Minster have won 5 games this season and just 14 points above the relegation zone - they can't go down but given they are 68 points off the top and nowhere near their second place achievement of last season. I'm sure that one particular person will not be impressed.
Congratulations to Seb's two former clubs (for which he and I are still social members of) Sidcup 1s and Bexley 2s who are promoted to the 3rd tier from Division 2 to Division 1. Bexley 1s lost to Tunbridge Wells yesterday so are out of the PL title race but still have the National Club Final to look forward to.
Interesting to see who replaces Bickley and Canterbury in the championship .
At the moment it looks like it could be a Premier league trapdoor playoff between Blackheath and Sevenoaks Vine. Didn’t think they would be candidates at the start of the campaign.
And I wonder who drew the short straw to umpire that one!!!
And congrats to Catford and Cyphers winners of div 3 ..getting back to somewhere they ought to be
I remember playing against Catford & Cyphers and Percy Drummond(Daniel Bell Drummonds dad ) who I played with briefly as a youngster at Metrogas , on a Sunday and getting my only 5 for and 50+ in the same game prolly 25 years ago at least
Interesting to see who replaces Bickley and Canterbury in the championship .
At the moment it looks like it could be a Premier league trapdoor playoff between Blackheath and Sevenoaks Vine. Didn’t think they would be candidates at the start of the campaign.
And I wonder who drew the short straw to umpire that one!!!
Enjoy , should be a good game to umpire , plenty at stake !
And congrats to Catford and Cyphers winners of div 3 ..getting back to somewhere they ought to be
I remember playing against Catford & Cyphers and Percy Drummond(Daniel Bell Drummonds dad ) who I played with briefly as a youngster at Metrogas , on a Sunday and getting my only 5 for and 50+ in the same game prolly 25 years ago at least
Yes - Percy played for Catford Wanderers and Metrogas - always a candidate for a snick behind to me. He is (or was until recently) seen at Canterbury occasionally
It appears from the release of some teams on social media that a lot of the Kent squad are going to be turning out for their clubs - this is more to do with the fact that Kent have a 19 day game between matches than clubs needing reinforcements though their presence is hardly going to hinder.
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
South Loughton 2s have ten pints fat cunt Dave playing for em havimg studied the rules we need a victory we need 175 and 10 wickets 200 and 8mwickets oppo,have won 10,of 13 tosses and. Batted first every time
if they bat firat we need them all out for 69 or 69/9amd they get a single we have to give em,104 more runs ffs so we can get enough bonus points for victory ffs
South Loughton 2s have ten pints fat cunt Dave playing for em havimg studied the rules we need a victory we need 175 and 10 wickets 200 and 8mwickets oppo,have won 10,of 13 tosses and. Batted first every time
if they bat firat we need them all out for 69 or 69/9amd they get a single we have to give em,104 more runs ffs so we can get enough bonus points for victory ffs
It’s mad you can be penalised by bowling well in first innings.
South Loughton 2s have ten pints fat cunt Dave playing for em havimg studied the rules we need a victory we need 175 and 10 wickets 200 and 8mwickets oppo,have won 10,of 13 tosses and. Batted first every time
if they bat firat we need them all out for 69 or 69/9amd they get a single we have to give em,104 more runs ffs so we can get enough bonus points for victory ffs
It’s mad you can be penalised by bowling well in first innings.
I seem to recall in a Glamorgan league or similar a few years ago, some team declared on 18/0 off 4 overs so the oppo couldn't get batting bonus points they needed to overtake them and win the league. Bizarre, and the club was sanctioned for declaring, but why have rules that put you in that position?!
It appears from the release of some teams on social media that a lot of the Kent squad are going to be turning out for their clubs - this is more to do with the fact that Kent have a 19 day game between matches than clubs needing reinforcements though their presence is hardly going to hinder.
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have ex Kent, Somerset and Durham keeper, Ryan Davies plus Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
The performances of those mentioned above that did actually play serve to prove that, on slow and unreliable decks, it is somewhat easier for pros to dominate with the ball than it is to do so with the bat in club cricket:
Bickley Park hosted Folkestone yesterday - one team looking to become champions and the other trying to avoid relegation.
Folkestone won the toss and asked Bickley to bat. Despite an opening stand of 54, Bickley struggled to gain any momentum and found themselves 121-8 with very little hope of making a meaningful total. However, a superb 9th wicket stand of 98 between George Styles (53) and Jason Benn (38) enabled them to reach 223 all out. Folkestone never really looked like chasing their target down and ended up with 116 all out. Sadly Folkestone are demoted.
