The first team welcomed Bearsted to the KG field and in that spirit of welcome the skipper lost the toss allowing Bearstead to invite us to bat first on a track that could only be identified from the rest of the square by the stumps at each end. Run scoring proved tough as the wicket popped and stopped meaning driving was more or less impossible. Will Freeman (34) and Fred Smith (27) battled hard but the frustration got to Will as he was run out attempting a second run to get the board moving. The skipper joined the fray and managed to have a front row seat for a quite remarkable piece of cricket as Fred left one thinking it was missing the off stump, which it did. Unfortunately it didn’t miss middle and leg! A few leg side blows from the skipper tried to get the board ticking but when he fell for 40 it was very difficult for the new batsman to pick up the pace on the sluggish track and we posted a disappointing 142 from out allocation of 36 overs.
It was still a tricky track to score runs on and we struck twice in the opening overs with Bilal and Goose extracting extra bounce to surprise the batsman and provide easy chances to the fielders, at 2-2 we looked on top. Nathan Staines, you probably think this song is about you, then persuaded the oppo skipper to play on and despite runs coming from the other batsman we looked to have a foothold in the game. However at this point a partnership developed with some strong blows and two dropped chances cost us dear. Masters removed the dangerous number 5 but a patient knock from the number 6 complimented an excellent knock of 65* from Luxton and despite two further breakthroughs Bearstead strolled home with 6 over to spare. Lessons to be learned about taking chances and also bowling a good length and line on a pitch that offers something for the bowler.
The second team took another short trip this week, to Kilndown and Lamberhurst with a slightly younger team this time round. Stand in Skipper Phil Buckingham (Palace) proved to be useful at the toss and inserted the home team. Tom the tearaway Woolgar returned to Saturday cricket and took two early wickets in an exemplary spell of bowling (5-1-8-2) and the home batsman largely struggled to impose themselves as Tony (DIY SOS) Reader wheeled away and took regular wickets, his four for should have been 5 as chances went down. The home skipper however managed to get a start and with a heavy bat and a mighty swing he contributed a match defining 78. Henry Parton once again impressed with the ball picking up 2 wickets. the total was set as 142.
A good start was essential and was achieved as the batting was opened by a partnership that spanned the age demographic of the club, Phil Buckingham (45, his score not his age) and Henry Parton (27, his score not his age) played well on a tricky surface and gave a good platform. Unfortunately when wickets fell the powerhouse middle order contributed 0,0,2 and 8 and the chase was considerably dented. Arthur Elliott, unimpressed with his father’s duck, came to the rescue with an excellent 23 but when he was run out hope was extinguished and the team fell 9 runs short of the total. A noble effort was made and the youngsters, and Phil and Tony, continue to impress. Onwards!
Sunday to follow