Both Saturday teams had been victorious, and the drink had flowed late into the night at The George. Surely we couldn’t do the treble? The best results the Sunday captain had achieved so far in the season were draws – the only win had been guest-skippered by his illustrious predecessor, Sean Bromfield.

For once, the whole team arrived on time for the 2 o’clock kick- off. But where were the oppo? Had our old rivals bottled it? The two fixture secretaries would later dispute the discrepancy. So it was that after more than an hour in the sweltering sun, the cruel skipper sent in his attack, having won the toss.

Both openers bowled tightly, which was just as well considering the state of both the outfield and the fielders. Ed toiled with a bleeding foot without reward, bowling his 7 overs for only 25 runs. Russell seemed to amaze himself by bowling opening batsman N Leach and conceding only 21 runs in his 7 overs. Greg put in probably his best ever bowling performance, taking 2 wickets – including clean-bowling danger man Grove on 2. His 5 overs cost a miserly 15 runs – most of them coming from his last, exhausted over. But surely the pick of the bowlers was first-change Alex Mazzon, whose figures read 7 overs, 2 maidens, 2 for 13.

With time and wickets running out for Otford in their 35 over innings, it was looking like a walkover was on the cards, so Shoreham’s skipper sportingly decided to spread the bowling around. The effect was predictable, and Otford accelerated to finish on 152 for 7 at tea.

In order to preserve some of his more valuable batsmen, skipper Barrett bravely took to the field with a broken big-toe, a relic from a vicious yorker 2 weeks previously. His history of duck making is, of course, legendary, but so far the Diamond Duck had eluded him. No longer.

He was replaced by Bharat, Walker, Kumar and Brooks who between them managed to advance the score by a whopping 5 runs. Russell even had the decency to get a Golden Duck in order to share the skipper’s embarrassment.

The Chairman and other luminaries looked on in horror as the drama unfolded. They could not understand the high spirits which the team continued to demonstrate. The pile of empty lager cans should have been a clue.

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man, and while everyone around him was losing theirs, opener Mark Richardson was steadily accumulating runs and clichés from the onlookers. A useful partnership with the plucky Joel Hewett put us back in the hunt. Joel departed on 20, bringing man of the day Greg Taylor to the crease. With plenty of overs and daylight to spare Mark and Greg smashed their way to victory, every blow cheered by the increasingly enthusiastic pavilion. Both finished not out on 76 and 30 respectively.

So to The Crown to celebrate what had looked like an unlikely treble and to laud the day’s heroes. Dan serenaded us on the cello and we clapped each other jovially on the back.

And the Man of the Day? Well, sadly Blythe missed both Greg’s bowling and batting performances. When informed by text, she replied: “Damn, I wish I’d left earlier!”

- Pat

It was the inaugural fixture between Shoreham and Matfield Green and most of the side turned up with only 5 minutes to spare thanks to lateness, a lack of petrol and dodgy directions. Captain Barrett lost the toss and Shoreham were put into bat which very rarely happens… and we were about to be reminded why. The opening partnership of Ray Trick and Bob Sims put on 17 before Bob was bowled without scoring by the opener Wright. Wright tore through the Shoreham batting taking 5 wickets for only 14 runs including a triple wicket maiden. Ray finished on 64 and the only other telling contributions were made by Mr Extras who got 20 and Pat who got 4 and a broken toe for his troubles. Shoreham finished on 102 all out after 27.4 overs and were out fielding again before tea.

A lesser team may have been disheartened having put on such a low total but the Sunday side took it in their stride and the sprit was quite jovial in the field. Nigel Jeffrey (8-0-27-0) opened the bowling with Ray (5-0-29-2) and each did their part in keeping the run rate down as well as teaming up to dislodge opener Gilbert bowled Trick caught Jeffrey. Brad Sims was the honorary wicketkeeper for the day but had to leave the field with a suspected broken finger after a fast paced Jeffrey delivery. George Rivett (2-0-8-1) and Greg Taylor (1-0-4-0) took over proceedings and kept the rate low. Kumar (1-0-20-0) and Pat (0.3-0-4-0) finished off the innings with a flourish as Matfield Green reached the total with a good 20 overs to spare and 7 wickets in hand. However, the ground had very good links to the pub which was only a 2 minute walk away. So, the team moved to the pub to nurse their various injuries and for the 4 ducks of the day to drink from the duck cup!

