The PCA were playing Leigh Academy which is a side made up of a few lads who go to the Academy but with the majority being youngsters from local clubs.Seb, at 19, was the oldest player and was primarily asked to play for his keeping and experience.
The PCA always bat first and with Jonathan Trott, Owais Shah, Varun Chopra and Daryl Mitchell (not the NZ Test player but the former Worcester cricketer) all contributing they amassed 196 of their 25 overs. More than enough ,given the PCA's bowling attack of Saj Mahmood, Alex Tudor, Min Patel, Monty Panesar, James Treadwell etc etc , one would have thought.
But that simply didnt prove to be the case. Without taking too many undue risks, the boys all batted really well, so much so that they were never far behind the required run rate. Star of the show was opener Jack Aldred with 81 and it was shame that he wasn't there to see them home. Magnificent effort nevertheless. The boys won with 5 balls to spare and by 5 wivkets. Seb ended up with a cheeky 16 not out.
I suspect that the PCA dont losethat often but the difference between the sides was the fielding. The PCA carried one or two in the field including one former international who let's just say was somewhat renowned for not being very good so far as that third discipline is concerned. He was fielding on the boundary at third man most of the time and one ball went on more than three yards from his position and he still didnt manage to get there!
At the Vine watching a batting master class from Ben Compton. Somewhat ironic that I believe he should be opening for England and that he is playing for Zac Crawley's club instead.
The leagues are starting to take shape.. who will win the battle of the big spenders in the premier, very close after Hayes slipped up at Sandwich… too 3 in div 1 pulling away, then in Div 2 Nonington upsetting a few and closing the gap on Whitstable!
At the Vine watching a batting master class from Ben Compton. Somewhat ironic that I believe he should be opening for England and that he is playing for Zac Crawley's club instead.
So, The Vine won the toss and put Bickley in to bat. 115-1 at half way should have been a great platform but Bickley only managed to match that for the loss of nine wickets to finish on 230 all out. Given the fast outfield and decent track that did seem 40 or so runs light.
And so it proved. Compton never looked in any trouble whatsoever, playing within himself but despatching any loose ball to the boundary. He finished on 124 not out off 125 balls and was ably supported by MOM, Luke Schlemmer who added to his bowling figures of 10-2-35-5 plus a catch and a run out, with an unbeaten 83 off 91. The Vine won with more than 9 overs to spare and by 9 wickets. And thoroughly deserved it too.
Elsewhere, Hayes (with Blake but without McVicar) lost to Sandwich and Minster won meaning that there is now just one point between them at the top. My worst fears are being realised.
The PCA were playing Leigh Academy which is a side made up of a few lads who go to the Academy but with the majority being youngsters from local clubs.Seb, at 19, was the oldest player and was primarily asked to play for his keeping and experience.
The PCA always bat first and with Jonathan Trott, Owais Shah, Varun Chopra and Daryl Mitchell (not the NZ Test player but the former Worcester cricketer) all contributing they amassed 196 of their 25 overs. More than enough ,given the PCA's bowling attack of Saj Mahmood, Alex Tudor, Min Patel, Monty Panesar, James Treadwell etc etc , one would have thought.
But that simply didnt prove to be the case. Without taking too many undue risks, the boys all batted really well, so much so that they were never far behind the required run rate. Star of the show was opener Jack Aldred with 81 and it was shame that he wasn't there to see them home. Magnificent effort nevertheless. The boys won with 5 balls to spare and by 5 wivkets. Seb ended up with a cheeky 16 not out.
I suspect that the PCA dont losethat often but the difference between the sides was the fielding. The PCA carried one or two in the field including one former international who let's just say was somewhat renowned for not being very good so far as that third discipline is concerned. He was fielding on the boundary at third man most of the time and one ball went on more than three yards from his position and he still didnt manage to get there!
Good to hear - young Jack is a very fine cricketer.
The PCA were playing Leigh Academy which is a side made up of a few lads who go to the Academy but with the majority being youngsters from local clubs.Seb, at 19, was the oldest player and was primarily asked to play for his keeping and experience.
The PCA always bat first and with Jonathan Trott, Owais Shah, Varun Chopra and Daryl Mitchell (not the NZ Test player but the former Worcester cricketer) all contributing they amassed 196 of their 25 overs. More than enough ,given the PCA's bowling attack of Saj Mahmood, Alex Tudor, Min Patel, Monty Panesar, James Treadwell etc etc , one would have thought.