The most pertinent aspect of the game for Bickley was the fact that no less than nine of the team that played in the final game of last season that consigned them to relegation by one point were in the team yesterday - a change in overseas and a player who moved clubs in order to stay in the PL were the only differences. Sometimes the sum of the total really is more important than the individuals within it - just ask Minster who succeeded in losing 10 of the 15 matches they played and avoided relegation by just 3 points.
Despite Bickley's emphatic 116 run victory they have had to settle for the runners up position by virtue of Canterbury's narrow one wicket win over Whistable. Congratulations to Canterbury. Thoroughly deserved. Just another eight months or so before they get to renew acquaintances again.
It appears from the release of some teams on social media that a lot of the Kent squad are going to be turning out for their clubs - this is more to do with the fact that Kent have a 19 day game between matches than clubs needing reinforcements though their presence is hardly going to hinder.
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have ex Kent, Somerset and Durham keeper, Ryan Davies plus Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
The performances of those mentioned above that did actually play serve to prove that, on slow and unreliable decks, it is somewhat easier for pros to dominate with the ball than it is to do so with the bat in club cricket:
Jack Leaning 29 (49) & 7-0-28-2
Darren Stevens 15 (14) & 5-0-30-1
Ben Compton 17 (57)
James Logan 25 (53)
Daniel Bell-Drummond 40 (50)
Arafat Bhuiyan 1* (1) & 9-0-32-0
Adam Riley 0 (1) & 10-3-22-0
Ryan Davies 8 (29)
Alex Blake 6 (19) & 4.3-1-22-1
James Hockley 14 (19) & 4-0-9-1
David Masters 3 (42) & 4-1-17-0
Aaron Nijjar 1 (14) & 7.4-1-22-1
Calum MacLeod 32* (38) & 6-2-14-3
Thando Ntini 1 (6) & 7-2-32-2
Tawanda Muyeye 13 (18) & 4-3-1-1
Jaydn Denly 2 (9) & 10-2-22-3
Context is everything. Some of the batting scores were hugely relevant to the matches played - none more so than MacLeod's 32 after Lordswood slipped to 25-5 (chasing 70-odd) and ultimately won them the League!
The interesting thing about yesterday's KCL Premier League games was that all five teams that were in relegation trouble, featured in the bottom two during the As-It-Stands table at some point in the afternoon.
It would have taken a whole host of unlikely results for Minster to go down, but at one point, post-tea, they were in the bottom two, having failed to get any batting points. If they had also failed to get bowling points, that put them in deep trouble. They were playing Hayes, who had to win (as they couldn't afford to lose with enough bonus points having bowled Minster out cheaply), and Hayes duly did so despite a stutter.
Sandwich (also in trouble) bowled Bexley out in less than forty overs, but then lost by a single run (all out off the penultimate ball), having spurned the chance to draw level in an effort to win the game. That left Sevenoaks Vine knowing what they needed to do to send Sandwich down.
Blackheath scored a decent 252 - 9, giving the Vine their fourth bonus point in the last over. Blackheath bowled slowly. It soon became clear that the Vine were targeting 200 (for their fourth batting point, to take them past Sandwich) rather than try to win the game. Schlemmer and Logan batted very sensibly and got them close, but as the asking rate (to get to 200) went up, so wickets were lost. Logan is such a nice guy but seems so unlucky. He as bowled late on and Vine need 9 off the last over with two wickets left. A wide and a boundary gave them hope, but they then lost their ninth wicket. It came down to three off the last ball and the last man swung, missed, and was bowled. You can imagine how the Vine felt - They were the only team to have been ever-present since the Premier Division was formed....
Bickley 2s ran into a similar 9th wicket partnership yesterday, turning 74-8 into 112-9 and later 124 all out. The chief architect of this revival, which seriously challenged Bickley's batting to the extent where they lost as many as three wickets chasing, was said to have been noted a fine exponent of the forward defensive (to the full toss) and a player of true character (or something to that effect)
Also our 1s stayed up thanks to some old-guard contributions. Nothing like a crunch game to get the big hitters back in eh
Sandwich Town really are the masters of avoiding relegation. Yesterday they succeeded in doing so by an even narrower margin than the one point differential that kept them in the PL last season.
That said, Sandwich lost by the margin of just one run to Bexley courtesy of a penultimate ball run out. They then had to wait for the outcome of the Blackheath v Sevenoaks Vine encounter - Blackheath needed to win and The Vine had to secure maximum bonus points to survive themselves. The Vine had already taken all four bowling points and needed to reach 200 - but fell an agonising 3 runs short. So Sandwich (174) survive on matches won from Sevenoaks Vine (174) with the sides above them Minster (177) and Blackheath (177).
