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Tonbridge CC Match Reports 2014

Match Reports - most recent first

20 th September Tonbridge Exiles – Tonbridge Exiles 238-8 dec vs Reigate Priory CC 202 In a great finish to a triumphant season Tonbridge CC’s Sunday team won an entertaining last game at Reigate Priory with opener Dan Bygrave smashing 142 and veteran Nigel Johnstone spinning them to victory taking 6-47. These two were well supported all round with a rousing finale from their popular Kiwi, Jayden Wiggins, who held a stunning caught and bowled to win the match in the last over by 36 runs to complete his highly successful season for Tonbridge. Bygrave started with a straight driven 4 and that set the tone for him to reach a comfortable fifty initially will supported by Zac Rossiter and then skipper Matt Smiles. These two moved the game on at a good pace and Bygrave reached an excellent century after a flurry of powerful driven boundaries. In the rush for quick runs wickets tumbled as Town looked to make hay but Bygrave kept the ship steady and unleashed a series of big sixes to maintain a rate of 7 an over ending on superb 142 before the declaration at 238-8. Skipper Smiles allowed the batsmen to bowl and Reigate got off to a sharp start as Tonbridge dropped a series of chances and were well on course until Wiggins was introduced to stop the runs at one end - even keeper Marshall struggling with his pace on a bouncy hard track. The move brought wickets at the other end as Nigel Johnstone with his first bowl of the season reaped dividends as Reigate looked to plunder his mixed leg breaks and googlies. Getting good turn and finding great rhythm Johnstone lured false shots as Bygrave took two comfortable catches in the deep. At the other end having applied the brakes a series of bowling changes allowed Reigate to step back into the game but there was no stopping Johnstone as he got the Reigate danger men out going for big shots. This included an athletic diving catch from Julius Marshall running back and a sharp low gulley catch from that man Bygrave again. Johnstone was unlucky to have two catches dropped and recorded an impressive 6-47. Wiggins was called up to bowl the last over of the season with one wicket wanted. The ball was rifled back at him and he clung on to the sharp return and celebrated in style in a fitting completion to both his and Tonbridge's best summer.

13 th September KCB Competitions: KRCL T20 Competition Finals Day at The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury  Semi-final v Bromley Common CC – scorecard – TCC won by 110 runs  Final v Frindsbury CC – scorecard –TCC lost by 22 runs  Photos Tonbridge went into the Finals Days of the Kent Regional Cricket League’s T20 cup with a lot of confidence. With both of the club’s sides having won their divisions this year, there was a lot to be optimistic about as they arrived at Kent’s Spitfire Ground and only three teams that could possibly stand in their way. With the first semi-final starting at 9am, the team arrived to see the last hour of the game, and saw a very effective bowling display from cup holders Frindsbury who beat Littlebourne to progress to the final. Tonbridge were set to play Bromley Common in the 2nd semi, and having won the toss, Nadeem Shahzad elected to bat first on a supremely cut pitch. Michael Topham and Chirag Patel had the honour of getting things started, but it didn’t quite go to plan initially. Topham was stumped early on, and with two overs down the score sat on 4 for 1. Patel initially struggled, going without a run in his first ten balls, but one he calmed those nerves with a nicely struck four, he didn’t look back. Combining well with the ever reliable Jayden Wiggins, the two began to strike regular boundaries, taking the score past fifty as the powerplay ended. Despite the field spreading out to the rope, both players continued to find boundaries, and together they took the total beyond one hundred, and brought up their century partnership. Patel soon brought up his fifty, but fell to Tony Docampo for 58 when going for another huge hit. Docampo (3 for 15) soon had his second wicket, bowling Wiggins for 35. Jake Rossiter came in and struck a quick 19, and other contributed down the order, taking Tonbridge to 160 for 6 off their 20 overs. Bromley Common came out swinging, but lost opener Neil Pursey in the first over to Khurram Shahzad. Theeshan Satkunaseelan (26) and Asama Choudhary (18) both battled well to take the score past fifty, but always below the required run rate. Wiggins (1 for 10) first dismissed Choudhary, followed soon after by Matt Smiles (2 for 24) removing Satkunaseelan. These two were the only to get into double figures, as Tonbridge really put the squeeze on. Ben Peters and Nadeem Shahzad both took two wickets, and the run chase ended at the end of the 18th over with the score on 90. Tonbridge qualified for the final by 70 runs. With only twenty minutes rest, Tonbridge lost the toss and were put into the field. Frindsbury won the inaugural tournament in 2013, and it was clear to see why. Most teams in the tournament have been wary of losing wickets in the first six overs, and have perhaps been over cautious, but Frindsbury looked to take advantage of it. Martin Batley was the main target for them at the beginning, hitting 20 off his first over, although David Coyle lost his wicket for 11. Robert Sait (28) and Sam Dudgeon (17) took the score to 62 after 7 overs, before the latter was bowled by Nadeem Shahzad (2 for 22). Shahzad soon had Sait caught on the boundary by Julius Marshall, as Tonbridge looked to bring down the run rate. Sean Holbrook came in as Town were starting to get a grip on the game, and single handedly took the game by the scruff of the neck. His batting partners were keen to give him the strike, and he hit the ball as cleanly as anyone did the whole day. Hitting 43 in the final two overs, Holbrook reached 73 not out off only 37, and took the total to 181. With such a big score to chase, Tonbridge began very positively, scoring 32 off the first three overs without loss. Patel had continued where he had finished in the semi-final, with some powerful hitting, and Topham had also found his stride, launching a huge six into the seated area. The latter fell in the fourth over for 15, bringing Wiggins in to join Patel. The run scoring continued, and Frindsbury began to look a bit worried. The huge breakthrough came at the end of the 9th over, as Patel fell for 44 off only 28 balls. This was followed by Wiggins falling for 11 three balls later to Sam Dudgeon (3 for 35). Needing to rebuild, Julius Marshall hit a huge straight six, and took the total past 100 with the help of Jake Rossiter. He was removed by Dudgeon in the 14th over, and two more wickets fell in the following two overs, including that of Marshall for 26. At 133 for 6 with four overs to go, Tonbridge needed a hero. 49 off 24 balls required. Matt Smiles and Ben Peters rotated the strike well, and ran superbly between the wickets. Town really began to believe when Peters performed an exemplary paddle shot for four. Some excellent tight bowling by Sam Gracey helped to push that run rate up, and with 28 required off 10 balls, Peters was run out for 13. In the same over Smiles was dismissed, effectively ending Tonbridge’s hopes. A tight last over resulted in only two runs, and a final total of 159 for 9. Frindsbury won by 22 runs. It was a fantastic day for all those that took part, as well as the many spectators who came to watch the game. Some fantastic bowling and batting was exhibited, and there is a real appetite to go one better next year.

Well what an end to the season! A terrific day at the T20 finals on the County Ground and well done to all our team, it really was a one hundred percent performance from all of you. It was a clinical performance and win over Bromley Common in the semi-final, I do not think that they knew what had hit them. We batted, bowled and fielded very well indeed. I think it was a little unfortunate that we had to play the final so soon after that game. Frindsbury had 3 hours to recover from their game and we had about 20 minutes. None the less we again performed very well but the last two overs of the Frindsbury innings was the telling part of the game when they reached 181. For much of our innings we were up with the scoring rate but it was not to be. The 160 was still a great effort. Many thanks as well to all our supporters for coming I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did. Incidentally I have looked back in the score books when Tonbridge used to play St Lawrence & Highland Court on the County Ground when in 1970 they got 263 for a few and Tonbridge were all out 153!! My contribution: 2. No wonder I couldn't remember it. Peter French (El Presidente)

Two champion teams wrap up their respective league season with wins! 6 th September Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 192 (45.4 overs) vs Wickham Park CC 1st XI 175 for 9 (46 overs) Tonbridge completed their excellent season with a 17 run victory over Wickham Park. Winning the toss, skipper Julius Marshall elected to bat. With the championship secured, Marshall decided to play around with the batting line-up and give his bowlers a chance to bat. Matthew Smiles and Martin Batley strode to the middle, and got off to a competent start. This ended when Batley was bowled by Toby Amos (3 for 56) who bowled an excellent first spell, and also resulted in the wickets of Nadeem Shahzad and Jayden Wiggins. Smiles looked keen to finish the season off well, and take his chance at the top of the innings. Hitting regular boundaries, Smiles cruised past 50 runs, and looked determined to double that total. Clifford Hayward was proving difficult to get away, mixing his pace and getting some prominent spin off the pitch. He would induce the edge off Smiles, who trotted off for an excellent 62. What is the best way to replace a Smiles? With another one of course! Usual opener Paul Smiles came to the crease, and picked up where his son had left off. Two more wickets for Hayward (4 for 25) had the home side stuck on 94 for 6, and the visitors dreaming of a chance to upset the league winners. Paul Smiles (51 not out) remained patient at the beginning, but began to play aggressively as the overs began to fade away. Support from Chris Sargeant (16) and Chirag Patel (14) helped him to his second fifty of the season, and Tonbridge to an imposing 192 all out. Wickham Park came out looking to be positive, but the opening bowling spells from Shahzad and Sargeant gave them little chance of scoring early runs. Shahzad in particular was looking in deadly form, picking up 3 for 26, but the economical Sargeant (1 for 22) also played his part in building the pressure. Clifford Hayward came to the crease, and looked intent to follow up his excellent bowling spell. Together with fellow wicket taker Toby Amos, the visitors were able to increase the run rate, and take the score past 100. Amos was eventually dismissed for 25 by Jayden Wiggins (3 for 38), but Hayward remained strong. His batting partners began to fall at regular intervals, but Gary George provided some assistance in an explosive 19 not out. Hayward reached his deserved fifty in the penultimate over, finishing on 52 not out, as the visitors fell 18 runs short. It has been an excellent season for Tonbridge, and many standout performances along the way. The batting of Jayden Wiggins has been a big highlight this season, and the club look forward to having him return again next year. Strong seasons from Chirag Patel, Paul Smiles, Ben Morgan, and Michael Topham have also provided an excellent batting unit. Nadeem Shahzad once again finished top of the league wickets with 43 in total. The main bowling attack of Shahzad, Matthew Smiles, Wiggins, and Batley have made it very difficult for teams to score this season. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Bexley Park CC 2nd XI 127 (38.1 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 156 (38.3 overs) League champions Tonbridge finished with a victory by 29 runs against Bexley Park to end in style with their 14th win with only 1 loss all season. Nigel Johnstone (22) and last week’s centurion Jake Rossiter(47) both played well against some of the best bowling encountered all season on a bouncy wicket encouraging the bowlers. Rossiter kept the momentum going with some typically powerful blows and sharp running between the wickets with Steve Allen (22) supporting well as Tonbridge reached a competitive 156. Curnick (3-32) & Sanoon (5-33) both bowled well for the home side. Tonbridge were confident with a strong bowling attack that has been their strength this season aided by some energetic fielding and catching. Openers Duncan Innes, threatening to make his last appearance before retiring and Tony Shepherd offered little respite for the Bexley Park batsmen. Innes with his steady back of length medium pace and Shepherd with his zippy swingers were both a handful picking up early wickets courtesy of two wonderful catches from keeper John Smiles who has been in top form all season and in the outfield from Joe Williams who held a running one handed stunner in the deep. Innes and Shepherd got better and better as they continued but some brave blows from Curnick and obdurate opener Flood (30) showed good resistance. Finally the breakthrough came with Innes's final ball as he bowled Curnick for 28 around his legs finishing with an excellent 4-29. Shepherd with 2-14 from 10 overs was always on top and was unlucky not to reap greater reward. Rossiter was then introduced and his pace was met with equal pace off the bat but a stunning caught & bowled to get rid of Sanoon cut short any thoughts of getting the runs. Ben Peters then accounted for the home skipper. A Rossiter run out, two more good catches by Williams and the introduction of skipper David Blain did the trick as he picked up a wicket with his first ball courtesy of a Johnstone catch. The triumvirate of Ben Peters, Duncan Innes and Tony Shepherd all had excellent seasons finishing level on 27 wickets each and Nick Helyar playing only a handful of matches finished on a creditable 17 wickets with Simmons and Blaine chipping in when required. Chasing mainly low totals all year Tonbridge didn't have to rely on their batting too much but skipper Blain was the leading run scorer closely followed by Johnstone, Rossiter, Peters & Simmons. Tonbridge ran out comfortable winners to complete their best season for a few years and promotion.

