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High Halstow 129 all out (36.2 overs)
New Ash Green 132-2 (32.5 overs)
New Ash Green won by 8 wickets

A brief mention before the main match report of the mornings colts games. After two heavy defeats the colts had a much closer game against Frindsbury, highlighted by Matt Clark taking 3-13 and making 59* - his maiden fifty. Congratulations to all involved in the team, and especially to Matt.

Having come up against a few High Halstow first team players last time they played them on a Sunday New Ash Green were pleased to see a very young opposition on this occasion – indeed only one of the opposition was aged over 20. That, though, was their overseas player Virendra Vegda who had allegedly played one day international cricket for India – though Cricinfo doesn’t seem to support that claim. Vegda opened the batting and went for his shots from the start, but as so many Asian players do in their early days in England did tend to put the ball in the air quite a bit and offer chances. Early on he put one just over Dan Lewsey and just short of Matt Clark, and flew one over the slips where Matthew Quantrill leapt and got finger tips to it, but couldn’t quite hang on. At the other end the batting wasn’t looking so convincing, and Matt Dehaney took two early wickets before Ryan Stickings lived up to his name and stayed with Vegda. Just as it looked as if Vegda might really take the game away from New Ash Green, though, he got another nick to John Harley, this time at a comfortable height for John Harding to catch. This slowed the scoring rate somewhat, though Stickings was very strong on anything wide of off stump, and a very hung over over from Dan Lewsey didn’t help the scoring rate and saw him ruthlessly removed from the attack. This brought together the spin twins Simon Freeman and Scott McKechnie, and they both kept the scoring rate down well. It took a while for them to get amongst the wickets, but eventually Jake Barrett became frustrated and was stumped by John Harding. This signalled an even greater slowing of the scoring rate, and with both bowlers extracting turn and their very different flights the wickets feel steadily, mostly to McKechnie. His figures were looking very good until Stickings reached his fifty, when he suddenly seemed to lose his inhibitions and smacked the ball to all parts, taking 5 fours in seven balls from McKechnie. A sixth looked likely from the next ball as it was again pulled away to deep square leg, but Matt Clark took an excellent low catch to end Stickings innings on 69. Now in with a chance of taking a five wicket haul McKechnie showed no mercy to the 11 year old number 11 – at least after telling Simon Freeman not to run him out – snapping up a return catch to finish with 5-27.

129 looked to be a very gettable score on a good batting track and with a fairly strong batting line up, and that feeling was reinforced by the sight of the overseas player padded up to keep wicket. Matthew Quantrill and John Harding dealt with a variety of young bowlers with reasonable comfort and added 52 for the first wicket before a slight mix up over calling led to Quantrill being slightly late setting off for a single and being run out by a direct hit from Vegda – probably the only fielder on the pitch who could have produced the necessary throw. Matt Dehaney, needing to leave early, struck a quick 22, and with John Harley still in ruthless mode Scott McKechnie came in at 4 to finish off a comfortable win. Vegda did swap wicket-keeping for fielding, but declined to bowl, and the only remaining incident of note came with 8 needed to win when one of the fielders tried to tempt McKechnie into indiscretion by betting him he couldn’t hit a six. As luck would have it the next ball was in his favourite slot, a waist high full toss on the leg side, and he duly obliged by putting it almost into the pavilion. A number of alternative bets, such as playing out five dot balls or getting out, failed to prevent him hitting the next ball for four to take the friendly XI to their fifth consecutive win.

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