NB Bob’s Duck was mentioned in the report because there was no picture of him!

- George

This fixture is always highly anticipated in the Shoreham calendar as it is one of the oldest and friendliest rivalries we have. Each year Shoreham play the Jolly Rogers for the coveted trophy: The Dosser’s Cup in memory of Colin Boothroyd.

The match saw the triumphant return of vice captain Jack Rivett to the Sunday squad. He and Mazzon (rough translations: Masson, Maszon, Materazzi) opened the bowling for the home side and whilst Mazzon (7-0-22-0) kept the runs down J. Rivett (9-1-32-3) took the wickets. Jack’s wickets came courtesy of a tidy catch from Kumar and two very safe catches from wicket-keeper Richard Nash who kept very well for the second time this season. Ringer Samuel Trick (7-0-29-3) broke down their middle order with some beautiful off-spin. His scalps included the big hitter of L Freeman whom he caught and bowled for a very cheap 19 much to the incredulity of the batsman. Danny Setterfield (7-0-32-0) chipped in with a decent spell from the Pavilion End and an even better tea which was waiting in the wings by the time George Rivett (6-1-9-2) came on to bowl. The smell of tea wafting over the field motivated both him and Haysler (3-0-19-1). Haysler using the hill and some ripping leg spin saw number 8 lose his off stump. Greg Taylor (1-0-1-0) came on for an over at the end having earned his reputation as “Shoreham’s best fielder” as decided by the Jolly Rogers’ batsmen. A stunning bowling display had left the Jolly Rogers on 147 for 9 at tea which gave us what we thought would be a gettable total.

Haysler and Barrett opened the batting but departed fairly quickly getting 4 and 1 respectively. This brought Sam Trick and Richard Nash to the crease. Richard struck three fours before leaving on 12. Debutant Giles Winser then came to the crease after a convincing fielding performance. Giles hit a couple of convincing strokes and supported Sam at the other but ultimately was caught out without scoring. When Taylor (8) and Kumar (1) followed soon after, Shoreham seemed in dire straits at 84 for 6. Mazzon came in to steady the ship and help Sam along to his fifty. However, Sam fell on 55 bringing vice captain Rivett to the crease who only managed 4 before being bowled. Danny Setterfield once again steadied the ship but ended up caught out on 7. This brought number 11 G. Rivett to the crease with 40 to get off of 7 overs. He and Mazzon gave it a go but Mazzon played around a straight one finishing on 12 with Rivett 11 not out. Shoreham fell 28 short of the required total on 120 all out but it was down to the pub to eat too many chips and big up our respective roles in retaining the Dosser’s Cup (it is presented to the losers of the fixture).

- George

“That’s an awful decision by the umpire there.” – Geoffrey Boycott OBE (Sports Commentator)

“It’s bad news for the English game” – Alan Hansen (Sports Commentator)

“Errrr I didn’t see it…” – Arsene Wenger (Manager of Plaxtol CC)

Here is just some of the criticism for an umpiring decision made on a fine summer’s day in Shoreham. It was the first ball of the second over of the game and Brad Sims steamed in to bowl and the batsman for Plaxtol daintily gloved the bowl into the waiting hands of wicketkeeper Nick Pearce. Raucous celebrations were cut short due to an unmoved batsman and a similarly unmoved umpire.

