The former Sunday captain Sean Bromfield skippered a very strong Shoreham side against a Locksbottom side which had a number of late drop-outs. Luckily Sean still remembered how to lose the toss and Shoreham were put into bat. Whilst most of the team tried to keep frost bite at bay on the boundary, Sean opened with debutant Alex Strange and both batsmen scored very freely from the off. Sean hadn’t lost his batting prowess and he raced to his half century but was finally caught out on 57. This meant that Alex was joined at the crease by Russell Brooks. Alex got his 50 in emphatic style but Russell was hot on his tails scoring a very quick half century. Alex ended up bowled on 82, Russell finished up with 60 not out and George Stacey chipped in with a classy 7 off of 5 balls. Shoreham finished on 231 for 2 off of their 35 overs (the match had been shortened to a 35 over game due to the bad light).

After consuming a very welcome tea, Shoreham took to the field with as many layers as they could find. Jamie Bromfield (7-1-12-1) opened with Bob Stacey (5-0-21-1) and each took a scalp very economically. Bob was replaced by Dan Setterfield (3-0-12-2) who took two very important wickets whilst keeping the run rate down. Greg Taylor (4-0-15-0) replaced Jamie and showed some impressive bowling skills which were a surprise to most of the team… Kumar (2-0-18-0) had to be persuaded into bowling his two overs which included some close shouts. George Rivett (4-1-5-1) was rewarded with a wicket which I will have to pledge to Kumar due to his diving one handed catch at square leg. George Stacey (3-0-14-0) bowled very well causing the batsmen problems and was replaced by Brad Sims (3-0-8-2) who took two fantastic wickets whilst bowling like a demon. Sean Bromfield (3-0-6-0) joined in the party and pressed the batsmen in the race for the final wickets. Alex Strange (1-0-4-0) bowled very well considering 3 of the 4 runs he conceded came from wides. Locksbottom finished off on 139 for 7 wickets which handed victory to Shoreham by 92 runs due to it being an overs game.

A special mention should go to the fielding of Shoreham which really was top of the range. Both George Rivett and Greg were demonstrating what their huge forearms could achieve and also, where Locksbottom dropped most of the catches that came their way, Shoreham held on to absolutely everything. I’ve already mentioned Kumar’s beauty at square leg but there was also Brad’s catch at keeper which was solid and Jamie Bromfield’s brilliant reaction catch at second slip where he had about half a second to get to it. Bob also took two fantastic catches including their opener who was on 49 at the time. Bob did feel bad for it but in his own words “you can’t drop ‘em can ya?”

This was the last game that Bros. Bromfield would play for us this summer due to Sean’s return to Ireland and Jamie’s travelling commitments. Although they will be missed it was good to see the likes of Alex and George Stacey who look to become regulars in the side. Yes although it was a cold and bitter day, the future looks bright for the Sunday side…

- George

SHOREHAM: 259 FOR 6
ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE: 125 F0R 6

Loosing the toss for the second week in a row Shoreham’s Saturday side were invited to bat, the innings could not have got off to a better start with C Brown putting the golden duck of the previous week behind him by hooking the first ball of the innings for 6. Brown (9) was the first wicket to fall with the score on 22, This brought A Montgomerie to the crease to join Sam Trick and after a partnership of 33 Montgomerie was bowled with 11 runs to his credit. S Trick was joined by P Edge at the crease and they went about consolidating the innings with the biggest partnership of the innings taking place (65) before S Trick fell for 60. James Trick then joined Phil Edge in the middle, but Phil soon joined S Trick back in the hut when he was caught in the deep for 37 which included three 6s and two 4s. J Trick then started to stroke the ball to all parts of the ground capitalising on some wayward bowling and had a worthwhile partnership with Greg Taylor who achieved his highest score of 20 which included his first ever 6. J Asplin (5) and Brad Sims (7 n.o.) stayed with James who continued his fine form with the bat reaching an unbeaten 95 in the final 16 overs which included 16 from the final over to enable Shoreham to reach an imposing score of 259 for 6.

