5th June v Cudham Wyse CC
The match v Cudham Wyse started terribly, losing both opening batsmen on the eve of the game to track and trace! Unfortunately that meant we had to play with 10 men for the second week in a row and Cudham Wyse took full advantage and hammered us by 169 runs!
Their opening partnership cashed in on some dropped catches to put on 193 for the first wicket in decent time and there was no way back from there. Our depleted batting effort subsided to 81 all out. Enough said.
Take a look at the scorecard here.
12th June v Linton Park CC
Match cancelled due to Covid-19!
19th June v Shipbourne CC
Unfortunately the 2nd team were unable to play their game at Southborough last Saturday due to a wet wicket but the 1st XI were glad to register a hard fought win against Shipbourne.
Bowling first, our opening bowlers Harry Dunmall (3-22) and Jo Price (2-27) seized an early initiative with three wickets for 26 runs in the first 10 overs but a middle order counter attack moved the score at an uncomfortable rate to 154-4 from 30 overs. Three important wickets from Alex ‘Bob’ Mason (3-32) stemmed the flow and Shipbourne limped through the closing overs to post a respectable, but by no means concerning, 173-9.
Ollie Crees opening the Speldhurst reply with three domineering boundaries in the 2nd over but a sudden top order collapse left us at 36-3 from 10 overs. The recovery and subsequent smooth passage to victory was masterminded by Ben Spokes (70), playing his first game of the season, first in partnership with Harry Fitzgerald (21) and then with skipper Ben Brandt (35). The deficiencies of the Shipbourne support bowlers were ruthlessly exposed and the winning runs came up with more than five overs to spare. The win moves up to third place in the table but with availability continuing to be fragile we continue to look down the table rather than up.
Take a look at the scorecard here.
26th June v Sissinghurst CC
Both our teams were in action against Sissinghurst last Saturday and both emerged with victories. The 1st XI, playing away, batted first on wicket with a thick covering of grass in ‘muggy’ conditions and a fine opening partnership of 201 between Ollie Crees (111) and Muddy Waters (107) in 30 overs set the platform for a daunting total of 279-4. This was Ollie’s first league century for the club and it was innings full of power and control. Muddy’s was one of perseverance rather than panache but nonetheless a welcome return to form after three single-figure scores.
The Sissinghurst reply suffered early setbacks against the new ball pairing of Harry Dunmall (3-38) and Mark Utting (1-35) and were 40-4 after 11 overs. Adam Nash (2-55) bowled with encouraging control during the middle overs and, despite being on the receiving end of some aggressive blows from the Sissinghurst skipper Brough Cooper, soon gained his revenge with his prized wicket. The result was never in doubt and the winning margin of only 43 runs rather flattered Sissinghurst in the end.
Speldhurst Cricket Club 