At the other end of the PL table, Lordswood landed the title though there must have been a few worried faces in their ranks at one point - despite rolling already relegated Holmesdale for a mere 78, they found themselves 23-5. An undefeated stand of 59 between MacLeod and Goldsack meant that they were Champions by 15 points from Bexley.
It appears from the release of some teams on social media that a lot of the Kent squad are going to be turning out for their clubs - this is more to do with the fact that Kent have a 19 day game between matches than clubs needing reinforcements though their presence is hardly going to hinder.
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have ex Kent, Somerset and Durham keeper, Ryan Davies plus Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
The performances of those mentioned above that did actually play serve to prove that, on slow and unreliable decks, it is somewhat easier for pros to dominate with the ball than it is to do so with the bat in club cricket:
Jack Leaning 29 (49) & 7-0-28-2
Darren Stevens 15 (14) & 5-0-30-1
Ben Compton 17 (57)
James Logan 25 (53)
Daniel Bell-Drummond 40 (50)
Arafat Bhuiyan 1* (1) & 9-0-32-0
Adam Riley 0 (1) & 10-3-22-0
Ryan Davies 8 (29)
Alex Blake 6 (19) & 4.3-1-22-1
James Hockley 14 (19) & 4-0-9-1
David Masters 3 (42) & 4-1-17-0
Aaron Nijjar 1 (14) & 7.4-1-22-1
Calum MacLeod 32* (38) & 6-2-14-3
Thando Ntini 1 (6) & 7-2-32-2
Tawanda Muyeye 13 (18) & 4-3-1-1
Jaydn Denly 2 (9) & 10-2-22-3
Context is everything. Some of the batting scores were hugely relevant to the matches played - none more so than MacLeod's 32 after Lordswood slipped to 25-5 (chasing 70-odd) and ultimately won them the League!
Indeed and in total agreement that batsmen have to play the situation. DBD's 40, in the game you stood in, was another very important contribution and the nature of the game was, presumably, the reason why he was held back and the way in which he played.
The point I was trying to make is that the surfaces pros encounter on a Saturday are not equivalent to the ones they are used to batting on. But some of the bowling is of a comparable standard i.e. batsmen really do have to work harder to be successful than one might think they should have to given that they are dropping down what is perceived to be a much lower level of cricket. Bowlers such as Bhuiyan, Masters (x2), Riley, Stevens, Nijjar, Denly, Jamal, Sikander, Ntini, MacLeod, Singh, Hockley, Hooper etc etc are aided by the tracks they get to play on at that level whereas it really is the complete opposite for batsmen on the slow, unreliable decks we've encountered for most of this season. Just 5 batsmen have averaged more than 38 this season out of 74 that have batted 10 or more times in the PL.
Equally, it is a stiff learning curve for any young batter on these surfaces. Just ask Jaydn Denly who will, I am sure, become a very good all rounder but his 93 runs from 11 innings in the second tier of the Kent League do not reflect that. His bowling returns certainly do given that he is just 17 years old as yesterday's figures of 10-2-22-3 evidence.
Call out for Dartford’s 4th team - yesterday they were crowned champions of the Knott Division - my mate’s son plays for them, and he has excelled with the bat this season - the players are very proud of themselves, and rightly so
It appears from the release of some teams on social media that a lot of the Kent squad are going to be turning out for their clubs - this is more to do with the fact that Kent have a 19 day game between matches than clubs needing reinforcements though their presence is hardly going to hinder.
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have ex Kent, Somerset and Durham keeper, Ryan Davies plus Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
The performances of those mentioned above that did actually play serve to prove that, on slow and unreliable decks, it is somewhat easier for pros to dominate with the ball than it is to do so with the bat in club cricket:
Jack Leaning 29 (49) & 7-0-28-2
Darren Stevens 15 (14) & 5-0-30-1
Ben Compton 17 (57)
James Logan 25 (53)
Daniel Bell-Drummond 40 (50)
Arafat Bhuiyan 1* (1) & 9-0-32-0
Adam Riley 0 (1) & 10-3-22-0
Ryan Davies 8 (29)
Alex Blake 6 (19) & 4.3-1-22-1
James Hockley 14 (19) & 4-0-9-1
David Masters 3 (42) & 4-1-17-0
Aaron Nijjar 1 (14) & 7.4-1-22-1
Calum MacLeod 32* (38) & 6-2-14-3
Thando Ntini 1 (6) & 7-2-32-2
Tawanda Muyeye 13 (18) & 4-3-1-1
Jaydn Denly 2 (9) & 10-2-22-3
Context is everything. Some of the batting scores were hugely relevant to the matches played - none more so than MacLeod's 32 after Lordswood slipped to 25-5 (chasing 70-odd) and ultimately won them the League!