31 st August Kent Cricket Board Competitions: KRCL T20 Competition Quarter-final Hartley Country Club T20 XI 103 for 9 (20 overs) vs Tonbridge CC T20 XI 124 for 9 (20 overs) Tonbridge have made it through to the finals day of the KRCL T20 competition on the 13th September at The Spitfire Ground Canterbury, thanks to a 21 run victory over Hartley Country Club. Tonbridge won the toss and decided to bat on a lovely Sunday afternoon at Poplar Meadow. Tournament rules allow any Kent Cricket League players who are 18 or under to play in this tournament, so Hartley loaded the team up with five 1st and 2nd XI players, meaning that this would be a very tough game. Town struggled at the beginning, finding it hard to find the gaps, and resorting to quick singles. Chirag Patel fell in the fourth over with the score only on 11, and both opening bowlers proving difficult to hit. Jayden Wiggins came to the crease to join Julius Marshall, and together they began to push the singles and find the gaps. Marshall was removed for 16 by Ainsley Dummer ( 3 for 32), courtesy of an excellent catch in the deep from Ian Mclean. Dummer took his next two wickets soon after, leaving the hosts struggling on 55 for 4. Wiggins, who has been in excellent form in the T20 competition so far, took it upon himself to accelerate the run rate, with a string of partners’ content to rotate the strike to him. A 34 run 6th wicket partnership with Matt Smiles pushed the total over 100. Smiles was bowled by Jack Laraman (1 for 12 off 4 overs) for 6, and Wiggins was run out soon after for an excellent 59. Mclean returned to take two late wickets as Tonbridge finished on 124 for 9. It was evident from the first innings that fours and sixes were going to be hard to come by. The outfield was running well, but the boundaries were long. The hosts got off to a fantastic start, with Martin Batley (1 for 14 off 4) and Khurram Shehzad (1 for 26 off 4) removing the openers after only three overs. Both bowlers kept things very tight during the fielding restrictions, giving Hartley no freebies at all. Dummer and Laraman took their time to get settled, but looked to rebuild the innings. The bowling change brought about the breakthrough, Dummer (19) knicking off to Michael Topham off the bowling of Matt Smiles, and a valuable wicket maiden. Wiggins was also bowling tight at the other end, and the run rate slowly crept above seven an over. Wiggins completed his four overs for just 21 runs, but Smiles kept one back to bowl near the end. A tight over from Ben Peters was followed by a wicket taking over for skipper Nadeem Shahzad. James Green (26) and Laraman put on 53 for the fourth wicket, but the run rate had risen to around ten an over. When Green was removed the score sat on 96 for 4, but with only two overs left. Smiles (3 for 14 off 4) returned and effectively ended the game. He emphatically bowled two of visitors, and only conceded three runs in the penultimate over. With 26 needed of the final over, it was all on skipper Laraman. The first two balls were played down the ground, and both resulted in the non-striker being run out while pushing for a second. Laraman was finally removed for 33 with only two balls remaining. Shahzad (2 for 13 off 2) finished the match with a dot ball, and Hartley fell short by 22 runs. The draw for the semi-finals will be advised in due course.

30 th August Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Dartfordians CC 1st XI 200 for 8 (46 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 155 (42 overs) Tonbridge are champions of the KRCL Championship West despite a 45 run defeat against second placed Dartfordians. Tonbridge won the toss and elected to bowl, with some slight cloud cover overhead and a strong wind. The visitors kept it tight to begin with, but Dartfordians opener Dan Bygrave soon began to latch onto any width, and impressively began to hit the Tonbridge opening attack. Bygrave single handedly took the score within one hit of fifty, before he was trapped LBW by Matt Smiles for 31. Fellow opener Jon Kellett was soon on his way, expertly stumped by Michael Topham off the bowling of Jayden Wiggins. Chris Nicholson came in looking positive, and put away some lackluster Tonbridge bowling. Together with Sam Brady, they took the score well past one hundred, and a score of 230+ looked on the cards. Nicholson was finally bowled by Nadeem Shahzad for 50, and Brady perished soon after thanks to an excellent one handed catch by Topham off Wiggins (2 for 42). Smiles returned for two final overs, and took two extra wickets to finish with 3 for 31. Some late hitting by Ali Barker (15) and George Wood (14 not out) helped to take the total to 200. Tonbridge got off to a slow start, with the home side giving very little opportunity to score runs. Skipper Harman (2 for 26) was particularly impressive, mixing and excellent line with some solid pace. Wickets began to fall, and before the visitors knew what had hit them, their three top run scorers for the season were back in the pavilion. Paul Smiles and Ben Morgan looked to rebuild the innings as well as increase the run rate. Morgan in particular was very positive, hitting several drives through the covers. At the half way point Tonbridge sat on 72 for 3, and the game was very much in the balance. Soon after drinks, Dartfordians took a grip on the game as Matthew Lanning (2 for 32) had Ben Morgan caught for 37, and Paul Smiles succumbed for 29 in the following over. Needing to rebuild the innings, the visitors had contributions from Chaitanya Kurusala (16), Matt Smiles (19), and Ben Peters (17), but were never able to get close to the target. Results elsewhere meant that Tonbridge will play in the KRCL Premier League next year, and will be able to celebrate after their final game against Wickham Park this weekend. Tonbridge's 2nd XI were also able to secure the KRCL 2B Central title after Kennington conceded the game. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI vs Kennington CC 2nd XI – league match Kennington conceded the match – maximum points to Tonbridge = Tonbridge CC 2nd XI become champions of Kent Regional Cricket League 2B (Central) with one match to go. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 220 for 1 (35 overs) vs Horsmonden 3rd XI 85 (22 overs) – friendly match Congratulations to Jake Rossiter on his maiden century for Tonbridge CC. His 118 not out and David Blain’s 82 not out helped Tonbridge declare on 220 for 1 after 35 overs before Tonbridge scuttled Horsmonden for 85. After winning the toss skipper David Blain decided to bat. Horsmonden immediately got a wicket as opener Tony Shepherd holed out to extra cover for 0. This saw the in-form Jake Rossiter join his skipper and the pair were able to make the most of some loose deliveries in between playing and missing from the opening attack. They soon adjusted however and once they got their eye in they took maximum advantage as they both moved to 40. From this point on however it was the ‘Rossiter Show’ as he launched a series of large sixes and sped on to his maiden hundred in great style. Shepherd also had his car window broken by one of Rossiters sixes to add insult to injury. Rossiter reached his ton with a clipped three through midwicket and scrambled the last run to reach the well-deserved milestone. The pair brought up the double hundred partnership unbeaten on 210 with Blain finding the boundary with superb timing with his late cut proving particularly productive ending on 82 not out and Rossiter 118 not out. Blain declared early at 220-1 to give Horsmonden plenty of time. They were soon struggling against the accuracy of Duncan Innes (2-8) and the pace and excellent bowling of Sarfraz Chaudhry (3-1). Soon the score became 8 for 5 but Sri Tumulun batted well and hit an aggressive 42 with 9 boundaries & last man Driscoll (15). Tonbridge turned to the part time bowling of Ben Hoey, Paul French (3-27) & veteran Nigel Johnstone (2-28) to get the remaining wickets aided once again by 2 stumpings and 2 catches from keeper John Smiles as Horsmonden were all out 85. 23 rd August Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 88 for 2 (16.2 overs) vs Burgess Park CC 1st XI 88 (28.1 overs) In what was billed as their biggest game of the season, Tonbridge came through with an impressive eight wicket victory over Burgess Park. Tonbridge elected to bowl, and were soon into the wickets, with Matt Smiles claiming the wicket of Noham Behzadnia. Fellow opener Martin Batley soon joined the party, removing skipper Delrick Adikari LBW. The pace of the opening bowlers was giving the visitors a lot of issues, and only Samrat Deshmukh (20) could find any runs, although most flew off the edge. Smiles (3 for 24) clean bowled him with a rasping delivery, and kept the pressure on. Batley (3 for 27), not to be outdone, first had Saiful Islam caught in the slips, and then took an excellent one handed caught and bowled effort to reduce the visitors to six down. There was a 1st XI debut wicket for Ben Peters, and Nadeem Shahzad claimed the final victim, leaving Tonbridge chasing 86 for victory. Paul Smiles and Chirag Patel came out firing, looking to take the attack to the opening bowlers. Two huge sixes from Patel (28) forced a change, but Duncan Kasuso claimed his wicket thanks to a routine catch at mid-on. The quick fire partnership of 52 put the game out of doubt, and it would only be a matter of time until Tonbridge took the win. Paul Smiles found the gaps well, finishing on a confidence boosting 28 not out, and Jayden Wiggins continued his excellent season with a punishing 21 not out. Tonbridge lead the Kent Regional Championship West by 26, meaning that a victory at Dartfordians in the next match will secure the title. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Gravesend CC 4th XI 81 (26.1 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 81for 2 (13 overs) With a much depleted side of only 9 men due to holidays Tonbridge 2nd's needed to win to confirm their status as champions elect and maintain their 33 point lead at the top of the table. Tonbridge are on a roller coaster ride and with confidence high they continued their dominance of the division with an emphatic 8 wicket thrashing of Gravesend. With much of their main bowling attack unavailable Tony Shepherd who leads the wicket taking this season was partnered by John Simmons with the new ball and the two of them maintained a stranglehold from the start. Shepherds classy pace down the hill proved too much for the Gravesend top order as he took 3-19 from 9 overs. Simmons's swing & seam repeatedly found the edge and the relentless accuracy was rewarded with 4-23 from 12 overs supported by a stunning stumping by keeper John Smiles whose glove work has been a feature all season. Allied with a sharp run out by skipper David Blain and well supported by all the fielders only two players reached double figures until Blain himself completed the rout taking a wicket with his second ball as Gravesend were dismissed for 81. Tonbridge were determined not to let the opportunity of an emphatic victory slip through their grasp but the early wicket of Joe Williams was a concern. They needn't have worried as Jake Rossiter decided he would take matters into his own hands with his best knock of the season. In a dramatic display of controlled, aggressive hitting, he dispatching anything on his legs high over midwicket and behind square in impressive style. He decimated the Gravesend bowling attack as he smashed a flurry of maximum boundaries in double quick time. Nigel Johnstone had supported Rossiter and fed him the strike as the pair added 70 before he was caught going for the winning hit. Simmons hit his first ball for four to complete the run chase inside 13 overs with Rossiter ending on a match winning 62 not out in an excellent mature exhibition of clean hitting. Tonbridge now only need a handful of points from their last two games to be elected Champions of their league.