But that simply didnt prove to be the case. Without taking too many undue risks, the boys all batted really well, so much so that they were never far behind the required run rate. Star of the show was opener Jack Aldred with 81 and it was shame that he wasn't there to see them home. Magnificent effort nevertheless. The boys won with 5 balls to spare and by 5 wivkets. Seb ended up with a cheeky 16 not out.
I suspect that the PCA dont losethat often but the difference between the sides was the fielding. The PCA carried one or two in the field including one former international who let's just say was somewhat renowned for not being very good so far as that third discipline is concerned. He was fielding on the boundary at third man most of the time and one ball went on more than three yards from his position and he still didnt manage to get there!
Good to hear - young Jack is a very fine cricketer.
Nice little 3-29 for the St Lawrence first change bowler today, easing back into his first bowl for 7 weeks. 8 over first spell was very tidy, (inc two excellent wickets) but got some tap when brought back near the end.
Couldn't do it with the bat though and caught at mid on for four off five balls.
Stevo said he needs to bowl if he wants to get back into the Kent teams, but he is pushing a pain barrier with his shoulder...
He is an absolute gent and a pleasure to umpire by the way!
I was looking at Play Cricket yesterday as Essex asked Jamie to have 10 overs for Chingford in his recovery from injury Was surprised to see there was pretty much ball by ball coverage, live scorecard etc on there.
Is that standard for this sort of level and Who is uploading all that info ?
I was looking at Play Cricket yesterday as Essex asked Jamie to have 10 overs for Chingford in his recovery from injury Was surprised to see there was pretty much ball by ball coverage, live scorecard etc on there.
Is that standard for this sort of level and Who is uploading all that info ?
With the odd exception, certainly most top tier club games are live scored and a lot of the lower divisions are too. In such circumstances, one scorer will use the traditional paper method and another will use the App that enables scoring to be relayed to the outside world in almost real time (he or she might also use the paper method too but you can't have two people using the App at the same time). Some clubs also relay streams of the game and they can show the score as well as the names of the current batsmen and bowler. In the Kent Prem there are three or four teams who provide this.
I dare say the app will be used everywhere in years to come ..becomes a pain if you are playing in the middle of nowhere with no Internet reception..in 4/5 games that I have played this year its been used in the lowest division of the Sussex league
I was looking at Play Cricket yesterday as Essex asked Jamie to have 10 overs for Chingford in his recovery from injury Was surprised to see there was pretty much ball by ball coverage, live scorecard etc on there.
Is that standard for this sort of level and Who is uploading all that info ?
With the odd exception, certainly most top tier club games are live scored and a lot of the lower divisions are too. In such circumstances, one scorer will use the traditional paper method and another will use the App that enables scoring to be relayed to the outside world in almost real time (he or she might also use the paper method too but you can't have two people using the App at the same time). Some clubs also relay streams of the game and they can show the score as well as the names of the current batsmen and bowler. In the Kent Prem there are three or four teams who provide this.
I knew AA would be all over this one. Even my Kent Over 60s matches and the odd Forty Club friendly game are live scored these days - the modern professional scorer now needs to be a master of technology too!
I should point out that I am still old school and have resisted using the App. I've only got away with this, however, because for the first time in a decade I've not had to score and can just sit and watch Seb play. I'm not going to say that has been a total pleasure this season though - as any parent will tell you it's not easy when things aren't going well but any pain felt is minimal when compared to the torture felt by some players during such a run. I had plenty of such runs and in all honesty I wasn't very good anyway so it was minimal but the higher you go the more acute and chronic that pain can become.
Bickley 1s won the toss and batted against Tunbridge Wells. Another struggle for the team with only Saf Imtiaz (64) and the stranded without a partner, Michael Ridley (30) making any semblance of a meaningful contribution. 179 was always unlikely to be enough to defend with the outfield as it is lightning quick now and with Kent 2s opening bowler, Max Luckett, unable to bowl due to him sustaining an injury batting, this became even more unlikely. TW duly won by 6 wickets with more than 10 overs to spare.
Elsewhere, Hayes and Minster both won again and remain 25 or so points clear and I believe that the title is going to be between the two promoted sides. Beckenham continue to struggle at the other end but there are at least another five teams who could also go down!
There is one player who has stood out with both bat and ball in the KPL and that is Joe Parry. Joe will be 20 next month and plays for Minster but is actually from Essex. He moved counties a few seasons ago from Essex to Kent but I got the impression that he became a bit disillusioned by the fact that he was being used more as a bowler by Kent and was batting at 7 or 8.
