reasonably sharp, and both of whom got occasional significant help from the green track. They survived fairly comfortably, though, and as the openers tired started to pick off a few runs before upping the rate against the change bowling. By drinks they had taken the score to 75, looking set to build a total over 200, but in the first over after drinks Bushe got something on a ball down the leg side, and was dismayed to see Luke Shaw lift his finger in answer to the enthusiastic appeals from behind the stumps. He felt it was his pad rather than his glove that had touched the ball, but had to go. The second wicket fell soon after, with Sean Funnell, returning for a second game with New Ash Green some three years after his first, played a couple of good looking shots before managing to hit one straight at short mid-wicket. The fielder fumbled it, but it fell only a few feet from him, and Funnell, having set off for a run, was unable to stop and turn back fast enough to beat the throw. Dan Lewsey, coming in at number 4 after a number of not outs this season seemed to suggest he had re-found his batting ability then steadied the innings with considerable solidity, batting through to the end for 9 not out, still unbeaten this year. At the other end Matthew Quantrill reached his half century and went on the attack with more success than he has managed so far this season, striking some good straight drives and moving quickly on to 80 before being undone by extra bounce from the returning opening bowler and nicking one behind. Luke Shaw and Andy Mayers then carried on the attacking mantle, Shaw making a run a ball 28 including two pulled sixes and Mayers getting 2 a ball in a cameo 14 to take the final total to a more than respectable 183.
The plan in defending the total was to open with a quick burst of Shaw and Mayers to tie the batsmen down, then keep them and Dan Lewsey in reserve and give the rest a few overs. Unfortunately the batsmen weren't entirely following the script, particularly Raheal Shafi, who seemed able to cut almost anything. Luckily his cut shots went to the longest boundaries on the square ground, so didn't bring as many as they might have done, and as the opening bowlers finished their short spells Shaw began to find some real movement, and after two good LBW shouts beat the bat and had the other opener, Brown, smartly stumped to end his spell on a high note. It was reported that the waiting batsmen on the sidelines, especially the more youthful amongst them, were delighted to see that the change bowling consisted of the over fifty Vic Mayers and 13 year old Felix Quantrill, in particular assuming there would be runs to be had from a 13 year old. There were certainly few to be had from Mayers, who despite a certain stiffness after his 11 over spell the previous day gave very little away in bowling five overs for just 5 runs, but perhaps more surprising were Quantrill's figures – after two overs he had 1-2, getting his wicket via a second stumping for his father, a much easier one as the batsman charged down the wicket and missed, being out by several feet despite his apparent mystification at being given out. Quantrill's figures slipped a little after that, but his accuracy continued almost unabated, with only one really bad ball in his initial five over spell that brought him 1-18. The next change saw Sean Funnell, adapting to life after knee surgery, and Dillon Pike coming on, and still the batsmen could not really get either away on any sort of regular basis, although they continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Shafi in particular used his feet and tried hard to find ways to work the bowling around, surviving a nasty blow to the mouth when he charged down the pitch at Pike but only succeeded in turning what would have been a comfortable waist high full toss into a virtual beamer that he edged into the side of his head. He recovered well from this to bring up his fifty soon afterwards, but the run rate required was edging ever upwards and beginning to seem insurmountable. With ten overs to go Funnell and Pike were rested, both with respectable figures, but without managing a wicket, and the skipper turned to his likely best bowler on this wicket, Dan Lewsey, while keeping the temptation going at the other end by bringing back Felix Quantrill. Lewsey struck almost immediately as Shafi looked to attack and succeeded only in lofting a catch to mid wicket which Sean Funnell held well. His departure brought the best out of his hitherto defensive partner, Mumin Miah, who suddenly started striking some lovely clean blows down the ground, but it was all too little too late. Whilst Addington did up their run rate they never threatened to get near the target, and Lewsey's final over brought two more wickets, both edged behind, one the unfortunate Miah when on 49, perhaps unwisely trying to push a single instead of continuing to play the shots that had brought him most of his runs to date. Matt Bushe finished things off with a two over spell, and nine man (or eight man and one boy) New Ash Green secured a comfortable 28 run win in a very enjoyable game.