However, we are not a bitter side and the jibes only lasted 8 hours further. The batsman was removed by Sims’ opening partner Tom Palmer (14-2-49-2) after getting 25. The troops were galvanised behind skipper Barrett and it showed as Sims (9-3-37-2) and Palmer removed the top 4 batsmen for under 70 runs. However, this did bring Williams to the crease who hit an unbeaten 97 including a phenomenal 18 fours and he is the main reason for some of the bowling figures looking a bit out of line!! Alex ‘Warney’ Haysler (6-0-45-1) replaced Brad and his leg spin down the hill was rumoured to have turned sideways. It certainly did for one batsman who lost his off peg. Palmer was finally given a rest from what has become known as ‘the Tom Palmer End’ and was replaced with Joel Hewett (3-0-41-0) who struggled to find his line but when he did the batsmen were in trouble. The familiar medium pace partnership of George Rivett (4-0-23-2) and Danny Setterfield (3-0-23-0) brought the batmen some issues although the final wicket stand was a large one with Plaxtol’s number 9 hitting 34 in a quick fashion. Bob Sims (2-0-24-0) took over one end to finish up but the batsmen were chasing everything by this point and they left the field at tea having set the formidable total of 247 for 7.

A Haysler tea, complete with smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls, was just what the doctor ordered to get rid of the dry taste of the hangover that most of the team seemed to be harbouring. The pressure of opening fell to Ray Trick and Bob Sims and Bob was victim of an LBW and left for 2. This brought Nick ‘keeper-batsman’ Pearce to the crease and he and Ray shared a hundred partnership with Nick finishing on 63 and Ray on 54. Shoreham were always behind the run rate but there was an absence of the usual batting collapse. Haysler (4) and Palmer (11) were both disposed of cheaply bringing Jon Beard hobbling to the crease due to an injury acquired earlier in the match. Jon bravely turned down a runner and he decided running between the wickets wasn’t a great idea so he dispatched the bowling to the boundaries instead including a wonderfully timed six. Jon finished and 17 not out and Brad joined him at the crease for a cameo of 0 not out. The match was drawn with Shoreham still needing 80 runs but Shoreham had fared much worse in this fixture in the past and were left feeling content with what they had achieved. So it was down to Ye Olde George Inne to sample many beers from the Beer Festival and relax into the bank holiday weekend…

- George

The Chelsfield Park fixture is awaited in the Shoreham cricketing calendar with anticipation for many different reasons. Last year brought an exciting fixture which ended in a tied game at home and the year before that a very slow scoring game left us with a losing draw away from home. This season didn’t give us either of these results but it was yet again an enticing encounter.

The mercury was hitting 26ºC (or 79ºF if you went to school in the 1960s) and the Shoreham skipper Pat Barrett saw it fit to field first. This would later turn out to be a blessing in disguise but the Shoreham faithful were fighting over the shade for the best part of 3 hours. Ed Walker (8-1-39-0) and Tom Palmer (8-1-30-1) opened the bowling and Palmer managed to break through one opener’s defences with a bouncer which (apparently) hit forearm and looped into the waiting hands of Ray Trick in slip who safely pouched the catch. The batsman was ecstatic to be given out for a single and Palmer and Walker continued to toil away in the heat without any further success. Their replacements, Joel Hewett (5-0-40-0) and Trick (8-2-20-0) bowled just as well as the openers but without any reward except for some nice looking figures. The partnership of Georges, Rivett (6-0-24-1) and Stacey (3-0-15-0), then had a crack and Rivett managed not to drop batsmen no.3 at the second time of asking (this time off his own bowling – Sorry Tom!!) Stacey bowled well with the batsmen not quite sure how to deal with his bowling and the same can be said for his replacement Greg Taylor (3-1-12-0) who once again produced some fine leg spin! Russell Brooks (3-0-20-0) also took up one end and gave the batsmen something to think about. A mention should go to all the fielders who stayed in the baking heat for 45 overs but and special mention goes to Richard Nash who kept very well on an infamously dodgy track.