R.N.T got off to a good start plundering 52 runs off of the first 10 overs. Nigel Jeffery (10-3-23-3) claimed 2 quick wickets to reduce the visitors to 59 for 2, removing the opener Morris (20) and the no. 3 for 1. Jeffrey was also unlucky not to pick up more wickets with the R.N.T batsmen playing and missing frequently. Alex Mazzon (6-0-18-1) was brought into the attack and built on his promising debut the previous week picking up a wicket and going close on a number of other occaisions. Brad Sims (4-2-10-1) bowled tightly producing some swinging deliveries and was rewarded with the wicket of opener Lumsden (27) . With the visitors dropping anchor Sam Trick (4-0-16-0) and Phil Edge (3-1-7-0) tried in vain to break the visitors resolution to hold out for a draw. Opening bowler Ed Walker (9-1-41-1) came back into the attack and dislodged Bloom 27 with Jeffrey taking another wicket but the game petered out with the visitors holding on for a draw with their score on 125 with 3 wickets remaining.

- Ray

A relatively youthful Sunday side took to the field on Sunday under the temporary leadership of Nick Walker which got off to a fantastic start as he won the toss only to get confused over what he wanted to do. So, after being mistakenly put into bat, Acme got off to a very good start with the opening ball of the innings being dispatched for a juicy 4 by Johnson (20) off an Ed Walker (9-3-27-2) loosener. The opening partnership of Johnson and Bonner (9) accumulated the runs quickly but were out equally as quickly, both being caught on the boundary off of the bowling of Ed Walker: one of which was taken very nicely by the debutant Alex Mazzon (that’s Mazzon Pat!) Alex (7-0-42-1) continued a lovely start to his debut by taking the wicket of Whining (9) after replaced Nigel (8-0-52-0) at the Pavilion End who had bowled well (although the figures might suggest otherwise!) Barrow (43) joined Bowden (88*) at the crease and they shared a partnership of 98 before Barrow fell to the expert bowling of Nick Walker (3-0-13-1) backed up by a tidy catch by Ray Trick at slip. Dan Setterfield’s devious spin (4-0-29-1) deceived Glitch who was caught in the covers by Mazzon. The innings ended on 227-5 and Shoreham went into a beautiful Rivett tea pondering their chances of success.

Shoreham’s innings got off to a slow but steady start with Alex Haysler (60*) and Ray scoring 42 off the first 18 overs. Ray fell to ‘the growler’ Prest for 26 which brought Nick Walker to the crease. He (13) and Nigel (0) were both bamboozled by the spin of Thompson and Nigel took the opportunity to join the much coveted Duck Cup which is already being fiercely contested. Martin (35) then joined Alex at the crease and the pair shared a partnership of over 70 with both parties playing some fantastic shots (Alex needs to chuck in a few more reverse sweeps though!!) After Martin had been stumped, Ed came to the middle and hit a lovely 6 before departing for 11. Kumar came in and steadied the ship with an expert boundary to end on 5 not out. Shoreham ended up with a losing draw but the bandwagon will continue over to next week when the Sunday team are met with the challenge of St Mary’s and the prospect of watching another Haysler reverse sweep!

- George

Shoreham 220-9
Chelsfield Village 122-8

Shoreham’s Saturday season started in familiar circumstances with James Trick losing the toss and Andy Montieth arriving just 10 minutes after play got under way. Chelfield elected to field in ideal conditions on this sunny afternoon with JD and makeshift opener JT starting off for Shoreham. the pair built a steady opening partnership for Shoreham leading the home side to 93 for the first wicket before JD fell on 34. James continued to his 50 and then increased his strike rate against Chelsfield’s change bowlers to reach 103 before retiring. Andrew Montgomerie (6) batting at 3 became the first of Shoreham destroyer Miles Walker’s first victims when he looped the ball back to the bowler for a simple caught and bowled. Phil Edge soon joined Montie in the prestigious club after becoming Miles’ second victim when he was clean bowled after being deceived in the flight. Andy Monteith (16) was then guilty of ball watching and became James Trick’s first victim of the season after being run out with both batsmen at the same end, Chris Brown replaced the retiring James Trick but was bowled first ball. Sam Trick (16) and some lusty blows from Tom Palmer (11) and James Bromfield (9) helped Shoreham to 220 for 9 at tea.

