Pembury 2nd XI (H)
20th May 2023
The 2nd XI returned to the Rec last Saturday on a sunny afternoon and with three cakes to eat at tea time, and a fresh and flat pitch to play on.
We lost the toss and fielded and for a brief, glorious moment had 10 players on the pitch (never 11, don’t be silly). Zac Hart was five minutes late for the unforgivable reason of having played a game in the morning, but no sooner had he arrived than Rob Crumbie went in the hammy chasing a ball down the hill towards Helga’s house. Back to nine players.
Pembury batted well and, despite our diminished numbers, we bowled and fielded well. Zac in particular was excellent, his leg spin taking 2 for 32. We dropped a couple of catches but keep things under control and were left with 185 to win.
Alas, the experience of eating a cake at tea was too much. Our batting was patchy. Chris Pannell unleashed some lovely shots in traditional calypso style, and the tail wagged but we kept losing wickets and were skittled out, ultimately 80 runs short. The champagne moment was P Eames (junior) being given out LBW by P Eames (senior). I was disappointed not to see internecine war break out, or at least a tantrum. Instead, Junior reported that he had been plumb.
So, on to Weald and the search for a 20 pointer. Optimism reigns, as long as there isn’t too much cake.
Weald 1st XI (A)
27th May 2023
We arrived at Weald on a sunny afternoon, the picturesque ground looking at its best, disturbed only by the distant but constant hum of the A21. Optimism dipped a little when Siraj dropped himself on the journey to the ground, but with Shaz disgorging five players from his people carrier, we were at least a full team.
We bowled OK. Too many wides but with Weald on 60-4 at drinks we had a grip on the game. Adam Nash bowled particularly good slow left arm spin, extracting bounce and a little turn from a full length: a masterclass which left him with 2-23 from 9 overs. After drinks, a different story. Weald’s number 7 got stuck in and with some powerful and mostly straight hitting scored 86*, probably taking the game away from us.
Weald provided tea at the interval (and Pimms which, like the pros we are, was eschewed): the hospitality was warm and the ‘coronation’ crowd provided a little atmosphere. Sadly, our batting did not add to the excitement. Two early wickets were lost, before Nick Fowler and Ed Wesson nursed the score to 50. Nick went on to make a fine half century and kept us up with the rate, but his dismissal precipitated a collapse and we were bowled out for 102, over 90 runs short of victory.
With seven players of school or university age, there remains encouragement that 2nd XI cricket is alive and kicking, and everyone was a pleasure to play a match with, but we need to learn how to bat for 40 overs. Here endeth the lesson.
Speldhurst Cricket Club 