16 th August Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 134 for 3 (28.1 overs) vs Old Brockleians CC 1st XI 133 (45.3 overs) Tonbridge made it three wins on the bounce after a comfortable seven wicket victory over struggling Old Brockleians. The home side won the toss and elected to bowl. Matthew Smiles got them off to a perfect start, delivering a wicket maiden in the first over. The Championship West strugglers recovered well though, with Mohammed Amin (19) in particular playing well, and moving the score on to 44 for 1. Three wickets for only four runs changed the game completely, as Smiles (3 for 15) and Jayden Wiggins (2 for 23) ripped through the top order. Nadeem Shahzad’s entrance didn’t help matters at all for Old Brockleians, and he would go on to finish with 3 for 27. Late hitting from Shabir Tarakhil (26) helped to move the score beyond 100, but he perished to the spin of Chaitanya Kurusala late on. The final wicket fell with only three balls remaining, and left Tonbridge chasing 134 for victory. Old Brockleians picked up an early scalp, but were left chasing the ball afterwards. Ben Morgan continued his rich vein of form with a solid 31, but fell to Amin (1 for 26) who was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers. Michael Topham and Jayden Wiggins regularly found the boundary rope, taking the score swiftly past 100. With only eight left for victory, Topham perished for 43, but Wiggins would see it through to the end with another accomplished innings, scoring 44 not out. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Gravesend RF CC 2nd XI vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI Match conceded to Tonbridge CC 2nd XI

15 th August Tonbridge CC – Tonbridge CC 129 for 5 (25 overs) vs Lashings All-Stars 218 for 4 (25 overs) The 15th August saw Tonbridge Cricket Club play hosts to Lashings World XI in a 25 overs a side match. Some of the greatest cricketers of the last twenty years stepped foot in our fair town, and put on a master class of cricket. The event was set up beautifully by an Under 11s junior tournament which was won by Cowdrey CC. A corporate lunch for 200+ people was merely the hors d'oeuvre, with the main course to be served by the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and Geraint Jones. An obligatory toss was won by Lashings captain Phil Defreitas, and he elected to bat. With the watchful eyes of 600+ people on them, Tonbridge took to the field, hoping to end the undefeated streak of the mighty touring side. Twenty four sides from up and down the country had failed previously, could this be a David and Goliath moment? Skipper Martin Batley had the task of sending down the first ball of the day, a nervous waist high full toss which was clipped away for a single by Indian Wasim Jaffer. A cover drive for four, followed by another for two from Australian Ian Harvey really showed the class of the opponents. A large appeal for caught behind was turned down on the last ball of the over, but helped to calm all nerves. The two openers looked comfortable on 32 without loss, until the first breakthrough for Tonbridge. Jayden Wiggins (1 for 33 off 5), in his first over, forced a miscued drive from Jaffer, and there was to be no mistake from Chaitanya Kurusala who took the catch well at deep cover. Jaffer was on his way for 8. The music began to blare over the speakers, and new batsman Brenton Parchment made his way to the crease. Nadeem Shahzad (1 for 16 off 4) soon showed his class, with Parchment also fell for 8, caught by Kurusala again on the cover boundary. With the score on 54 for 2 off 10 overs, the home side would have every reason to feel happy about their work so far. Harvey was ominously poised on 34 not out as South African great Herschelle Gibbs strode to the crease. Looking a bit cagey to begin with against the spin of Khurram Shehzad, Gibbs soon got his score into double figures and never looked back. Both he and Harvey began to hit some very large 6s around the ground, and overs began to go for 18, 15, 14 and so on. Harvey past his 50 first, but Gibbs was not too far behind. Skipper Batley (1 for 25 off 4) returned to the attack, and after being hit by another huge 6, removed Harvey for a brisk 86. This brought in Sri Lankan and Kent legend Aravinda De Silva to the crease, who we are told had not picked up a bat in three years. He and Gibbs were like chalk and cheese. The South African smashed the ball to all parts, and the small Sri Lankan used the pace of the ball to find the gaps. Gibbs was dismissed for 74 in the penultimate over by the returning Matt Smiles (1 for 26 off 3), caught at fly slip by Ben Morgan. Geraint Jones came in at the end and smashed an unbeaten 16, taking the total to 218 for 4. De Silva finished with 22 not out. After a quick turnaround, the Tonbridge batsmen strode to the crease. Chirag Patel face the first ball from Martin Bicknell, pushing it to leg for two runs. Two balls later he was on his way back to the pavilion, caught behind by Jones. Yasir Arafat, still playing for Sussex, had the ball at the other end, and removed Ben Morgan for two as well. At 6 for 2, this was not the start that Town wanted. Michael Topham and Jayden Wiggins had the task of rebuilding the innings, and slowly but surely they helped to take the score past 50. Both players had to withstand a fair amount of pace from Parchment, but put the West Indian to the sword, scoring 40 off his 4 overs. Topham finally fell for 27, bowled by another Kent hero, Mark Ealham. Chaitanya Kurusala joined Wiggins at the crease, and played a very aggressive 19. This was to be Wiggins day though as he passed fifty with another boundary. He finally fell to the slow spin of Aravinda De Silva, but his 62 was greeted by a warm round of applause from the Tonbridge faithful. At the end of the 25 overs, Tonbridge sat on 129, 89 runs short of their illustrious opposition. A superb day was had by all in attendance, and the event has raised some funds for the cricket club. Discussions have already begun about a repeat fixture next year.

7 th August Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Old Brockleians CC 1st XI 75 (25.4 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 76 for 4 (17.1 overs) Tonbridge celebrated back to back victories with a comfortable six wicket victory over struggling Old Brockleians. Tonbridge won the toss and decided to put the home side in to bat. They were instantly rewarded when Matt Smiles trapped opener Gary Coasby for LBW in the second over, and Martin Batley picked up fellow opener Julien Crawford in the third. Jon Harper showed some resistance for the hosts, scoring a quick 21, but he would be the only player to reach double figures. When he was bowled by Smiles (2 for 24), Old Brockleians collapsed dramatically. Jayden Wiggins was the main protagonist, bowling with real pace and bounce. Tonbridge were superb in the field, personified by Chaitanya Kurusala who took a fantastic catch in the deep. Wiggins continued to decimate everything in his path, and one he removed Nick Fitfield for a duck, he had his first five wicket haul for Tonbridge. Nadeem Shahzad (2 for 8) came on late to pick up two wickets, but Wiggins’ figures of 5 for 15 stole the show. Set 76 to win, the visitors started well, especially stand-in skipper Chirag Patel. He had moved onto 13 in no time, but was harshly given out caught behind. Shabir Tarakhill (3 for 19) bowled superbly, and soon had two more wickets, including Ben Morgan for 14. When Wiggins was bowled by Dwayne Challender, the home side were eyeing up a surprise victory. Unfortunately for them, Paul Smiles dug in his heels for a steady 10, and Kurusala hit an explosive 20 not out, handing Tonbridge a six wicket victory. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 113 (40 overs) vs Bearsted CC 2nd XI 43 (33.1 overs)

