Shoreham 1st XI - 231-3
Hadlow 1st XI – 38 All Out

Shoreham earned only their third victory of the season with an emphatic win over Hadlow on Saturday, spearheaded by an All-Star performance by Captain James Trick. Shoreham started the day by winning the toss and electing to bat in extreme heat with Andrew Monteith and James Trick opening the batting. The away side got off a scorching start racing to 27 from the first 3 overs before Hadlow settled into their rhythm to claw the run-rate back. Portlock (8-44-0) and Blacklee (9-30-1) bowled economically in the soaring temperatures but it was the introduction of Wash (9-34-1) to the attack that earned Hadlow their first wicket when Monteith was bowled for 18 in the 13th over. The opening pair shared a stand of 73 before Monteith departed with J. Trick looking comfortable at the crease with 43 already to his name. Tim Waymouth came in at three for Shoreham, finding it difficult with the Hadlow bowlers bowling well and he departed for 7 when bowled by Blacklee. However J. Trick was settled in at the other end and had eased past his half century punishing the few loose balls on offer. Sam Trick came in at four with the Shoreham innings needing some rebuilding and had to dig in in the testing conditions. J. and S. Trick batted conservatively with the aim of putting Shoreham in a comfortable position to accelerate the run rate in the final ten overs with the score on 141-2. The third wicket partnership of 115 was finally broken in the 39th over with S. Trick departing for 33 to the bowling of Millen (4-44-1). This bought Phil Edge (17*) to the crease and powerful hitting by himself and J. Trick in the final over and a half saw Shoreham post a score of 231-3 in 40 overs. J. Trick lead from the front and carried his bat ending with 121* to his name.

J. Trick still numb with adrenaline from his batting display took the decision to take the new ball, a decision that looked questionable when Wash (8) dispatched his first two balls for 4’s. But when J. Trick’s third ball ducked in and took the inside edge of Wash’s bat through to the keeper it was evident it was his day. J. Trick’s opening spell of pace bowling left some of the Hadlow batsmen bamboozled with the ball both swinging away and seaming back, tearing through the home side’s top order with figures of 9-16-5. Trick was ably assisted by Nigel Jeffrey who got in on the act taking three wickets for 19 runs from 8 overs; J. Trick never out of the action also took the catch for Jeffrey’s first wicket. Robert Stacey (0.4-0-2) then entered the attack to take the glory of claiming the final two wickets of the Hadlow innings one with his first ball and the second with his fourth. On a day where almost everything went Shoreham’s way an impressive fielding display yielded catches for Andrew Montgomerie and Phil Edge, however the plaudits go to James Trick who put in a captains performance leading Shoreham with both Bat and Ball with Hadlow bowled out for 38 in the 18th over.

- Sam

On a sunny day in Shoreham, Southborough won the toss and elected to bat on a damp wicket. Shoreham’s opening attack of J Trick (7-14-1) and N. Jeffrey (9-32-1) bowled tightly and Jeffrey was rewarded with the opening wicket of Young (15). S. Arokiasamy (9-30-4) came on and took a wicket with his first ball and another soon after. Brown (25) then joined opener Spencer (45) at the crease and shared a good partnership to help rebuild the innings. However some good bowling and sharp catches by Shoreham saw the visiting team bowled out for 138 with B.Stacey taking 3 for 29 from 7.4 overs.

Shoreham’s innings got off to a poor start losing both openers in the second over to P.Grayland (5-14-2). This bought A. Monteith (38) and the inform P Edge (76n.o) to the crease. The pair shared a stand of 88 which included a couple of huge sixes by P.Edge and some sharp singles. Hibbett (6-43-2) picked up a couple of late wickets but the damage was already done as Shoreham eased to victory by 6 wickets in the 30th over

- Sam

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On Shoreham 1st team first visit to Horsmonden they won the toss and decided to bowl on what turned out to be a lively wicket. J. Trick (9-15-0) and N. Jeffrey (9-35-1) opened the bowling for Shoreham and bowled a testing opening spell but failed to take any wickets as the Horsmonden pairing of M. Davis (6) and L. Langridge (26) dug in to see them off. The introduction of S. Arokiasamy (9-38-2) saw the breakthrough for Shoreham as Davis departed with the score on 42 to a sharp catch in the slips. K. Fordham then came to the crease and looked to move the score along with some strong drives which proved to be his downfall as he departed for 10 after being deceived by a slower ball bowled by R. Harris (6-27-2) on his first 11 debut. Harris continued to bustle in and was rewarded with his second wicket of the day when Langridge mistimed the ball to N. Jeffrey in the covers. B. Stacey (7-25-4) replaced Harris for Shoreham and was soon in full flow removing the Horsmonden Skipper, T Walford for 24. Stacey continued to bowl a variation of deliveries which saw his take the wickets of N. Paul (9), Dallocco (21) and Bignall (6) with the aid of catches from Jeffrey and Arokiasamy. The opening bowlers returned for Shoreham in an attempt to take the two remaining Horsmonden wickets which looked possible as Jeffrey bowled S. Stibbs for 9, but Horsonden clung on to end on 151-9 with May (4*) and Blackhall (0*) holding on to deny Shoreham the final bowling point.

