Broadstairs men’s indoor side took a major step towards the national finals at Lord’s with an emphatic win over Sussex champions Preston Nomads at the Kent Cricket Academy, Canterbury. The Kent champions made one change from the team that beat University of Kent in the County Final earlier in the month with Scott Narraway stepping-in for Andy Marshall.
Winning the toss and inviting Preston Nomads to bat first, the Sussex champions were unable to establish a firm footing against the superb spell of bowling from openers Chris Flint and Matt Frewin. By the end of the first 6 overs, Preston Nomads had amassed just 28 runs for the loss of their opening pair Phillips and McKemey, both bowled by Flint who finished with figures of 2-10 off his three overs.
Jamie Dewell and Harry Carter took over from where Flint and Frewin had left off, forcing the opposition into two run outs in quick succession. When O’Brien was trapped LBW by Dewell, it was down to Patel to bring some respectability to the Preston Nomads’ total who finished on 72-5 off their twelve overs.
The Broadstairs reply began confidently with both Frewin and Andy Bailey looking untroubled and scoring well-judged threes on a regular basis. With both nearing retirement in the 7th over, a lapse in concentration led to the run out of Frewin, bringing Flint to the crease. By this stage, the victory was in sight and with Narraway replacing the retired Bailey, Broadstairs got over the line in the 10th over with no further loss of wickets.
It was a convincing victory, once again highlighting the high quality of indoor cricket played in the East Kent region. Broadstairs now go through to the London and East regional finals day on Sunday 8th March where they will face Essex champions Belhus CC in the semi-final. The winner of that match will qualify for the regional final later in the day, the last hurdle before the national finals day at Lord’s at the end of March.