Last season he was playing for Hutton and batting at 3 but started in the lower middle order this season for Minster. He moved to 3 for the last four or five games and he is now the top run scorer in the KPL with 431 runs at an average of 53.88. Incredibly, he is also the second top wicket taker in the KPL with 26 wickets at 13.00.
If these performances aren't sufficient to earn a call up for Kent 2s duty, that rather begs the question, then what is?
My lot won by 50 runs. Eight wins on the field, one loss by four runs, and a win by concession. We have got 190 points out of a possible 200.
Things are going really well - no doubt in part due to the fact I've handed over much of the on field stuff to my VC, who is a little more ruthless than I. Rarely does this come at the expense of everyone getting a game to be fair.
And other than our U16, the age spread of guys was 27-35. A really good bunch of lads and we have great diversity with bat and ball, so long may that continue. But it's our fielding that is setting us apart. Nothing regulation goes down; our ground fielding is noticeably better than other sides; and we've been getting the strategies right. A good time to be in the OCCC 4th XI!
My lot won by 50 runs. Eight wins on the field, one loss by four runs, and a win by concession. We have got 190 points out of a possible 200.
Things are going really well - no doubt in part due to the fact I've handed over much of the on field stuff to my VC, who is a little more ruthless than I. Rarely does this come at the expense of everyone getting a game to be fair.
And other than our U16, the age spread of guys was 27-35. A really good bunch of lads and we have great diversity with bat and ball, so long may that continue. But it's our fielding that is setting us apart. Nothing regulation goes down; our ground fielding is noticeably better than other sides; and we've been getting the strategies right. A good time to be in the OCCC 4th XI!
Spoke to a friend of yours yesterday who, as you are probably aware, unfortunately broke a finger last week against the Vine which is a shame because he has played a meaningful role in a couple of Bickley's first team wins this season - he's having an op this week and is likely to be out for six weeks. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the final month of the season.
My lot won by 50 runs. Eight wins on the field, one loss by four runs, and a win by concession. We have got 190 points out of a possible 200.
Things are going really well - no doubt in part due to the fact I've handed over much of the on field stuff to my VC, who is a little more ruthless than I. Rarely does this come at the expense of everyone getting a game to be fair.
And other than our U16, the age spread of guys was 27-35. A really good bunch of lads and we have great diversity with bat and ball, so long may that continue. But it's our fielding that is setting us apart. Nothing regulation goes down; our ground fielding is noticeably better than other sides; and we've been getting the strategies right. A good time to be in the OCCC 4th XI!
Spoke to a friend of yours yesterday who, as you are probably aware, unfortunately broke a finger last week against the Vine which is a shame because he has played a meaningful role in a couple of Bickley's first team wins this season - he's having an op this week and is likely to be out for six weeks. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the final month of the season.
Indeed he did - dropping a certain B. Compton! He reckons a month would be about right (though that's optimistic).
My lot won by 50 runs. Eight wins on the field, one loss by four runs, and a win by concession. We have got 190 points out of a possible 200.
Things are going really well - no doubt in part due to the fact I've handed over much of the on field stuff to my VC, who is a little more ruthless than I. Rarely does this come at the expense of everyone getting a game to be fair.
And other than our U16, the age spread of guys was 27-35. A really good bunch of lads and we have great diversity with bat and ball, so long may that continue. But it's our fielding that is setting us apart. Nothing regulation goes down; our ground fielding is noticeably better than other sides; and we've been getting the strategies right. A good time to be in the OCCC 4th XI!
Spoke to a friend of yours yesterday who, as you are probably aware, unfortunately broke a finger last week against the Vine which is a shame because he has played a meaningful role in a couple of Bickley's first team wins this season - he's having an op this week and is likely to be out for six weeks. Hopefully he'll be back in time for the final month of the season.
Indeed he did - dropping a certain B. Compton! He reckons a month would be about right (though that's optimistic).
To be fair Compton was in his 120s at the time so it made no material difference to the result. The Law of Sod dictated that was Compton's only score this season from three club games - he didn't play this week and The Vine were 148 all out but still managed to beat Sandwich.
It should have been but I suspect everything happened so quickly and that the Umpire became distracted by the flying wicket keeper's glove and the attempted run out at his end that the wide became something of an afterthought!
It should have been but I suspect everything happened so quickly and that the Umpire became distracted by the flying wicket keeper's glove and the attempted run out at his end that the wide became something of an afterthought!
There is one player who has stood out with both bat and ball in the KPL and that is Joe Parry. Joe will be 20 next month and plays for Minster but is actually from Essex. He moved counties a few seasons ago from Essex to Kent but I got the impression that he became a bit disillusioned by the fact that he was being used more as a bowler by Kent and was batting at 7 or 8.