2 nd August Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Lessa Christ Church CC 1st XI 66 (21.1 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 223 for 3 (36 overs) Tonbridge rebounded well from defeat of previous week, securing a convincing 157 run victory over Lessa Christ Church. Put into bat, Tonbridge got off to a very quick start in a game reduced to 36 overs a side. Chirag Patel was the man to score the early runs, something he has done on many occasions this season. Hitting regular boundaries, Patel raced to 32, but fell LBW to Abhishek Puri. At the other end, Ben Morgan began to rack up the runs, rotating the strike well, and hitting the bad ball. With the score on 82, the visitors lost their second wicket, Michael Topham falling for 12. This brought Jayden Wiggins to the crease. With elegance and poise, Wiggins effortlessly adapted to the peculiar bounce of the pitch, and regularly cut the ball for four. Morgan was soon past 50 for the first time this season, and Wiggins was not too far behind. Multiple bowling changes were made, but all failed, with both men starting to trade boundaries. Morgan was finally dismissed for 84 in the final over by Puri (2 for 25), who was the pick of the bowlers. Wiggins stroked his final few runs, finishing on a rapid 81 not out, and leaving 224 for victory. The home side came out swinging, but missed far more than they could hit. Chris Sargeant provided a perfect option for Tonbridge, finding extra bounce which Lessa Christ Church never quite worked out. He picked up a wicket in the second over of the innings, and that got the ball rolling. Martin Batley was soon in on the act, and had Ben Morgan to thanks for a tricky slip catch. Sargeant picked up two further wickets, one of which was well caught by Paul French. Batley (3 for 20) matched him stride for stride, picking up two more himself, and almost claiming a hat trick. Abhishek Puri followed up his good bowling spell with a spirited 24, but became the fifth wicket for Sargeant (5 for 18). Nadeem Shahzad claimed 2 for 0 at the end to finish off the innings, and give Tonbridge their largest win of the season. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 175 (44.4 overs) vs Cobham CC 2nd XI 115 (40.4 overs) Tonbridge 2's chalked up yet another convincing win, this time over a decent Cobham side. Ultimately, what made the difference is the fact Tonbridge had 5 good bowlers, whereas Cobham were trying to find a 4th one. That gap enabled the Tonbridge batsmen to score healthily against that 4th bowler, which in the end made the difference. Dave Blain won the toss and chose to bat first, on a good looking track. The opening bowlers were tidy and gave little away. Before long Dave Blain was out and in his place entered Nigel Johnstone. Both him and Zac Rossiter played cautiously until the change bowler came on, at which point the run rate went up considerably. When Zac was out for a patient 26, Tony Shepherd came in, shortly followed by Nick Helyar (after Nigel was out sweeping for a well-made 37). At this point the 2 batsmen were looking to be adventurous, but the Cobham bowlers were once again tight and bowling a decent line and length. Shepherd would be first to fall for 26 as both batsmen went to up the run rate. With 10 overs to go, and on 150 for 4, the target was to set a score of 200. Alas, once again, the middle and lower order failed to deliver and Nick Helyar was last man out for 37. A score of 175 was below par on a decent wicket. The Cobham reply started in earnest, as Helyar was driven through mid-on twice for 4. At the other end, Duncan Innes bowled his usual miserly self, 7.4 overs, 2 for 15. Helyar was unlucky not pick up more wickets and deserved better than 8 overs, 1 for 31. However, Shepherd bowled with pace and movement and rattled his way through the main bulk of the side, as he claimed season best figures of 12 overs, 5 for 28. Ben Peters bowled much better this week too, picking up a couple of valuable wickets at crucial times.

26 th July Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 135 (45 overs) vs Hartley Country Club CC 3rd XI 136 for 6 (30.3 overs) Tonbridge remain top of the Kent Regional Championship West league despite a four wicket defeat against Hartley Country Club. Hartley won the toss and put the home side in to bat, and were instantly rewarded with the early wickets of Chirag Patel and Ben Morgan. Michael Topham and Jayden Wiggins helped to stabilise the innings, and together took Tonbridge past the 50 mark. Topham (27) was dismissed by Thomas Glass-Burgess (2 for 27), and two further wickets fell soon after. It was the job of Wiggins and Chaitanya Kurusala to rebuild the innings again for Tonbridge. After taking the score to 95, Steve Barnett (4 for 28) struck twice in an over, removing Wiggins for 28, and Matt Smiles for 0. Kurusala pushed the score over 100, but soon fell to Barnett for 35. The tail had a slight wag and helped to take the total to an under par 135 all out. Tonbridge got off to a good start, picking up two early wickets. Opener Stuart Semple (32) stuck to his guns and thwarted the Tonbridge attempts to dismiss him. Two quick wickets from Nadeem Shahzad (2 for 41) brought the home side back into contention, but Clive Green (32 not out) and Paul Westerman (24) took the game away from Town with a confident partnership. Matt Smiles (2 for 24) returned to dismiss Westerman, but it was too late for the league leaders. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Belvedere CC 2nd XI 94 (40.3 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 34 (20.3 overs) A bad day at the office when a depleted top of the table Tonbridge lost their unbeaten record this season with a spectacular collapse away at Belvedere on Saturday. It all started very well as Tonbridge’s' Tony Shepherd (4-21 off 12 overs) and Duncan Innes were virtually unplayable as Belvedere themselves were 34-7 after 24 overs. Innes was at his miserly best and had the spectacular figures of 2-5 from 12 overs opening with an amazing 9 consecutive maidens. However Tonbridge’s weakened second string bowling gave away runs as Peter Bourn slowly eked out 30 runs. John Simmons then took 3-17 to mop up the tail and dismiss Belvedere for 94 in a long hot 40 overs. Confident of recording their 12th win of the season, Tonbridge set off only to lose skipper David Blain early on followed next ball by Steve Allen. With an inexperienced batting line up Town were in trouble against some testing bowling from Kennett (5-14) & Patel (5-13) who recorded an all-bowled hat-trick and they collapsed in spectacular fashion all out for 34. Tonbridge however still lead the division by 11 points

19 th July Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Simba CC 1st XI 114 (34.5 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 116 for 9 (35.3 overs) Tonbridge recorded their fourth, and most important victory in a row in a thrilling match against third placed Simba. With skipper Julius Marshall absent, Chirag Patel took charge and won the toss. Simba were put in to bat on a muddy looking wicket with a very soft top after the overnight rain. With more rain beckoning, the game was reduced to 36 overs per side. It was apparent from the first ball that this was not going to be a day for the batsman, with the ball rearing up off a good length. The home side came out the blocks fast, knowing that every run would be vital. The breakthrough came in only the second over, with Jason Davie taking a sharp low catch off the bowling of Matt Smiles. Simba skipper Philip Wright was the victim, falling for 12. Smiles struck again in his next over thanks to a stunning catch in the slips by Ben Morgan. Martin Batley got in on the act in the next over, removing the dangerous Bobby Lloyd, taken by keeper Marc Newbould. With the score on 20 for 3, this looked as though it would be an easy game for the visitors. Mohan Hesi Thomas (13) and Bryan Smith(14) steadied the ship, before the former fell to Nadeem Shahzad in his first over. Smith fell soon after, trapped LBW to Smiles who finished with 3 for 28 off his 9 overs. Many other batsmen got into double figures, but struggled with the pitch, and the quality of the Tonbridge bowling. Shahzad picked up two further wickets, and finished with 3 for 17. Ben Morgan also bowled very well, using his height to force pop off the wicket, and in doing so collected 2 for 32. Martin Rowe top scored with 15 despite being the number 11, but when he was dismissed, a target of 115 was set. Tonbridge saw how hard it was from the beginning, and lost Ben Morgan with only 5 on the board. Michael Topham was unlucky to be run out at the non-strikers end, leaving the visitors at 13 for 2. Chirag Patel (14) looked to continue his fine form for the season, but was bowled by Bryan Smith (2 for 22) with the score on 30. Tonbridge continued to lose consistent wickets, in part due to the great bowling of Philip Wright (2 for 17), and found themselves on 46 for 6. Marc Newbould looked to follow up his three catches and a stumping, and together with Matt Smiles they put an end to the consistent run of wickets. With the score on 61, Newbould was bowled, bringing Nadeem Shahzad to the crease. Playing aggressively, Shahzad looked to be a bit more aggressive than the batsmen before, and blended well with Smiles who was happy to rotate the strike. The two put on 35 for the eighth wicket, ending when Smiles was trapped LBW to Victor Rowe (2 for 9). When Rowe picked up his second wicket, Tonbridge required a further 12 for victory. Paul French held firm at one end, leaving Shahzad as the man to score the runs, as he twice reduced the target by four runs with blistering drives. Needing three to win in the penultimate over, Shahzad unleashed an almighty drive over cover, winning the game for Tonbridge, and giving them a maximum of 20 point. Shahzad’s 43 not out was the highest individual score of the game by 28 runs, which showed how superb the innings was. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 42 for 2 (12.3 overs) vs Borstal CC 2nd XI 39 (24.2 overs) Tonbridge 2nd XI remain unbeaten this season and stand clear at the top of the division after another dominating display by the bowlers as they dismissed Borstal for 39 with their 10th win of the campaign. On a beautiful firm batting wicket at Poplar Meadow offering a little to the seam bowlers Nick Helyar and Duncan Innes once again took total control. Innes with an economy rate of 2 runs per over this season was impossible to score against with his unwavering line & length whilst Nick Helyar was the perfect foil with some pace and bounce and movement both ways. It initially looked like not being Tonbridge's day as 5 early chances clumsily went begging and a couple of easy run outs were missed. Innes however soon decided to take matters into his own hands and bowled opener Amijee with a beauty to get the ball rolling. Helyar followed suit with a well taken catch by Nigel Johnstone and Innes again took the middle stump of top scorer Harding who went for 10. Therein followed a procession of hapless victims as the duo competed over the spoils like greedy vultures gate-crashing a tea party. Innes finished with 3-16 from his 12 over allocation but Helyar continued his fine run with another 5 wicket haul - this time collecting 5-17 from 10 overs in the sapping heat. Jake Rossiter took over and bowled some seriously quick deliveries well kept out by the young Borstal tailenders before one nicked off to John Simmons at gulley. Steve Allen joined the party and with his second ball speared one into the last man's middle stump as Borstal were all out 39. In reply Tonbridge (42-2) knocked off the runs for the loss of Allen (10) and Williams (0) in the face of some impeccable left arm pace bowling from skipper Adam Mahomed. Simmons (16 not out) and Zac Rossiter (10 not out) then quickly completed the game with an imperious on drive to the boundary by Rossiter sealing an emphatic win in 12 overs.

