19th April v Rusthall (A)
And so another season begins, and the weather was set fine for our usual opening foray against Rusthall. After hearing that the bowling vanguard had succumbed to absence, citing “dissertation” as a ridiculous excuse for not playing cricket, the Rusthall skipper wisely inserted themselves on a hard deck sensing quick runs. And quick runs they got.
Ben’s (Roberts) first over lasted several balls longer than is traditional, and some suspect keeping and captaining meant Rusthall were 47-0 from 5 overs and the blink of an eye. Spin twins Nash and Karim brought it back under control with four wickets between them and we went to drinks with Rusthall at 105-4 and the innings finely poised. Highlight of the first quarter: Charlie’s superb high catch on the long-on boundary!
Rusthall’s middle order batted excellently. George spun his way to a wicket and Nick Fowler bowled with control and guile as did, ahem, Ben (Brandt). Rusthall finished on an imposing 230 from their 25 overs. A big total, but as our 1st XI captain aptly put it: “Room for excellence.”
The first two batting positions were taken by two of the present Bens (Roberts and Harrison). Ben (Harrison) was first to fall, victim to a ball that “definitely kept low”, while Ben (Roberts) opened his season’s account by munching his first ball deep into the forest.
Denying everyone a full-Ben (Ben-tiful?) top three was a hobbling Siraj, unable to bowl after failing to lift a small bar at the gym earlier in the week. Despite looking comfortable and rotating the strike well, Ben (Roberts) provided most impetus into their excellent partnership in which his maiden half century was celebrated with just 65 on the board.
Once he departed, another Ben (Brandt) hit a crisp singular boundary before providing catching practice to the Rusthall keeper. Nash kept the run rate brisk, cracking a few expansive runs with his spare bat, but then fell trying to clear the boundary one time too many.
Needing approx 100 runs from the final 12 overs, we were in it. Karim kept apace with the required run rate, exploiting some wayward bowling with superb effect, and when Siraj finally fell from his post as anchor, Fowler strode out with purpose.
Both ran well and dispatched both the rubbish and the acceptable to (and over) the boundary with regularity. When Karim eventually fell for a superb 47, we needed 56 from 7 overs. Charlie, fresh from winter batting practice, joined the fun with three confident strikes through mid-off and cow corner.
Despite near heroics from Nick, Rusthall’s returning opening bowlers proficiently closed out the match, leaving us 18 runs short. Even closer than it sounds.
Big shout outs to George and Charlie for their stellar efforts with bat and ball, Karim for his all-round masterclass, and to Ben (Roberts) doing all Bens everywhere proud.
Scorecard: https://speldhurst.play-cricket.com/website/results/6765984
3rd May v Penshurst (H)
Fine weather greeted us for our first home game of the season. Penshurst batted first and their skipper scored his customary ton without too much fuss. Siraj Deane bowled with encouraging line and length at a decent pace and was unlucky to see a catch go down at slip from yours truly in the first over.
As the runs flowed on an impressively firm track, our bowlers and fielders stuck to the task admirably with young Tom Plunkett catching the eye for his consistency in two accurate spells. Pat Green’s first googly of the season hit its mark and there was no sign of Andy Eames having lost any of his fire. There was also a first Speldhurst wicket for Rakesh Krishnakumar who looks a handy medium pace option for the summer ahead.
The final total of 274-5 from 35 overs seemed well above our potential but the warm sunshine more than made up for the sweat and toil.
In reply Pat struck five sublime boundaries before splicing a pull to mid on and although the win was not really on their minds Tristan Price and Ben Brandt took the score past 100 in very good time.
As Penshurst’s two first team spinners tried to wrestle back control Tristan fell for a handy 20 but Ben was in overdrive by now and had moved into the 90s by the time I joined him at 145-4 with 12 overs left. His hundred soon arrived – chanceless apart from a missed stumping – and there followed a discussion with the opposition about the relative merits of Ben retiring (the done thing in friendly matches). To their undoubted credit, with 11 runs an over needed and quite a fragile looking tail to come, Penshurst were keen for Ben to bat on in the interests of a closer contest.
And so he continued to smite mightily for another eight overs (half of which, it has to be said, were delivered by a very promising but barely teenage girl). With useful support coming from the other end, the target has been whittled down to just 25 needed from 3 overs when Ben finally retired. He’d made 152 (although the scorebook had struggled to keep up) and left his mark on a number of hedgerows not to mention parked vehicles. A further flurry of boundaries from the captain and the Skinners headmaster saw us home with 5 balls to spare.
So a pleasing result but more significantly a good warm up for the season ahead and a clear sign that the Speldhurst wicket has been well tended over the winter months!
Scorecard: https://speldhurst.play-cricket.com/website/results/6673462
11th May v Southborough (A)
We travelled the long road to Southborough with anywhere between 9.5 and 12 names adorning the teamsheet. With the skipper unsure exactly who would turn up—or when—we elected to bat. Mostly to avoid fielding in the midday sun.
Ben Roberts thwacked the third ball of the day over mid off for four, but then misjudged a straight one. Sam Harman, playing his first game of cricket since 2022, promptly dispatched his second ball into a bush, never to be seen again. His swashbuckling 29 came to an end too soon however, and quick wickets of Nick, Joel and Karim left us reeling at 72-5 from not many overs.
Matt, flaunting a new tan, carved a few to the rope before also falling early. At 82-6, Ejas and yours truly agreed that if we batted as sensibly as possible for the remaining 25 overs (!) then we’d probably end up with plenty of runs.
And a handy partnership of 105 was the result, both of us managing to deflect enough of the bad balls to keep the run rate extremely healthy.
After shnicking one of those bad balls behind, I made way for the tail of Anthony, Rakesh and young George, the latter stroking the penultimate ball of the innings through the covers with the grace and timing of a much smaller, right-handed Gower.
Ejas was eventually dismissed for a classy 84—a well-crafted innings built on early patience and later carnage. A real dismantling of the attack. Top work, and we finished on 258 from our 35 overs.
Nick and Rakesh opened up. Nick bowled with typical guile, while Rakesh impressed again with smooth, silky medium pace before a frozen shoulder relegated him to fine leg duty for the rest of the afternoon.
A first-change Greenway pairing showcased George’s skills with the ball. His flighty leg spin generated turn and bounce, picking up a tidy wicket during his opening five-over spell.
By now, Southborough had only lost two wickets and their best batters were set. Unfortunately for Matt, Joel, and Siraj, they bore the brunt of some muscular hitting towards a very obtainable 35-yard boundary. But eventually, Siraj and Karim made the crucial breakthroughs, dismissing both danger men.
Still, the new batters came out swinging—tracking at the required 10/over. Enter Greenway.
With pace going the distance, the skipper threw the ball to our spin merchant. George lured one advancing slogger into a stumping with a slower one, then had the other caught at square leg. Game turned.
He wasn’t done. A direct-hit run out from mid off knocked over their number nine, and by then it was curtains.
George finished with 3-50, bowling two of those overs at the death, with no extras. We won by 29 runs. A cracking day out. Unbeaten on Sundays in 2025.
Scorecard: https://speldhurst.play-cricket.com/website/results/6860717
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