Broadstairs Cricket Club
Broadstairs Cricket Club
This week the 1st XI welcome Bromley Common, a decent team who were level on points with us. It was a another scorching day at Park Avenue and skipper Matt Hardy won the toss a chose to bat.
Jay Basu & Nathan Fox opened up and after a maiden first over the runs started to flow, the first 10 overs producing 56 runs. Nathan was looking as good as he has done all year and Jay fuelled by a decent breakfast was classy as ever. But with the final delivery of the 15th over, Nathan stopped on his pull shot which resulted in the ball lobbing up for an easy catch. A decent opening partnership of 69, of which Nathan had made 30.
Scott Narraway walked out at 3 and was met with the introduction of the spinners, Jay and Scott kept the score ticking over with Jay reaching his half century in the 19th over. The team 100 came up in the 22nd over, the introduction of spin slowed the scoring rate considerably. Thomas Kaber, the Bromley Common overseas player was a serious chinaman bowler and made scoring runs difficult.
It was Kaber, the leagues top wicket taker who got Jay for a superb 71, adjudged LBW. Four overs later Matt Frewin (2) was caught & bowled by Kaber. Matt Hardy joined Scott, batting seemed to be tough going, the next 10 overs produced just 18 runs. Just after Hardy (10) was bowled by Sharma the 150 was reached in the 42nd over.
George Kidd (18) was straight into the action with a boundary second ball and pushed the tired Narraway to run singles and twos until he was caught at fine leg trying to scoop the ball over the top. This gave Harry Carter & Scott 11 deliveries to try and get us to 200, another 16 runs away.
The final over saw us hit 10 runs, Scott reached his half century when he hit the penultimate delivery to the boundary to finish the innings 52* with Harry 3*.
After the start we had got off to, it was a disappointing total maybe 30/40 short but it was a total and the first time any 1st XI game this year where someone had posted a score above 200.
New ball pair Brad Ellison & Chris Flint started off, Ellison greeted with 2 boundaries from the first 2 deliveries and then close to getting a wicket third ball, the ball dropping right in between 2 fielders but it was Flint, this season’s MVP so far who was bang on the money, beating the edge regularly and in his third over found himself on a hattrick. Firstly Walker (15) feathered one through to Tom Marshall then the very next ball Logan charged down the track took a big swing and succeeded in edging through to Marshall again and for the second time this season we had a chance of a hattrick.
Although it was a better delivery than George’s 2 weeks previous, Kaber played a solid front foot defensive. Very first ball of the next over, Sharma nicked off to Brad and Jay took a nice catch at first slip and after 10 overs the visitors were 42/3.
Father and son Kidd replaced the 2 opening bowlers and George looked threatening right from the first delivery but had to wait until his fourth over before he cleaned up the South African Kaber with an absolute jaffa, swinging in around the bat and just removing the bails. 86/4 after 20 overs, that soon became 101/5 when Chris Kidd bowled Ahuja. The other batsman Roberts, celebrating his 18th birthday was playing nicely, not giving us a chance and managing to hit a couple of maximum out of the ground on his way to his half century in the 30th over. By now Matt Frewin was on and bowling in conjunction with Jay but neither could find a breakthrough.
Roberts and Devonshire were managing to keep us at bay and score frequently, the partnership of 79 in 20 overs
George came back to finish his final three overs and claimed the wicket of Devonshire, now it was getting tight, were we able to get the final 4 wickets or could Roberts win the game for Bromley Common. Flint returned and got the wicket of Draper in the 48th over, caught by Nathan Fox the leagues top catcher. Nathan Fox had the penultimate over but it was 4 leg byes that ended any hope and with the scores tied Roberts hit a single from the first delivery of the final over.
A close battle and one we feel we should and could have won but Roberts played a quality match winning innings of 91*
Next week we travel to top of the league Leeds & Broomfield, but only 24 points separate us.
This week’s MoM is once again Jay, scoring runs for fun (244 in the last 3 innings).