12 th July Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 144 (43 overs) vs Pembury CC 1st XI 143 (48.3 overs) Tonbridge staged a remarkable comeback, winning by a single run against local rivals Pembury. Tonbridge were inserted to bat on a damp pitch which was drying up in the afternoon sunshine. As per usual, they came flying out the traps. Chirag Patel has consistently looked to force the openers off this season, and his attacking style once again paid dividends as the home side raced to 34 without loss. Two wickets in two balls from James Moysey (2 for 43) helped Pembury to restore some balance to the game, but with Patel now in full swing, the run rate began to climb towards six an over. Jayden Wiggins continued his impressive form, hitting effortless boundaries, and putting on 58 with Patel. The Pembury skipper Richard Dawes (3 for 26) changed the game with some excellent bowling as he first removed Wiggins for 34, and then Patel caught in the deep for 46. Sitting on 110 for 6, Jason Davie played patiently, and waited for the bad ball. That “bad ball” became far less frequent, and debutant Jonathan Malan never once waivered from his incredible line, and frustrated the Tonbridge batsmen. With the score on 140 for 6, Malan first removed Davie for 21, and then picked up two further wickets as he finished with figures of 3 for 12 off 11 overs. Mark Parsons also got in on the act, taking 2 for 3, as Tonbridge crumbled to 144 all out of 43 overs. Given 49 overs to score the runs, Pembury started with only ten batsmen due to an injury, but with 49 overs to score 145. Tonbridge needed early wickets, and were rewarded as Jayden Wiggins reduced the visitors to 8 for 2. Wiggins bowled his best spell all season, giving no width at all, and repeatedly making the batsman miss. A third wicket reduced Pembury to 28 for 3, and left him with figures of 3 for 10 off 12 overs. Richard Dawes and Jonathan Malan followed up their excellent bowling with defiant batting, and looked to rebuild their team’s innings. With the score on 73 for 3, it took an excellent low catch for Chaitanya Kurusala off the bowling of Nadeem Shahzad to get the home side going. Andrew Dawes replaced Richard and continued to score runs with Malan, who began to pick up his run rate. With the score sitting on 124 for 4, and only 21 runs required off 8 overs, it was Pembury’s game to lose. Malan reached an excellent debut 50 for his club, but played one big shot too many, as he was well caught in the deep by Jason Davie off the bowling of Shahzad. The returning Martin Batley got in on the act in the next over, bowling Nick Forward for a duck, taking the score to 125 for 6. 20 runs required off 6 overs. All the while, Andrew Dawes did well to rotate the strike and pick up important twos, but he was running out of partners. Together with Mark Parsons they took the score to 137 for 6, but Parsons was bowled by Batley at the end of the 47th over. 8 needed off 2 overs, with 2 wickets remaining. A bye and a two later, Shahzad (3 for 35) bowled Joshua Knight to leave Pembury with one wicket left, although a bye on the last put new bat James Moysey on strike. 141 for 8, 4 needed to win. With the field out protecting the boundary, two singles were exchanged in the first two balls, taking the score for 143, 2 runs needed off 4 balls. The field was brought in to put pressure on Moysey, and it worked. A full delivery from Batley (3 for 27) was driven into the grateful hands of Paul Smiles at mid-off, thus completing a stunning comeback, and the victory by a solitary run. Dawes finished on 28 not out. Second placed Dartfordians lost by two runs on the same day, making victory that little bit sweeter. Tonbridge next travel to third place Simba, looking to take their winning run to four games. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Sherwood CC 2nd XI 50 (20.3 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 155 for 9 (46 overs) Sherwood were blown away by some stunning career-best bowling on Saturday by Tonbridge's Nick Helyar as Tonbridge 2nd XI continued their unbeaten season with a convincing 9th successive victory by 105 runs over their nearest league rivals. Put in on a damp slow wicket with tennis ball bounce the Tonbridge batsmen initially struggled to dominate some accurate tight bowling coupled with aggressive sharp fielding from a pumped up Sherwood side anxious to close the gap on the league leaders. David Blain continued his good form with 18, Nigel Johnstone (17), John Simmons (16) all assisted in keeping them at bay but it was some big hitting from Nick Helyar with 29 that helped move the run rate and some late clean blows from big Ben Peters with 31 not out at the end that gained Town some vague respectability at 155-9. Sherwood were confident of chasing down this meagre total on a drying pitch that had eased in the afternoon sun but it was to be Helyars day. Bowling down the hill with pace and movement off a perfect length he blew away the previously prolific Sherwood top order taking the first 7 wickets to fall as only one batsman reached double figures in an astonishing spell of seam bowling. Aided by some sharp catching from keeper John Smiles, Sherwood were 20-5 in short time. At the other end Duncan Innes probed away with his teasing short of a length medium pace giving nothing away. With Helyar threatening with every ball to take all 10 wickets against a strong batting line up Matt Rossiter took the sharpest of reflex catches at slip to get Innes into the wickets and he promptly took the last two aided by an excellent outfield catch from Jake Rossiter diving at mid-on as he finished with 3-14 from 10 overs whilst Helyar ended with his best ever return of 7-34 from 10 excellent overs as Sherwood were dismissed for 50 exactly.

5 th July Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Wickham Park CC 1st XI 166 for 7 (40 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 167 for 7 (32.5 overs) The captains agreed to reduce the game to 40 overs a side and Julius Marshall elected to field first. The opening pair of Rickford Lord (16) and Godfrey Parris (34) got the home side off to a slow, but solid start. Once Lord was dismissed by Jayden Wiggins, Parris started to hit out with a degree of success. He was eventually bowled by Nadeem Shahzad, who continued his rich vein of form, and was almost unplayable at times. Between him and Wiggins, West Wickham struggled to accelerate the run rate, although Neil Latterman did have an explosive, yet short innings of 21. Shahzad continued to take wickets, and finished off with 4 for 22 off his 10 overs. Wiggins also picked up impressive figures of 3 for 46. Gary George proved difficult to dislodge, and remained undefeated on 31. Set 167 to win, the visitors started positively, but lost Chirag Patel to James Reid in the fourth over. Needing to find a few more early wickets, West Wickham were held off by Paul Smiles and Michael Topham. Both played freely, and picked off the bad ball whenever it came. Town looked very comfortable at 57 for 1, before Smiles was trapped LBW for 22 off the bowling of Toby Amos (2 for 40). Jayden Wiggins (15) and Ben Morgan (22) both put on partnerships with Topham to take the score to 122 for 3, and put the game firmly in the hands of the visitors. The decision to bring the opening bowlers back on turned the game. Martin Crowther dismissed Morgan, and next over Reid (4 for 38) dismissed the danger man Topham for 40. When Reid had Marshall trapped LBW, Tonbridge sat on 135 for 6, needing another 32 for victory. Chaitanya Kurusala and Matthew Smiles calmed the nerves, putting on 26 to take the visitors close to the target. Kurusala was harshly given out caught behind off Reid, when it was an obvious bump ball. It had no effect on the result, as Matthew Smiles (17 not out) finished off the game with a straight drive for four runs, giving Tonbridge 18 points. Tonbridge entertain Pembury this coming weekend looking to extend their lead at the top of the table. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 244 for 4 (40 overs) vs Bexley Park CC 2nd XI 53 (21.1 overs)

28 th June Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 85 for 2 (13 overs) vs Bexley Park CC 1st XI 84 (26 overs) Tonbridge celebrated a comprehensive victory last weekend over Bexley Park. Before the game began, the captain’s agreed to reduce the game to 36 overs per side, sighting the bad weather forecast. Julius Marshall won the toss and put the visitors in to bat. Town immediately put the Bexley Park batsmen under pressure, making excellent use of the quick pitch. Matthew Smiles was the one to make the early breakthrough with a beautiful out swinging delivery, and from there on Tonbridge never looked back. Martin Batley soon got in on the act, bowling the opposition skipper Martin Hellmuth for only 6. Mubbasher Riaz came in all guns blazing, and was fortunate to get to 15, before also falling victim to Batley who finished with 3 for 30. Smiles had a long duel with Desmond Hewagama, who repeatedly played and missed. He finally bowled him out with a peach of a delivery, and finished with 2 for 13. Shaun Hellmuth decided to swing from the hip, and took it to the Tonbridge bowlers. His 31 was the only positive for the visitors, but Nadeem Shahzad put an end to his innings. Shahzad, who picked up six in the first games against the opponents, was keen to increase his wicket tally for the season. Bexley Park really struggled to hit him off the square, and were perhaps a bit surprised by the extra pace off the deck. He finished with figures of 4 for 14, taking him to the top of the wickets in the league, and setting Tonbridge a target of 85 for victory. As rain fell gently over tea, covers were put on the pitch, but were soon removed. Tonbridge wanted to put the game to bed early, and Chirag Patel (23) made his intentions clear from the first ball. When he and Paul Smiles were dismissed, Michael Topham and Jayden Wiggins came in to finish the game. Both were very mindful of the weather, but still hit their boundaries with style and grace. Tonbridge got to the required target after 13 overs and collected the full 20 points. Tonbridge sit top of the table at the moment, 5 points clear and with a game in hand. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Kennington CC 2nd XI 60 (24.4 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 61 for 1 (15 overs) In a sublime 10-man team performance with every player contributing, Tonbridge bowled and fielded with keen aggression to put their hosts, Kennington under pressure from the start. Stand in skipper Jake Rossiter intuitively invited the opposition to bat and immediately his decision paid dividends as Duncan Innes remorselessly pinned the openers down and Rossiter himself hit the deck hard with some accurate pace. Nigel Johnstone effortlessly picked up a cool catch at square leg off Innes (1-18) and skipper Prior was picked up at gulley by John Simmons. Rossiter was well rewarded and collected 2-12 aided by more catches from Johnstone, snapping a smart low catch at short extra cover and Simmons before making a double bowling change at 25-3. This brought on Ben Peters, who has made an impressive impact in his debut season and the experienced Tony Shepherd with the opposition finding no answer to their spin / swing combination. Shepherd (1-6 from 5 overs) was unplayable seaming at pace once a belligerent Peter Jackson (27) had been dismissed trying a huge hit off Peters and catching a high flying edge to be caught behind the keeper. Peters however was a class above the hapless incoming batsmen as he dissected his victims with a range of spin, bounce and changing pace ending with an impressive 6 for 21 in 7.4 overs. These two were well backed up by more great catching by keeper John Smiles, who has hardly dropped a thing all season, Steve Allen with a nonchalant one handed pluck out of the air from a well struck sweep behind square and Matt Rossiter. Kennington all out for 60. With a short rain delay leaving Tonbridge 10 overs before scheduled tea Zach Rossiter (12) looked solid with the immovable Johnstone who is in the runs this season. The opening pair looked to have the game comfortably under control before Rossiter junior decided to have a swing the ball before tea and was well caught at gulley with Tonbridge on 31. After tea Simmons (25 not out) got hold of the bowling with a flurry of boundaries including a sizeable six into the neighbouring gardens and quickly completed a satisfactory win by 9 wickets with Johnstone (17 not out) steering the Town to an easy victory. With their competitors dropping points Tonbridge sit clear of the league unbeaten this season.