Chelsfield’s innings got off to a quick fire start with 18 runs coming from the first 2 overs before J Bromfield 0-25 and T Palmer 1-20 got into their rhythm to slow the run rate. J Trick put the pressure on the middle order taking 4-16 with the Edge also chipping in with a wicket (1-9). Shoreham’s fielding performance was aided by good reaction from Bob Stacey and James Asplin leading to two run outs. however despite the efforts of various bowlers to take the final two wickets the game filtered out with Chelfield padding their way to the draw ending on 122-8.

- Ray

Captain Pat Opens The Season

Captain Pat, Captain Pat,
Captain Pat and his floppy white hat.
The season’s just beginning,
All the bird’s are singing.
Pat thinks he’s a very happy man.

It was a lovely day in Shoreham. Everyone was very excited because it was the beginning of the season.
 
There were the Sims. ‘Hello Bob. Hello Brad,’ called Pat cheerily
 
‘Hello Pat!’ They called back together.
 
There was young George Rivett, wearing longer trousers than last year, and next to him was Ed Walker, who has to have really long hair because he’s nearly an artist now.
 
Pat told everyone where he wanted them to stand. ‘Alex, will you be wicket keeper?’ he asked. ‘And stand up’.
 
‘I am standing up!’ piped Alex.
 
Shoreham were playing a team called Betsham. It didn’t look as if they were going to get very many runs because Ed and Nigel were bowling very well. Then Pat decided to let nearly everyone else have a turn at bowling. Most people were very happy because they took a wicket, but Betsham made a lot more runs before Philip Edge took their last three wickets – which made everyone very surprised.
 
Then it was time for tea, which Tom Palmer had made with his girlfriend. There were sandwiches, chicken legs, carrot cake, strawberries on shortbread, and all sorts of things. Tom’s Mum poured out the tea, and then Tom’s girlfriend did all the clearing up, because – Tom said – that’s obviously what girlfriends are meant to do.
 
After tea, it was Shoreham’s turn to bat, and Pat sent out Raymond and Alex. They batted very well and Raymond got the biggest cheer of the day when he called Alex for a second run. They made 52 runs together before Shoreham had what Pat called ‘A bit of a collapse’. Phil, Tom and Ed only scored 7 runs between them. Now it was Pat’s turn.

Captain Pat, Captain Pat,
Captain Pat and his great big bat.
Turns to face the bowlin’
It must have a hole in,
Now he’s got a very long walk back.

Oh dear! Even though Bob and Brad and Nigel and Wyn all got a few runs after that, Shoreham didn’t get enough to win.
 
‘I wish I’d got a cat to kick,’ thought Pat.

Shoreham bowling:

Shoreham batting:

- Wyn

Chevening Amblers 130 for 7
Shoreham 132 for 9
Shoreham win by 1 wicket

After contrasting events for either Saturday side the previous day, the Sunday side were hoping to achieve three goals:

1. Win
2. Make it a ‘crowd pleaser’ in the immediate wake of the ashes triumph
3. Get down the pub as fast as possible

Read on to see if they achieved all three…

Pat won the toss (my sources tell me) and decided to field on a swelteringly hot day, and opened up with Steve and Nigel, who reduced the visitors to 8 for 3 from 6 overs, with Steve (8-6-6-2) bowling with venom and Nigel (5-3-6-1) bowling with Glenn McGrath style accuracy. They were then replaced with Tom Palmer (5-0-22-0) who bowled well with few breaks, except to wonder how the ball didn’t reach any of the fielders, before Alex continued his 100% record with 1 dropped catch on Saturday, and another on Sunday in a similar fashion, in the covers. Jamie Bromfield then struck a crucial breakthrough and set up a good spell for George Rivett (5-1-31-2), which started with 1 over for 15 runs, and the other 4 overs going for only 16 runs with two wickets to bring the score to 100 for 6. Sam Trick (7-1-22-0) then bowled a really tight spell at one end, with Alex Haysler (3-0-17-1) coming on and bowling their slogger with a quicker ball. Debutee Dan James (1-0-6-0) then bowled a tidy over to leave the target at a gettable 131.

