Saturday 12th May & Sunday 13th May
New Ash Green v High Halstow
Mid-Kent League Match - 46 Overs per side, Maximum 12 per bowler
New Ash Green (20 pts) 131 all out
High Halstow (12 pts) 104 all out
New Ash Green Won by 27 runs.
The new league season carried on a familiar theme for the first team, with the batsman struggling once again only to be rescued by the bowlers for the umpteenth time!
Having lost the toss things started well for NAG with Andy Cox coming to terms with the slow but true pitch quickly as he and Darren Phillips put on 37 for the first wicket, although Philips was tied down by a very accurate visiting attack before being dismissed for 5 in the 17th over. All the NAG batsman found things tough going and when Cox went for 28 an all to familiar collapse followed as the home side soon stumbled to 86-6. The tail guided NAG to a score of 131 all out, which was probably 30-40 runs short.
However a fired up attack soon got stuck into the High Halstow batsman with Matt Meehan bowling a very impressive opening spell making the vital breakthrough. Although it was the change bowlers who did the real damage with Ian Shambrook bowling a 9 over spell for just 16 runs taking his 2 wickets in successive balls, with Andy Stuart at the other end also taking 2 of his 3 wickets in two balls in just his second over to leave the visitors stumbling to 59-6.
With the game swinging one way and then the next, Nickels threatened to take the game away from NAG during his 46 until Micky Sumner snapped him up to swing the game back in favour of the host, leaving James Hewitt to mop up the tail and cap a fighting recovery. A special mention must go to Ian Shambrook, who answered an emergency call just hours before the game to come in and play the major role in winning this game and missing the early part of the Rugby Dinner in the process, to help his team mates clinch a crucial win. It is this sort of commitment that all playing members MUST show if NAG are to have any chance of finally winning this league.
High Halstow II v New Ash Green II
Saturday 12th May 2001
Mid-Kent League Match - 46 Overs per side, Maximum 12 per bowler
New Ash Green (20 pts) 263-5
High Halstow (2 pts) 95 all out
New Ash Green Won by 168 runs.
Having lost the toss and been asked to bat first on a High Halstow pitch that had been underwater after thunderstorms on Wednesday night, New Ash Green got away to a slow start, but although Carl Dockwray bowled through his 12 overs taking 1-22, no other early wickets were lost and New Ash Green were able to steadily pick up the run rate. Captain Matthew Quantrill (88) shared stands of 94 with Gary Browning (38) and 112 with Dominic Adolphe (66) for the 2nd and 3rd wickets, and with Adolphe really picking up the pace at the end, bringing up his fifty with two consecutive sixes, the scoring rate increased dramatically. Even the fall of wickets failed to slow the rate significantly as Duncan Shannon hit 14 off just 9 balls at the end and the last ten overs saw 99 runs added.
Facing such a big score High Halstow took risks from the start, and a brilliant piece of fielding and direct hit from Adolphe brought the vital early wicket for New Ash Green. Tight bowling from Richard Slatem, giving away just 8 runs in his opening 6 overs kept the pressure on. High Halstow lost wickets regularly in a vain attempt to keep up with the required run rate and although Nigel Copplestone struggled through the pain of injury to strike some huge blows in his 34, Dave Harrington proved as deadly as ever wrapping up the last four wickets in his five overs for the cost of just two runs, both wides!
After last weeks washout the league campaign proper is off to a great start with maximum points for both sides despite a number of players being unavailable, and it looks as if those returning players will have a job to get their places back from some of the youngsters who've been covering for them!
New Ash Green v Eynsford
Sunday 13th May 2001
Friendly Match
New Ash Green 164 all out
Eynsford 104 all out
New Ash Green Won by 60 runs.
CATCHES WIN MATCHES
A chanceless 77 from opening batsman John Harding and a series of highly impressive catches gave New Ash Green a 70 run victory against a young Eynsford side.
Having won the toss NAG skipper James Hewitt elected to bat and his choice proved to be a good one as Harding and Darren Phillips made the clubs first century opening stand of the season.
When Harding was out with the score on 128 the rest of New Ash Greens batsmen all contributed to get them to a total of 164. On a good wicket the score seemed about par, but with the depth of New Ash Greens bowling attack a close second half of the game looked certain.
Paul Sumner's winter of beer at University was evident as his first few overs were more erratic than had been expected. But with the support of Dave Harrington from the pavilion end it was Sumner that made the first break through when the Eynsford opening batsman looked comfortable as he cut him straight into the safe gloved hands of batting hero John Harding behind the stumps.
Wickets fell at regular intervals to all the NAG bowlers and Harrington himself got in on the act twice, his first wicket coming the ball after he had been launched onto the Pavilion balcony. His second was the ball after Darren Phillips had dropped a catch at mid on, a drop that proved to be inexpensive.
Charles Duguid, fielding in the slips, was the most influential of NAG's fielders when he held two sharp chances, one from Dave Harrington and another from the bowling of 15 year old all rounder Richard Slatem. However the most impressive of moments in the field has to be handed to another 15 year old, Matthew Scanlan, who took a diving two handed catch at square point off the bowling of his U15's team mate Slatem.
When Andy Mayers took his second catch to wrap up the Eynsford innings New Ash Green had registered an impressive victory by 60 runs.
Captain Hewitt said after the game "Catches win matches and the only one dropped this afternoon was the easiest of them all............. That Phillips..........what a joker!!!!!!!!!! and what a good team performance too."