21 st June Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Burgess Park CC 1st XI 296 for 8 (46 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 178 (35.4 overs) On the field of play the scores were as above and below is the report of the said match. HOWEVER, the league has awarded the match to Tonbridge CC with the following statement on the league website: PENALTY POINTS (-5) ALLOCATED TO BURGESS PARK ACADEMY. RESULT NOT INPUT UNTIL WEDNESDAY PM. Penalty administered by Brian Smith on behalf of KRCL Committee 25/06/14. ** BURGESS PARK ACADEMY CC GUILTY OF PLAYING AN UNREGISTERED PLAYER UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME. MATCH AWARDED TO THE TONBRIDGE CC UNDER RULE 17.20. A FURTHER 10 POINT PENALTY ENFORCED AS 2ND REGISTRATION OFFENCE BY BURGESS PARK ACADEMY CC THIS SEASON. KRCL COMMITTEE DECISION IS FINAL. BRIAN SMITH 26/06/14** Unsure Player = Naveed Rana (currently registered to Roan & Lambethans) Tonbridge’s hopes of a fourth successive win were comprehensively dashed as they lost by 118 runs to Burgess Park.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat on a Caribbean styled wicket, dusty but reasonably firm. Burgess started off well, hitting regular boundaries in the first few overs. They were soon pegged back by the bowling of Martin Batley (2 for 48), who took two quick wickets. This brought Samrat Deshmukh to the crease, and although he looked a bit shaky to begin with, he had a big hit in his armoury. He was soon joined by Noham Behzadnia, and between them they took the score past 100 in no time. Deshmukh in particular began to hit his stride, and mixed his 4s and 6s throughout the innings. He soon passed 50, and the pressure of the run scoring seriously affected the fielding, with many routine stops being fumbled. The breakthrough finally came, with Behzadnia trapped LBW by Jayden Wiggins for 45. Any hopes that Tonbridge had of limiting the score were dashed, with Naveed Rana hitting a powerful 49. Deshmukh began to slow his scoring down as he edges towards his century, but with ten overs left he began to power back up, and eventually got to his 100. Matthew Smiles returned to limit the scoring, and took two late wickets, including that of Deshmukh for 124 on the final ball. Set 297 to win, Tonbridge looked to score early runs, but lost Paul Smiles to some excellent bowling by Ali Hussain (3 for 31). Chirag Patel got Tonbridge rolling, playing some Twenty20 cricket, before also perishing to Hussain for 30. Jayden Wiggins (29) and Julius Marshall (25) helped to stabilise the innings, but the visitors desperately needed someone to make a big score. Both fell to pace bowler Ian Toppin (3 for 50), and with that the Tonbridge challenge ended. Some late hitting from Martin Batley (25) took the score over 150, but Town were comprehensively beaten on this day. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 206 (45.3 overs) vs Gravesend CC 4th XI 153 (39.3 overs) Stand in skipper Jake Rossiter with a weakened Tonbridge side this week opted to bat first on beautiful wicket at Poplar Meadow. The ground looked glorious in the sunshine on Saturday but the league leaders soon found themselves in trouble as the left arm of Hughes (3-33) accounted for the the top order and they teetered on 46-4. As wickets clattered veteran opener Nigel Johnstone held fast and necessarily became the glue of the innings in order to rebuild. With Jake Rossiter (38) in forthright mode hitting bad balls straight and to the midwicket boundary including a big maximum, he and Johnstone added a quick 74 to restore a degree of parity and further partnerships with Connor Freeman, Ben Hoey (14) and the belligerent John Smiles (17 not out) saw Johnstone grow in stature as Tonbridge accumulated a substantial total. Excellent running, nudging and hurdling runs to all parts and hitting 11 boundaries Johnstone rolled back the years and ended with an excellent selfless knock of 86 as the Town reached 206 in the last over. Bilal Farooq ended with a commendable 6-42 from his 10 overs. Rossiter took the new ball and bowled with considerable pace as the Dartford openers lived perilously playing and missing and slicing the ball wide of the grasping fielders. Allied to the steady probing of the ever dependable Duncan Innes (1-29 from 12 overs) going was slow however the advent of Ben Peters (4-48) with his mix of chinamen, off breaks and leg spinners soon brought results. Only Hinks (23) and Farooq (33) hindered Tonbridge's progress but the inspired introduction of John Simmons for his first bowl for a long while did the trick aided by some slapstick catching (involving various parts of his anatomy other than his wicket keeping gloves by John Smiles) & a stumping finished off the innings as he collected 3-20. Tonbridge stay top by a point thanks to the great application and hard graft of Johnstone to win by 53 runs.

15 th June Kent Cricket Board Competitions: KRCL T20 Competition (West) Double-header at Tunbridge Wells vs Tunbridge Wells CC 1 st game Tonbridge CC T20 – 155 for 5 Tunbridge Wells CC T20 – 122 for 5 Tonbridge skipper Nadeem Shahzad won the toss and elected to bat on a lovely looking deck at the Nevill. The visitors got off to a flying start. Julius Marshall and Michael Topham exploited the early restrictions, going aerial frequently, and picking up early boundaries. The score had reached 56 by the time Topham was stumped off the bowling of Hugo Williams for 29. Julius Marshall continued to play well, and was ably assisted by Jayden Wiggins. The former was eventually trapped LBW for 40 off the bowling of Michael Waller (2 for 24 off 4 overs), who was the pick of the bowlers. Louis Wilkin also bowled well, finishing on 1 for 15 off 4 overs, and helping in hosts squeeze the run rate slightly. A quick 18 from Jake Rossiter, and the continued run scoring from Wiggins helped to take the total above 100. Wiggins picked his gaps well, and put the boundary fielders under a lot of pressure. He finished on 43 not out, and Tonbridge set a target of 156 for victory. The hosts started well, picking off anything with width. A moment of brilliance from Khurram Shehzad changed the course of the innings, running out Mark Alexander (14) with a direct hit. Michael Waller continued to look impressive at the other end, but the bowling of Ben Peters and Chris Sargeant really stifled Tunbridge Wells, and boundaries dried up. Waller eventually fell to Peters, who bowled exceptionally well, finishing with 3 for 10 off his 4 overs. Will Clark hit a good 32 not out, but Tonbridge’s fielding did a good job in keeping shots down to only singles, and the hosts fell 34 runs short of their target 2 nd game Tunbridge Wells CC T20 – 175 for 4 Tonbridge CC T20 – 177 for 4 Tunbridge Wells won the toss this time and elected to bat. The early wicket of Michael Waller for 6 was a great start for the visitors, snaffled low by Chirag Patel off the bowling of Martin Batley. The pair would combine again as Batley caught Alexander for 11 off the bowling of Patel. This would bring in Tunbridge Wells 1st XI skipper Alex Williams who was now playing in the second game. He showed his class early, picking off the Tonbridge bowlers, and hitting some lusty blows over the boundary rope. Together with Nick Manser, the pair but on 72 for the third wicket. Manser was bowled by Ben Peters for 37, who also caught Williams (58) off the bowling of Nadeem Shahzad. Will Clark came in again to hit a well struck 33 not out, but with 200 looking a possibility at one point, the visitors were happy to restrict the score to 175. The Tonbridge opening pair got off to a flyer again, reaching 46 by the end of the fourth over. Marshall was dismissed for 22 by Shawn Webster, bringing Jayden Wiggins to the crease. The two picked up regular boundaries, but also ran brilliantly between the wickets. As the score reached 100, the run rate was still sitting at around 8 an over, but the two never had a bad over. Topham finally fell for 43, but the partnership of 91 with Wiggins had certainly tipped the tie in the favour of Tonbridge. Although a couple more wickets fell, each batsman supported Wiggins well as he passed 50 runs. The running again was excellent, putting the fielders under a lot of pressure. With two needed off the last over, Ben Peters hit the winning runs, but Wiggins innings of 77 not out was the standout performance of the day. To date, Tonbridge have now won 4 out of 4 in their Twenty20 group,

14 th June Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Bexley Park CC 1st XI 72 (26 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 73 for 2 (18.1 overs) Tonbridge hit the top of the Championship West after a comprehensive victory over struggling Bexley Park. Tonbridge skipper Julius Marshall won the toss and elected to field. The pitched looked slightly unorthodox, and from the off it behaved poorly. However, the home side profited from early byes, and even a ball hitting the keeper’s helmet, heading to 36 without loss. The breakthrough finally came when Matt Smiles (1 for 22) had Tom Curnick caught behind, and at that point the visitors never looked back. Martin Batley (1 for 10) soon had Bexley Park skipper Martin Hellmuth bowled for 10, at this would end up being the top score in the innings. The introduction of Jayden Wiggins and Nadeem Shahzad brought proved decisive, and both were soon in the wickets. In fact, Shahzad picked up four wickets in his opening two over. Wiggins (2 for 8) mixed his pace well, making it very difficult for the batsmen to find any rhythm. Shahzad, on the other hand, bowled a consistent line and length, and never strayed off the stumps. His figures of 6 for 14 represented his best league bowling figures for the club, and set Tonbridge a lowly target of 73 for victory. The home side needed to put Tonbridge under pressure early, and got an early breakthrough with the score still on 0. The visitors settled soon after though, with Paul Smiles playing the conditions expertly. Michael Topham threatened with two stunning boundaries, before falling to Mathew Fisher (2 for 31) with the score on 23. Jayden Wiggins settled in at the crease early, hitting five boundaries as his first five scoring shots, and taking the game away from the hosts. The two batted until the target was met, finishing with an unbeaten 50 partnership. Smiles finished on 27 not out, and Wiggins with 31 not out. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 91 for 2 (21.1 overs) vs Gravesend RF CC 2nd XI 89 (27 overs)

