The Shoreham 1st team were bolstered last Saturday with the return of Steve Arokiasamy and Mark McDonald. After losing the toss for the fifth (or sixth – I forget) time in a row Shoreham were handed the ball. After locking their changing room the team had a huddle, Brownie donned his umpire’s coat, and Ray laid out his coloured pen collection by the scorebook.

Ed (9-53-1) and James (9-45-3) opened the bowling and both found their rhythm. A four and a six in two balls looked like unsettling Ed, but he bowled a juicy full toss the next ball which Krishna snaffled up at square-leg. James then followed suit with the first ball of his next over, thanks to a neat caught-behind by Mark Doughty. Otford were 19-2.

It would be 99 runs until the next wicket, however, as Otford found their stride, taking a liking to Steve’s (2-30-0) bowling especially. Sree (8-35-1) and Krishna (9-39-3) did a superb job of stopping the flow of runs, and I think it was Sree who made the breakthrough with a catch from Andy. Krishna earned himself three wickets, and it was Sam (3-20-1) who eventually got the scalp of Otford’s no.3, who ended on 75.

Otford had kept scoring regularly, though, and finished their innings on 227 for 9. It could have been a lot less if we had held all our catches (no names – or should I say name), but overall we acquitted ourselves well in the field.

Unfortunately, at some point during Otford’s innings they had had all their valuables nicked from their (unlocked) changing rooms. As a result, the police were in attendance for most of the game (taking witness statements etc.) and this meant that we were quite late starting after tea.

Pat and I returned from our jaunt to One Stop with a couple of four packs of Stella, under the impression that we would be spending the rest of the afternoon watching our openers tick off the runs. You can imagine our surprise, upon our return, when we saw our top four batsmen all back in the hutch, with only 8 runs scored between them!

Staring into the jaws of an embarrassing defeat to our local rivals, Krishna (31) and Phil (28) then shared a vital partnership to get Shoreham going again. This was followed by a great stand from James (42) and Sam (41), who incredibly brought us within reach of Otford’s total. James was then given out to Otford’s third successful LBW decision of the afternoon – a statistic that riled the entire Shoreham team.

By now it was getting quite dark, and the match was hanging in the balance. Mark McDonald, who up until now had been doing his usual pacing around in his pads, was suddenly thrust into the limelight – bringing back memories of that game against Weald last year. And, just as in that match, The Crook came through for us in style. He smashed 25no to win the game for Shoreham with 8 balls to spare, aided by two of The Boakes Meadow Massive – Ed (8) and Jack (who faced one ball and survived). A most triumphant ending to an eventful game.

- Ed

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For the third week in a row the Shoreham 1st team lost the toss, but for a change we found ourselves being asked to bowl first. Ed and James opened and kept Flimwell’s runs down, although both remained wicketless when they came off. The masterful introduction of Bob Stacey, however, brought about our first wicket, with Flimwell on 102. Flimwell upped the pace in the second half of their innings, but Bob (9-64-4) and Nigel Jeffrey (8-53-3) ensured that wickets kept falling. We held most of our catches and even got a run-out. Sree bowled 4 overs for 18 runs, and according to the scorebook 10 of these were wides?! Was I just not paying attention because I don’t remember that at all. Jack made up the overs for Shoreham but, because he bought me a drink afterwards, his figures will not be disclosed on this website (N.B. clicking on the link below this report will take you directly to a website, and scorecard, that I have no control over). Flimwell ended on 241 for 8.

After our loss against Ightham the week before, and with the return of some of our big hitters, we were anxious to get some runs on the board again. Sree (42) and Andy (31) destroyed Flimwell’s first over, before settling down into a steady accumulation of runs. Both were eventually caught out though, bringing Andy Glass and Mark Doughty to the crease. Andy continued Shoreham’s run rate, but Mark, unfortunately, was caught without scoring; and, to my knowledge, joins Greg in the fastrack queue for the Duck Cup! Shoreham were 132 for 3, however, after 20 overs. Andy finally succumbed for 46, and Sam was caught on 15. Then The Edge came to the wicket, fresh from his 76 from the Sunday before. Phil spanked the ball so hard that he broke the handle of his bat in the process. James (27) assisted in Shoreham’s last dash for runs, much to the relief of Ed who was up next. Phil secured Shoreham victory with 4 balls to spare, finishing up on 62no. Quality.

Thanks Pat for umpiring.

- Ed

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After losing the toss (again) and being inserted into bat (again), last weekend’s depleted Shoreham 1st team sent Sree and James out to kick off their innings. Facing some swift bowling on a lively track our openers did well to put on 25 and 41 respectively, before both being caught out. Krishna was next in to bat, and he hit a quick fire 26, despite having worked all night long and being due to work the forthcoming night as well. Respect. Nick Walker Jnr blasted 37 before also being caught. After a steady start we had just begun to hit freely, but Ightham kept on taking wickets to halt our momentum. Sam could only reach 9, before being replaced by the in-form Montie, who played some outrageous shots to end on 27no. Martin made a quick 15 alongside him, before making way for a cameo by Ed at the end, who scored 5no from his 3 balls. Shoreham wrapped up their innings with 217 for 6 – a better score than we had hoped for at one point.