After a Trick tea which went down a treat and left some of our senior spectators full (both in stomach and in confidentiality, so don’t worry Brownie), Ray and Nigel took to the crease, scoring quickly to reach 36 in 8 overs before Ray was out to a regulation edge for 10. George Rivett then arrived at the crease, found a hole in his bat, and promptly departed for a Golden duck, which brought Tom Palmer to the crease on a hat-trick ball, which he survived. However, Nigel departed the next over by skying a catch for 24 to leave the hosts struggling at 43 for 3. However, from then on, Tom knuckled down and Alex hung around to pull the home side ever nearer the target, before Domestic Tom departed for a well compiled 33, the top score for the innings. However, Alex then swung from the hip at a straight one and departed for 9, and Captain Pat departed for 1 in an innings where he kept finding that fielder with cover drive after cover drive, to leave Shoreham teetering on 87 for 6.

However, Paul Styles met Jamie Bromfield at the crease and put on a stand which saw them get to within touching distance of that target, with Jamie (16) departing with Shoreham needing 3 an over from the final 10 overs. Steve then met Paul at the crease and blasted 14 (a cry of ’serious beans’ heard from the viewing gallery) before trying to finish the game with a six and leaving Shoreham on 128 for 8. Debutee Dan then departed for a golden to leave the players and spectators alike on the edge of their seats at 128 for 9, just three short of victory. Two overs passed without a run being, which added to the tension from the gallery, before Paul (13*) cut the last ball of the over for four to give Shoreham a tense, although well deserved victory – another good team effort. 2 out of 3 goals ain’t bad.

Alex Haysler

Shoreham 195 for 8
Halstead 150 all out
- Shoreham won by 45 runs

On a hot and humid August Sunday Shoreham looked to get early runs, getting to ten overs with only the loss of Alex Haysler (5). Good contributions were made by Paul Styles (21), new kolpak wicketkeeper Dhana (20) and other debutee James Martin (17) to leave the home side 69 for 4 after 24 overs. Steve met Jamie Bromfield at the crease. After 31 overs, Shoreham were 140 for 4, with Steve (65) and Jamie (32) putting the other batsmen at ease and allowing cameos from George (12) and a comical partnership between Danny Setterfield (6*) and Russell Brooks (5*), with the two of them almost knocking each other over in the middle of the crease, and included Danny hitting a sumptuous cover drive to end the proceedings. The shot of the innings goes to Danny, but for a premeditated defence off a juicy full toss. The elated team were soon tucking into a juicy tea supplied by the Rivett clan, before heading back out in search of those crucial 10 wickets.

Things started well for the home side, with some electric fielding coupled with thunderous pace bowling from openers Steve and Jamie (8-3-18-0) left the opposition miles behind the run rate, and with Steve picking up the first wicket. Dan Setterfield (5-2-6-2) and Alex Haysler (3-0-20-2) then began to bowl in tandem, reducing Halstead to 55 for 6 with some good bowling from Jack Rivett (3-1-6-1). However, the opposition put together a defiant partnership to get Halstead to 120 for 6 (you don’t want another over do you George?) before the breakthrough was achieved by new recruit James Martin (4-0-39-1) with some tight bowling from Captain Pat (2-0-2-0), before Steve (6.1-2-11-4) came back on to clean up the tail. This left the highly successful Sunday side with another momentous victory to add to the collection before heading to the pub to talk about World Economics – ask Pat.

- Alex Haysler