7 th June Tonbridge CC 1 st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 310 for 7 (46 overs) vs Dartfordians CC 1st XI 155 (42.5 overs) Tonbridge celebrated a comprehensive victory, winning by 155 runs over title rivals Dartfordians. Losing the toss, the home side were put into bat. After a couple of cagey overs, Chirag Patel hit 22 runs in the third over, and never looked back. Hitting regular boundaries, Patel soon passed 50, and showed no sign of slowing. The opening pair put on a quick stand of 75, with Paul Smiles (14) happy to sit back and give the strike to his partner. Michael Topham came in to join Patel at the crease, and matched him stroke for stroke. Their partnership of 91 ended with the demise of Patel for 94, caught on the boundary. His fantastic innings set a solid foundation for the side, and a run rate of close to 8 per over at the half way stage. Jayden Wiggins joined Topham at the crease, but the latter was dismissed soon after for a brisk 38. Wiggins took everything in his stride, rotating the strike well with skipper Julius Marshall. Both were also happy to hit expansive shots, and again the visitors had no response. Marshall fell for 27, and was soon followed by Wiggins who played excellently for 67. Both fell victim to David Crawley who was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3 for 47. A few minor contributions at the end took Tonbridge to 310 for 7, leaving Dartfordians with a sizeable task. The visitors got off to a disastrous start, losing three very quick wickets, all to Jayden Wiggins. Bowling with pace and accuracy, Wiggins was almost unplayable, and finished the innings with figures of 3 for 29 off 9 overs. Dan Bygrave thwarted the Tonbridge attack, and showed excellent grit and determination in his 65, but was never supported. He finally fell victim to Nadeem Shahzad (3 for 3). Chris Sargeant also put together an excellent spell of bowling, picking up 2 wickets for 28. Mike Lanning (21) and David Crawley (17 not out) seemed determined to prevent Tonbridge from picking up maximum points. Patel was brought on to finish it off, and only needed 5 balls to first pick up Lanning, and then dismiss the final man. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Bearsted CC 2nd XI 135 for 6 (46 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 137 for 8 (32.3 overs) All round team effort sees Tonbridge home. With a fairly strong XI, Dave Blain knew he had a side that was going to challenge a strong looking Bearsted side featuring Steve Pearce, who on his day wins games on his own. Blain won the toss and chose to field first. Bearsted started slowly in face of accurate and penetrating bowling from Innes and Shepherd. Both bowled exceedingly well, picking up the top order and going for only 27 and 25 runs respectively. The prize wicket was that of Pearce, brilliantly caught behind by a diving John Smiles, in front of 1st slip. Before that, Keeler was worked over by a rapidly tiring Shepherd, who had him caught off a top edge at Third Man. Meanwhile, Innes was his usual economic and accurate self, picking up Lush through scoreboard pressure. Plodding along at a steady if unimpressive 2.5 runs per over, someone needed to bring out the fireworks and Bearsted skipper Horrocks did that, hitting a very clean and elegant 60 not out. However, the early wickets had taken their toll and they settled on 135 off 46 overs. Tonbridge knew it would be a close thing though, despite having a solid batting line up, because of the swing and seam movement the wicket was producing. Both Bearsted bowling openers bowled really well, moving it both ways at a lively pace. I for one have been impressed by the quality of the sides in this league and although the sides lack depth at times, they all have at least a few players who can score runs and taken wickets. As for Bearsted, Keeler bowled a decent left arm in swing and got movement away from the right handers. As for Redman, he had a stock delivery that swung late away from the right handers and both were a handful. However, Shepherd, followed by Simmons and Allen, saw the team home. Once Blain was out cheaply, followed shortly by Johnstone, it was up to Shepherd (29), Simmons (47) and Allen to keep up with the run rate and not fall behind. This was tricky to do in face of accurate bowling, but do it they did and although wickets did fall, at 130 for 4 the game was up. However, a late sting in the tail saw 4 quick wickets fall and the Tonbridge side start to become nervous. In walks John Smiles, and 1 ball later the game is won in 32.3 overs.

31 st May Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 26 (4.2 overs) vs Lessa Christ Church CC 1st XI 25 (17 overs) Tonbridge bounced back from defeat in their previous league game with a resounding 10 wicket victory over Lessa Christ Church. Lessa won the toss and elected to bat, but were put under pressure right from the start. Matthew Smiles and Jayden Wiggins never let up, bowling very consistently, and with the former swinging the ball ferociously with pace. The sharp bowling was also matched by the good work behind the stumps. Abhishek Puri top scored with 13 runs, with the next best batsman score standing at 2. The 6 extras helped to boost the score slightly. Smiles finished with 5 for 13 off 9 overs, and Wiggins with 3 for 11, as the visiting 9 men fell for only 25. The home side required 26 off 75 overs, but that didn’t stop Chirag Patel coming out firing. He struck 18 not out, and Paul Smiles 6 not out, finishing the task in 4.2 overs. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Cobham CC 2nd XI 185 (45 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 187 for 5 (34.4 overs)

17 th May Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 153 (38 overs) vs Simba CC 1st XI 157 for 5 (36.1 overs) Tonbridge failed to make it three wins from three in a disappointing loss at home to Simba. Winning the toss, Tonbridge elected to bat first, a formula that has seen them score 200+ runs in their four matches this season. With an air of confidence, Town got off to a cracking start, scoring 36 runs in the first few overs. Chirag Patel‘s brisk 22 was ended when he edged a ball that he tried to leave, off the bowling of Bryan Smith (3 for 27). Smith struck again soon after, first by removing Paul Smiles, and secondly by taking the wicket of Jayden Wiggins who fell in the same manner as Patel. The Simba bowlers were making it very difficult to score runs, and more wickets would fall. Julius Marshall hit a positive 19 before edging to the keeper. With wickets falling around him, Michael Topham remained solid at the crease, and picked off the bad balls when they came. Simba were growing frustrated at his perseverance. Just as he began scoring more freely, a disastrous run out ended his innings, but his 40 was a good example to the rest of the side. An extra 26 runs were put on for the final two wickets, but 153 certainly looked under par on a good bating pitch. Shane Phillips (3 for 18) helped take the final few wickets. Simba came out positively, especially Bobby Lloyd who was looking to follow up his three catches, a stumping, and a run out from the first innings. He regularly shifted across his stumps and whipped the ball to the leg side boundary. Matthew Smiles would provide the breakthrough, bowling the visiting skipper Phillip Wright, and then dismissing Ravi Gabbidon the very next ball. Henry Ricketts came in to join Lloyd, and following a difficult start, looked composed and effective at the crease. The pair but on 75 runs for the third wicket, and put the game in Simba’s hands. Chris Sargeant (2 for 19) would have other plans, tweaking the ball off the surface. He first accounted for Gabbidon for 31, before running out Lloyd for 49, and then taking a wicket in the same over. The visitors needed another 48 runs to win, and Tonbridge were pumped up and ready to pounce. Shane Phillips wasn’t going to let this go, and he followed up his excellent bowling spell with a calm 23 not out to take his team to victory. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Borstal CC 2nd XI 141 for 9 (46 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 182 (45.1 overs) Tonbridge 2nd XI made it 2 wins out of 2, as they beat a reasonably experienced Borstal 2nd XI at Brambletrees. The wicket looked good, the setting was beautiful and altogether Borstal have really made an effort to improve their facilities and it is noticeable. Skipper David Blain won the toss and chose to bat. He opened up with Nigel Johnstone and although they we only pushing along at 2 an over for several of the overs, they did begin to push the ball around, eventually hitting boundaries before Blain was out caught brilliantly for a well-made 31. Johnstone continued to keep the runs flowing, as he nurdled his way towards a solid contribution of 18; unfortunately he missed one that turned from the spinner Tippett and was replaced by Helyar. Then the major partnership of the day unfolded, as Shepherd and Helyar upped the run rate and ran quick singles too. From 62 without loss, then 62 for 2, Shepherd and Helyar put on 85 before Shepherd pulled his hamstring (needs to be fitter!) and was caught well at midwicket for 49. Helyar steered the rest of the batting line up, but in truth the side was missing star of the show from last week Peters, Simmons was absent too and the side as a whole was not as strong as the previous week. However, Helyar ensured we set a challenging total with a solid contribution of 47 before being caught in the deep at long off. Bahia picked up a hatful of wickets in the closing stages and finished with 6 for 42 off 11.1 overs. The total of 182 seemed good enough given our bowling, but you never know! Following a superb sit down tea, Borstal set about chasing 183 to win. Duncan Innes and Helyar opened up and Inness in particular was in total control, never varying his nagging line and length. He was basically unplayable unless you chose to skip down the track and take a big risk. 12 overs, 4 maidens and 1 for 14 says it all, as Borstal played him out. However, Helyar was in the meantime chipping away at Borstal, collecting 3 fine wickets in his first spell. Later he did return but his body at this time of the season does not easily allow for that! Jake Rossiter came on next replacing Helyar, and he bowled with genuine pace. He will get better as the season goes on and he will collect a lot of wickets. 7 overs for 36 showed the degree of variability, but his pace if the direction is honed, will bring him many wickets. So who did we turn to as our 4th bowler? None other than the skipper himself, as Blaine ‘threw some grenades’, 2 of which resulted in wickets! Shepherd offered some seam bowling too, but with varying pace to bring about 3 wickets for himself and cap off a good day overall. Borstal hung on and only towards the end did Mohammad make an effort to chase the total. When he was LBW to Shepherd, did the game effectively come to an end.