After tea S. Kokkiligadda (25) and S. Arokiasamy (17) opened for Shoreham and started aggressively moving the score on to 33 by the 4th over. However May (7-32-3) bowled a tight menacing line for Horsmonden which saw him remove both Shoreham openers and A. Monteith (4) coming in at three. The pressure was starting to build on Shoreham who were in need of some consolidation to their innings which was offered by P. Edge (42) and S. Clarke (23) who shared a partnership of 67 for the 4th wickets. The contrast of Edge’s muscular slap shots and Clarke’s elegant stroke play moved Shoreham into a commanding position but both fell in quick succession to the bowling of Stibbs (4-25-1) and Bignall (3-34-1) respectively. This bought the Trick brothers to the crease with Shoreham needing 20 to win which was achieved in 21.3 overs with J. Trick and S. Trick both ending not out on 16 and 5 respectively.

- Ray

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After last Saturday’s disappointing loss to Groombridge, the Shoreham 1st team were eager to get back to their winning ways against Hadlow. We won the toss and elected to bowl, in spite of the sweltering heat and being one man short for the first half an hour. James (9-38-0) and Nigel (8-48-0) opened our attack but neither could make the breakthrough. It took the introduction of Ed (7-43-3) to finally get the wickets our pressure deserved. Solid catches from Mark D behind the stumps and Mark McD at mid-wicket, as well as an inspired dive from Sam at slip, sent Hadlow’s top three back to the pavilion. Bob (9-42-0) then bowled extremely tightly at his end, and Steve (7-44-1) managed to get us our fourth wicket. This, however, was all our bowlers could muster, as Hadlow’s remaining batsmen ploughed on to reach 221 – which included 28 of our finest extras.

In reply, Mark D (25) and Andy M (13) got us off to a good start, hitting 23 from the first 2 overs of one of Hadlow’s opening bowlers; but finding it difficult to get the other bowler away. This other bowler, Mitchell, ended up with only 15 runs against him after his 9 overs. The trusty Trick duo came in next, and kept Shoreham up with Hadlow’s run rate. Sam departed for 33 and James eventually for 38. Cue The Steve Show. A rapid bash around by Stevo (39) and Krishna (26) brought us within a sniff of victory. However, the drama was not over as Mark McD was caught on 1, and Ed for 2 soon after. Fortunately, the clear-headed Nigel (6no) and pea-headed Jasplin (4no) saw us through without the need for Bob to go out again after having a rather preemptive shower!

A classic session at the George ensued after we had made the journey back from Hadlow; joining the victorious 2nds in celebration, and getting Elvis back on the ghetto blaster. Result.

- Ed

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After winning the toss (no this isn’t a typo, we did actually win it for once) Shoreham decided to have a bowl on this pleasant summer’s day. Ed (9-49-0) and James (9-28-2) both bowled tightly – yes I consider going for anything under 50 tight – and Groombridge began scoring slowly but surely. Their openers were eventually dismissed by James and Krishna (9-37-2), but dropped catches and missed opportunities frustrated the home side. One such opportunity was a clear run-out by Ed, throwing the ball into Mark from short fine leg, but the square leg umpire ruled that he was unsighted (behind Big Phil, of course) and therefore couldn’t possibly give it out. Krishna continued to bowl well, however, and Andy, Krishna and Phil all held catches to keep Groombridge’s run rate down. The visitors had a strong end to their innings, though, ending on 216 for 5 (including 27 extras). Sam (6-41-1), Sree (2-12-0), and Steve ‘The Cat’ (5-33-0) all contributed with the ball.

Sree and Andy marched out to bat after a splendid Trick tea. However, Andy (4) and then Krishna (3), who replaced him, both fell to dubious LBW decisions before they could get going. After the farcical LBW drama at Otford in our last game, we felt pretty hard done by once again. Steve (32) and Phil (27) then upped the rate dramatically, and Sree (45) continued to bat valiantly. Suddenly we were racing past 100. Then Sam and James, who had come to our rescue against Otford with 42 runs a piece, this week both fell for 1. It was now all down to Mark McDonald batting at no.8 (a promotion from last week, oh wait that’s just because Jasplin was back in the team – joining the Boakes Meadow Boys in the tail!) The Crook bashed a succession of boundaries before departing for 14. Then Jasplin (4), Ed (6) and Jack (4no) collectively decided that an early trip to the George was indeed nothing to be ashamed of. Shoreham were bowled out for 149 from 29.4 overs. A heavy session ensued at the pub, and all was forgotten (in the mind of this reporter anyway) on Sunday thanks to the antics at Shoreham’s first ever triangular tournament…

- Ed

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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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