Ightham’s batsmen signalled their intent from the word go, dispatching all of Ed’s bad balls to the boundary (the cheek!), as well as a few of James’s. Bob got the breakthrough wicket with a catch from James, and he returned the favour later on by taking a catch off James’s bowling. Ightham continued to score more regularly than Jasplin in Wetherspoons, however, and always looked on top of the run rate. James, bowling at a reduced pace thanks to an injury, still managed to get himself another couple of wickets though, thanks to some solid handy-work from Martin behind the stumps. Martin got his third catch of the game, with one off Sam’s bowling, but the runs kept on coming for the home side. Krishna pulled up with an injury half way through his spell, and had to be replaced by young Harry Stacey – who joined his elder brother, George, and his Dad to make it a trio of Staceys for Shoreham. Unfortunately Ightham didn’t let up, and got the runs with about 3 overs to spare and 5 wickets in hand.

A pleasant pint in their pub was followed by a dash for more familiar surroundings, and an evening of diluted commiseration alongside the 2nd team followed in the George.

Ed

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Chelsfield Park 221 for 3
Shoreham 221 for 4

MATCH TIED!

On the hottest day of the year so far, the now well established Sunday side took to the field in the hope that the winning trend could continue. Little did they know what would follow…I’ve been asked not to mention my own name more than five times, so here goes:

Put into bat on the basis of the home sides bowling, or rather lack of it (the side note here would be that Russell Brookes was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 4-0-20-2). Once their batsmen had settled, it became difficult for the bowling attack to make any inroads, with the only other notable performances being Brad Sims (7-1-33-1) and George Rivett, who bowled tightly in his first spell, but has also put in a request not to have his figures revealed. A home debut to be noted also, as Oliver Haysler, who had figured for the Saturday 2nds a few weeks previously, filled in as part of PDS (Pat’s Development Squad) and cemented his place at fine leg.

This left Chelsfield making a declaration midway through a George Rivett over, which left Shoreham to mull over and reflect upon the innings with a 45 minute Kumar tea (Result!). Maybe this stirred the home side and the influential Captain, as the openers Raymundo and Alex Haysler to make a game of it.

The scoring started steadily, with boundaries coming from either end, before Ray (5) was deceived by the flight of Miles Walker, with the expected ‘I’ll never live this down’ ringing in everyone’s ears as Brad came to the crease. This led to a solid partnership, with some great shots, and a cheeky reverse sweep from Haysler causing Brad to wet himself with laughter. With the departure of Brad (21) The Edge came to the crease, and opened his shoulders, losing two balls and damaging the pavilion no end. This gave Pat the thoughts, nay the possibilities of going for the win. Whilst this was developing, a piece of history was made, with Alex reaching his first half century, eventually departing for 69. After Phil had been bowled for a rapid 76, Sam Trick and Bob Sims were left at the crease to attain the final runs needed for victory. With Sam blasting 2 sixes from the penultimate over, only 7 were needed from the final over. A four and then a single from Sam left Bob needing two off the last delivery. Baited breath, and…

They ran a leg bye, and the game was officially tied. After 80 overs, not a run could separate the two sides, which ended a brilliant game on a beautiful day. Captain Barrett’s side maintained the 100% unbeaten record, and Alex successfully jug dodged, to end an overall great day

N.B. 6.4-0-51-0 (sorry George)

Alex Haysler

Infamy, infamy etc…

History reliably recalls that it was 1872 when a Shoreham umpire last gave two lbw decisions against his own team, dead plumb or not. Who now carries this burden of shame? Read on.

On a scraping-the-barrel kind of weekend, deprived of the services of many of our regulars and of all our dilettante starlets, it was an unfamiliar XI that took the field. Alongside a clutch of regulars, there were the timeless Mick Johnson, the ageless Bob Shapter, the priceless Tim Martin and the beardless David (Son Of Hack), aged 11.

David is a fine asset to us. (I’m sure that I didn’t write this, but every child knows how to word process now).

Anyway, we fielded first and time passed agreeably as Otford’s early batsmen piled on the runs. Pyman scored 94, Paige 12, Bishop 45, and Jeffers 96. After this quartet were gone, we took another four wickets cheaply, and so we claimed some bowling points whilst conceding a total of 304.

Brad was the pick of the bowlers, going for only 5.4 an over and taking two wickets. Bob Shapter and Alex Haysler also took two wickets apiece, and Bob Sims took one.

The eighth wicket was a run out. When Otford’s number 7 tripped and sprawled mid wicket, Mick Johnson’s first, gentlemanly instinct was to go and help him up, but he was reminded from all corners of the field that this is the cut and thrust of the Kent Village League, and – almost apologetically – he removed the bails.

Mick opened our innings with Nick Walker. Unfortunately Nick was out for only 9 and so had plenty of time to umpire. Mick went on to provide the core of our innings until he was seventh out for 90 with the score on 170. Could the tail wag sufficiently to capture another batting point? Indeed it could, with Jon Beard and Bob Sims each scoring exhilarating 24s. The ninth wicket fell with just one ball remaining, so David faced his first ball of competitive cricket, and survived, to deny Otford their final bowling point.

We fell 84 short of Otford’s total, but the 220 that we scored means that the second’s average score for the first three games is over 200, which is in marked contrast to the 40 odd that we managed on our first outing two seasons ago.

Wyn

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