10 th May Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Pembury CC 1st XI 142 (39.4 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 212 for 8 (40 overs) Tonbridge sit top of the Kent Regional Cricket League 'Championship West', thanks to an excellent team display against local rivals Pembury. With the threat of the weather later on in the day, the match was immediately reduced to 40 overs a side. Pembury skipper Richard Dawes won the toss, and inserted Tonbridge to bat. The home side got off to a cracking start, removing Paul Smiles and Michael Topham early in the innings. Simon Bussey (1 for 14) in particular looked excellent, and Tonbridge would struggle to score off him all day. Chirag Patel was not in the mood to hang around, hitting two big sixes on his way to 35. But Dinesh Patel (3 for 38) would take sweat revenge against the opener, as he goaded him down the track, and Robert Eaton took the stumping. Jayden Wiggins (20) and Ben Morgan (29) both looked strong in the middle, before falling to regulation catches in the field. With Tonbridge five down for just under 100 at the half way point, Pembury knew that a couple of quick wickets would put the game in their hands. Tonbridge skipper Julius Marshall (42) played an excellent innings, and was well supported at the crease by Matt Smiles (27). Together the two put Tonbridge in a strong position, and pushed the run rate up, making 200 look like a possibility. Smiles was caught off the bowling of Dawes, and Marshall was soon on his way as well, expertly caught on the boundary by Bussey off the bowling of Richard Bidder (2 for 29). A late surge of runs for Chaitanya Kurusala (23 not out), helped Tonbridge to push beyond 200, and set a very competitive target of 213. With the rain falling lightly over tea, the visitors knew that early wickets were vital in order to pick up a victory. A good start from Pembury made that task look even harder. The breakthrough came courtesy of Matt Smiles (2 for 32), and the home side would go on to lose two further quick wickets soon after. Mark Parsons joined opener Robert Eaton at the crease, and together they helped to frustrate the Tonbridge attack. The breakthrough finally came courtesy of Tonbridge’s 'go to' man, Nadeem Shahzad. He first dismissed Eaton for 38, before making his way through the middle order. Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall in patches, but never enough to take the teams off the field. Some stubborn resistance from Dawes (20) put Tonbridge’s hopes of taking full points in question, but he proved to be another victim to Shahzad (4 for 26). Jayden Wiggins (2 for 2) took the wicket of Parsons (40) in his first over, and took the final wicket with the third to last ball of the game. Tonbridge CC 2 nd XI – Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 114 for 4 (30.5 overs) vs Sherwood CC 2nd XI 113 (40.2 overs) Tonbridge 2nd XI got off to a real flyer, at home against a decent side at this level. The wicket had been covered and was mostly dry but with the threat of a shower or 2, skipper David Blain opted to bowl first upon winning the toss. The openers played well, with Des Keers playing aggressive cricket, if somewhat across the line. Anthony Lee-Peat departed quickly for 0, caught at gully by the ever dependable Steve Allen off Duncan Innes' bowling. His nagging line and length and lack of pace, often pinned them down and only through some audacious hitting by Keers were Sherwood able to progress forward at all. Meanwhile, at the other end, Nick Helyar was bowling well, varying his pace. He was unlucky not to claim a hatful of wickets and but for a dropped catch by Shepherd at orthodox Gully (rather than Tonbridge Gully...please note skip), he would probably have bagged more. Gary Norris and Tony Rossiter batted well at 3 and 4 for Sherwood for a classy 17 and 10 respectively, but once they went, followed by an awful swipe from Keeler at 5 to gift new boy Peters one of 3 debut wickets, there was a feeling that Sherwood would roll over. However, Keers felt otherwise and it was that boy again Peters with his leg spin, that accounted for Keers...albeit adjudged LBW perhaps harshly by our own umpire. After that Hobbs batted really well, including shot of the day swipe over cow for 6. When Jake Rossiter steamed in for a decent spell of quick bowling, claiming him with an absolute beauty of a slower ball, the innings came to a tame end, with Steve Allen claiming 2 wickets in his first 2 balls, leaving him with a chance of a hat-trick (next match!). For Tonbridge, Innes 9 overs 2 for 37, Helyar 12 overs 1 for 28 and star of the show, Ben Peters, with 12 overs 3 for 18 leaving Tonbridge to score 114 to win. In reply, and dodging the now frequent showers, Tonbridge opened up with Jason Davie and Steve Allen. Both played along circumspectly at 2 an over, before both were bowled by Mark Norris, who would go on and claim the only 4 wickets to fall. Next up was Shepherd, who like those before him, played within himself, only to fall to one that stuck in the wicket and presented the bowler with a difficult caught and bowled- which he duly held on to. Paul French fell cheaply, but Ben Peters was once again the star of the show, at first playing within himself, then cutting loose as the drizzle came and went again and again...John Simmons with his guile and technique stayed with him and once Peters had caressed his way past 50, the game was won. Tonbridge looked far too strong on this performance and given Sherwood finished high up this division last year, it will take a good side to stop Tonbridge claiming promotion - assuming of course availability continues to give the captains a selection dilemma or two. Well done to skipper Dave Blain on a solid performance - but try not to be so giving to everyone else...you are an opener too!

3 rd May Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Hartley Country Club 3rd XI 201 for 9 (46 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 222 for 8 (46 overs) Tonbridge got their season off to a great start with a 21 run victory over Hartley. Tonbridge were inserted to bat on a very hard deck, and with the sun beaming down. Hoping to get off to good start, Tonbridge found themselves one down after four overs, with Peter Jordan picking up the wicket of Chirag Patel. Jayden Wiggins came in next, but was fortunate to survive a dropped catch early on. After the early setback, Wiggins and Paul Smiles set Tonbridge in motion, and the two began to score freely. Wiggins in particular was hitting some stunning shots through cover, although the long boundary would result in a few tiring threes. Hartley had no answer to the flow of runs, and each new bowler suffered the same fate. Wiggins soon reached his half century, and at the half way mark the visitors sat on 103 for 1. A couple of big sixes for Smiles helped to push his score on, and he was soon raising his batted as he passed 50. He fell soon after for 54 courtesy of Thomas Burgess-Hill, but the partnership of 125 made a score of 250 plus a realistic target. Wiggins continued to press on, and was aided at the crease by Jason Davie (18) who made a promising league debut. Jordan returned for a second spell and took two quick wickets. He would finish with figures of 3 for 49. Hartley began to squeeze the run rate through some good bowling, and Tonbridge would lose several quick wickets. This did not deter Wiggins though, and he reached his well-deserved century with a another fine shot. He would fall to Ian McLean (3 for 41) soon after for 104. Town didn't quite get to the 250 they hoped, but 222 certainly looked competitive. Tonbridge got off to a good start, with both opening bowlers finding a good line early. Martin Batley would strike first, thanks in part to an excellent catch at point from Steve Allen. Batley (2 for 24) bowled with real pace, and soon had his second victim. Skipper Barry Pearce (33) began to look steady at the crease, before he was caught by Steve Allen in almost a carbon copy of the first wicket off the bowling of Jayden Wiggins. Nadeem Shahzad was soon in on the act with an important LBW, and Wiggins (3 for 36) soon had his second wicket in the next over. Justin Crouch hit five boundaries in a swift 24, before being caught well by Tony Shepherd off the bowling of Shahzad (2 for 39). With the game looking in Tonbridge's hands, Hartley began to punish the bad ball, and boundaries came regularly. With the run rate sitting at close to seven per over, Paul Westerman (41) and Peter Jordan (34) did their best to keep the chase on track, and made the game interesting. Tony Shepherd would dent those hopes as he came on near the end, dismissing both players and finishing with figure of 2 for 39. Town couldn't take the final wicket, but finished with a good win, and 19 points.

27 th April Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 243 for 8 dec (38 overs) vs Tonbridge School 2nd XI 150 for 6 (37 overs) Tonbridge CC continued their good pre-season form in a draw against Tonbridge School, in a 75 over declaration game. Tonbridge were put in to bat by the school, and started off like it was a Twenty20 game. Both Chirag Patel and Matt Smiles hit regular boundaries in the first few overs, and the former hit the fourth over of the game for 28 runs. Patel would soon pass his 50, and with only 10 overs gone, the score sat at 100 for no wicket, and with both openers looking hungry for more. The introduction of Young and Fitzgerald for Tonbridge School helped to slow the rate, and both spinners bowled excellently, restricting the flow of runs. Young soon had his first wicket, dismissing Smiles for 22 following a sharp stumping by Calver. Jayden Wiggins came to the crease, and started where he left off from last week, with some textbook off drives. All the while Patel continued to hit regular boundaries, and at drinks sat on 91. With a century in his sights, Patel was bowled by Fitzgerald by the first ball after the break. Michael Topham looked in ominous form with an early boundary, but he would fall to Young (2 for 56) thanks to a superb catch in the slips by Bristow. Nadeem Shahzad would join Wiggins at the crease, but the latter was caught at mid-off for 34 off the bowling of Campin (2 for 20), and the same bowler would soon have Shahzad as well, thanks again to a quick stumping from Calver. Captain Julius Marshall came in and attacked from the first ball. His score of 41 was achieved off very few balls, and included two big straight sixes. With 243 on the board, and 38 overs having been bowled, Marshall decided to declare, leaving the School with 37 overs to chase the runs. The hosts got off to a great start, with Martin Batley picking up two wickets in his first two overs, leaving the School on 8 for 2. Stork and Bevan-Thomas withstood some excellent opening bowling, and boundaries were few and far between. Once they played themselves in, both players began playing a bit more freely, and Tonbridge struggled to make a breakthrough. Stork was finally dismissed for 47 by Shahzad, and Ben Morgan would dismiss Bevan-Thomas soon after for 41. Chirag Patel took two further wickets late on, but Forster stood strong, playing a resilient 30 not out, and helping the School finish the game with a draw.

19 th April Tonbridge CC 1st XI – Tonbridge CC 1st XI 218 for 6 (40 overs) vs Bearsted CC 134 (37.2 overs) Tonbridge got off to a great start under new skipper Julius Marshall, with a comprehensive 84-run victory against Bearsted in a 40-overs match. Winning the toss, Marshall elected to bat on a good looking wicket for this time of year. Putting Ben Morgan and Chirag Patel together proved inspired, as the two hit regular boundaries in the first five overs. Patel would fall in the sixth though, bowled by Steven Benjamin for 15 runs. Topham soon picked up from where Patel finished however, and together with Morgan they kept the pressure on the visiting bowlers. Topham made a quick 21, but was bowled by Bearsted skipper Andrew Dampier who collected team best figures of 2 for 29. The anticipation for the club was now high, as new overseas player Jayden Wiggins came to the crease. Stroking the ball effortlessly through the covers, Wiggins looked very settled in his new surroundings, and helped push up the run rate even more. Morgan soon passed his fifty, and went into another gear, dispatching two big sixes in the meantime. The two put on 96 in quick time, before Wiggins was caught at mid-off for 39. Soon after, Morgan was caught at the same position, falling for an excellent 96. With the score on 184, the home side looked to rebuild, and push the total above 200. A few quick wickets fell, but Steve Allen’s quick 13 at the end helped to take the total to 218 off 40 overs. Bearsted looked to start positively, with Gareth Tidball looking particularly strong right from the off. New player Akki Mohammad looked to start life at Tonbridge with a bang, and did just that with two wickets in his fourth over, and going on to collect figures of 2 for 19. Ben Johnston would join Tidball at the crease, and together they put on a handy 48 for the third wicket. Tidball brought up his half century with a fine boundary off Jayden Wiggins, but would fall straight after for 53, courtesy of a sharp catch from Chaitanya Kurusala. Wiggins soon had a second victim, and finished with a tidy 2 for 24. Bearsted never really got in touch with the runs, and the run rate was never close to where it needed to be. Soon the required run rate was above ten, and the remaining batsmen were forced to play more expansively. This played into the hands of Chirag Patel, as he picked up three wickets, all bowled. With victory all but assured, Morgan was brought on at the end, and he picked up the final wicket, thanks in part to a diving catch by Wiggins.

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