Tea had never looked so inviting to those who had started to hallucinate in the field. Many of the Shoreham team relaxed into their innings not banking on being called on too soon. There was no such luck, as both openers, Trick and Brooks, fell for ducks and I know Russell won’t mind me saying that he was comprehensively beaten by the pick of the Park’s bowlers: Miles Walker (7-1-18-3). Palmer (7) and Hewett (5) each took a slight stand but Miles and his opening partner Carrett, who also took 3 wickets, could not be kept back. Kumar followed with a duck, Taylor with 5 after being deceived trying to hit Miles and Barrett was run out by Stacey who has inexplicably fallen down the order for next week. Although not for his batting prowess as he scored a deserved joint high score of 13, being joined on that score by Rivett. Nash also chipped in with a useful 11 and Ed Walker brought up the rear with 5 not out after being left alone at the crease by Rivett. So Shoreham collapsed to a score of 64 all out and were comprehensively beaten by Chelsfield Park by 146 runs.

It was down the pub in time to get a few jars in before heading homeward bound. The most exciting event of the day took place here as several underage girls passed in a car and later returned shouting Richard’s name with much enthusiasm. It later turned out they were his pupils but this excuse couldn’t prevent the tirade of rinsing that came his way. Onward to a home tie against Plaxtol next week when we hope it is cooler…

- George

What a win!! No-one thought it would have been so easy in the build-up to the game but it was. Yes, England had thoroughly thrashed Australia and Aussies around the world cried into their baggies. It was left to Shoreham then, to emulate their national side and the game was approached with just that mind set…

Shoreham were put into bat by the visitors and the established opener Haysler yet again took up the mantle, being joined by Bob Sims. Bob departed for a single although he did have to run a three for the energetic young Haysler. Bob’s exit brought Alex Mazzon to the crease who was yet to bat on a Sunday and he produced an impressive display to keep the top order moving. Unfortunately Haysler was taken in by the spin of Burley and a juggling slip catch to depart on 15. The middle order collapse that we know and love inevitably followed although the speed of it this week must be commended. Golden ducks for Dan Setterfield and Tom Palmer gave Burley a hat-trick and Shoreham a headache. It fell to Kumar to stop the rot and he did so but only after a false start trying to walk to the crease without any pads on. Kumar gave the grandstand something to cheer including a juicy 6 into the sightscreen. Mazzon fell to Franklin for an innings high score of 33 bringing Rivett the younger to the crease for a quick 15 (including his first 6) before being bowled. Kumar followed suit shortly afterwards for a personal best of 26. George Stacey and Russell Brooks kept the runs ticking over and each departed for 8. Debutant Joel Hewett delivered some fantastic strokes but fell to LBW on 12 leaving Pat without a partner to play with on a duck-avoiding 2 not out. Mr Extras chipped in with a handy 26 and Shoreham finished on 145 all out which we thought was a defendable total…

The Setterfield tea went down as well as the news of the England game and with an overcast sky the opening bowlers of Palmer (7-1-19-1) and Mazzon (7-0-13-0) looked to get some swing. Tom made the break through in his second over to dismiss Waggoners’ captain Payak for only 4 with a caught and bowled. The catch was straight out of Collingwood’s book and Pat’s jubilation was heard in Otford. Unfortunately from Otford came the noise of rain and after only 9 overs, Shoreham were back in the pavilion drinking tea and musing on which summer sport to play next. However, it would take more than a passing shower to stop this mighty team and indeed the contingent were out again in less than 10 minutes. Haysler (3-0-17-0) and Setterfield (6-0-21-0) replaced the openers and Alex seemed to be attempting to bring the rain back by hurling the ball towards the stratosphere but to no avail. Dan bowled very economically and was unlucky not to be rewarded with a wicket. George Rivett (3-0-22-0) had a go at the batsmen but ended up giving away runs hand over fist and was replaced with George Stacey (2-0-10-0) who faired much better. Bob Sims (2-0-19-0) took over one end and Joel (0.5-0-9-0) produced some impressive bowling at the other but the batting partnership between Franklin (49*) and Dalrymple (68*) consisted of 140 runs and was enough to see Waggoners through to victory with 6 overs to go.

It was an up and down day for the Shoreham team but as the rain finally came down 5 minutes after the game finished, one thing became clear: rain dances don’t work…

- George

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