Last season he was playing for Hutton and batting at 3 but started in the lower middle order this season for Minster. He moved to 3 for the last four or five games and he is now the top run scorer in the KPL with 431 runs at an average of 53.88. Incredibly, he is also the second top wicket taker in the KPL with 26 wickets at 13.00.
If these performances aren't sufficient to earn a call up for Kent 2s duty, that rather begs the question, then what is?
They do, clearly, pay attention to KPL scores. Today's Kent 2s team:
JLH MacGregor, TS Muyeye, AJ Blake*, DI Stevens, AS Basra, V Parakirama, JRG Parry, GS Ealham, JEG Logan, BD Aldred†, NN Gilchrist
From this weekend, is this really the depths to which club cricket has sunk - when a man is dragged across the pitch and beaten with an iron bar and a small child has to run away from the scene in terror.
Comments
The PCA were playing Leigh Academy which is a side made up of a few lads who go to the Academy but with the majority being youngsters from local clubs.Seb, at 19, was the oldest player and was primarily asked to play for his keeping and experience.
The PCA always bat first and with Jonathan Trott, Owais Shah, Varun Chopra and Daryl Mitchell (not the NZ Test player but the former Worcester cricketer) all contributing they amassed 196 of their 25 overs. More than enough ,given the PCA's bowling attack of Saj Mahmood, Alex Tudor, Min Patel, Monty Panesar, James Treadwell etc etc , one would have thought.
But that simply didnt prove to be the case. Without taking too many undue risks, the boys all batted really well, so much so that they were never far behind the required run rate. Star of the show was opener Jack Aldred with 81 and it was shame that he wasn't there to see them home. Magnificent effort nevertheless. The boys won with 5 balls to spare and by 5 wivkets. Seb ended up with a cheeky 16 not out.
I suspect that the PCA dont losethat often but the difference between the sides was the fielding. The PCA carried one or two in the field including one former international who let's just say was somewhat renowned for not being very good so far as that third discipline is concerned. He was fielding on the boundary at third man most of the time and one ball went on more than three yards from his position and he still didnt manage to get there!
And so it proved. Compton never looked in any trouble whatsoever, playing within himself but despatching any loose ball to the boundary. He finished on 124 not out off 125 balls and was ably supported by MOM, Luke Schlemmer who added to his bowling figures of 10-2-35-5 plus a catch and a run out, with an unbeaten 83 off 91. The Vine won with more than 9 overs to spare and by 9 wickets. And thoroughly deserved it too.
Elsewhere, Hayes (with Blake but without McVicar) lost to Sandwich and Minster won meaning that there is now just one point between them at the top. My worst fears are being realised.
Couldn't do it with the bat though and caught at mid on for four off five balls.
Stevo said he needs to bowl if he wants to get back into the Kent teams, but he is pushing a pain barrier with his shoulder...
He is an absolute gent and a pleasure to umpire by the way!
Was surprised to see there was pretty much ball by ball coverage, live scorecard etc on there.
Elsewhere, Hayes and Minster both won again and remain 25 or so points clear and I believe that the title is going to be between the two promoted sides. Beckenham continue to struggle at the other end but there are at least another five teams who could also go down!
Last season he was playing for Hutton and batting at 3 but started in the lower middle order this season for Minster. He moved to 3 for the last four or five games and he is now the top run scorer in the KPL with 431 runs at an average of 53.88. Incredibly, he is also the second top wicket taker in the KPL with 26 wickets at 13.00.
If these performances aren't sufficient to earn a call up for Kent 2s duty, that rather begs the question, then what is?
Things are going really well - no doubt in part due to the fact I've handed over much of the on field stuff to my VC, who is a little more ruthless than I. Rarely does this come at the expense of everyone getting a game to be fair.
And other than our U16, the age spread of guys was 27-35. A really good bunch of lads and we have great diversity with bat and ball, so long may that continue. But it's our fielding that is setting us apart. Nothing regulation goes down; our ground fielding is noticeably better than other sides; and we've been getting the strategies right. A good time to be in the OCCC 4th XI!
JLH MacGregor, TS Muyeye, AJ Blake*, DI Stevens, AS Basra, V Parakirama, JRG Parry, GS Ealham, JEG Logan, BD Aldred†, NN Gilchrist
And he took a wicket with his first ball!!!
Live stream:
https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m4ecad9fd-dce3-4ed2-9346-1e15cc9b565b