Indeed and in total agreement that batsmen have to play the situation. DBD's 40, in the game you stood in, was another very important contribution and the nature of the game was, presumably, the reason why he was held back and the way in which he played.
The point I was trying to make is that the surfaces pros encounter on a Saturday are not equivalent to the ones they are used to batting on. But some of the bowling is of a comparable standard i.e. batsmen really do have to work harder to be successful than one might think they should have to given that they are dropping down what is perceived to be a much lower level of cricket. Bowlers such as Bhuiyan, Masters (x2), Riley, Stevens, Nijjar, Denly, Jamal, Sikander, Ntini, MacLeod, Singh, Hockley, Hooper etc etc are aided by the tracks they get to play on at that level whereas it really is the complete opposite for batsmen on the slow, unreliable decks we've encountered for most of this season. Just 5 batsmen have averaged more than 38 this season out of 74 that have batted 10 or more times in the PL.
Equally, it is a stiff learning curve for any young batter on these surfaces. Just ask Jaydn Denly who will, I am sure, become a very good all rounder but his 93 runs from 11 innings in the second tier of the Kent League do not reflect that. His bowling returns certainly do given that he is just 17 years old as yesterday's figures of 10-2-22-3 evidence.
Good points AA. DBD batted at four, but didn't arrive until Blackheath were 137-2, after about 30 overs. He played himself in cautiously (as the surface was two paced), letting others swing (and often miss), then picked it up as they entered the last ten overs. He hit one big six (and we lost the ball temporarily!), and nicked off near the end. In the context of the game, it was a very good knock. His running was good although there were two direct hit close calls (I was badly positioned for the first, but gave him not out!).
How do we think the league restructuring has gone this year ?
I really like it. It's made administration easier, despite early tribulations. It will take a couple of years for it to pan out properly as second/third teams find their true levels within the revised structure. The regionalisation lower down helps smaller clubs. I don't think we've got any issues with teams from within one club not being promoted or being relegated due to another of their own sides (as you can't have two teams from one club in the same division) but that may come into play this time next year? Some clubs (usually 2nd/3rd teams etc) have dropped out due to not having enough players, but hopefully the loan system (if that is approved) may help next season?
How do we think the league restructuring has gone this year ?
From what I can see I think that it is has worked out well.
Strong clubs with a lot of depth, such as Bexley, will be happy because their 2nd XI, for example, has been promoted to the third tier whereas, under the old system, there were half a dozen divisions between their 1st and 2nd XIs with no chance of that gap ever being bridged.
The top three Divisions, as we know, were originally made up of 1st XIs only. This is a breakdown of the makeup of the promoted and relegated sides for the next seven divisions:
Division 6 Hurricane: 1stAsh 1s 2nd Linton Park 1s 9th Broadstairs 2s 10th Gore Court 1s If there was one aspect I would like to see changed it would be the tables indicating which of the Club sides are actually in that division. Yes we can look at fixtures to discern that but it is easier to view in the table itself.
I agree re tables showing which team from a club etc.
One slight correction to the above, in the two Div 5, only the top club gets promoted, plus whoever wins the play off (next week at the Mote) between the two second placed teams. And three teams go down from Div 4....so Upchurch 2's in 8th place were also relegated.
Special note to Chislehurst and West Kent CC, who went through the season unbeaten (except by the weather!) - 14 wins out of 18, with four curtailed by rain. No other team (from what I can see) won 14 games this year. Kings Hill (3's I think) were also unbeaten, as were Simba 2's lower down the structure. Cowdrey 3's won their league (Div 12 Knott) having only own 4 games all season!!!!
I'm not sure if we've done this before - the highest number of players that you have come across in the same cricket team that are related. There are at least half a dozen Smiths that play for Sandwich Town but I believe that they are from three different families so they don't count. The three Gould brothers (Byron, Josh and Sully) and Dad Graham used to play together at Littlebourne so that's four.
However, Ash, winners of Division 6 (Hurricane) in the Kent League have had six players by the name "Laslett" in the same team - Alexander, Steve, Ed, Charlie, Tom and Harry (they also have a Gary but he hasn't played in the same side as all the others this season). Given the unusual surname, I am assuming that they are all related - and I wouldn't want to be the one on the selection committee to make that call to a sibling to tell them that they've been dropped for one of the other relations!
Comments
Jack Leaning (plus Darren Stevens) is in the St Lawrence & HC side who will finish 4th whatever the outcome of their match against PL title chasing Tunbridge Wells (Marcus O'Riordan missing). The Vine have Ben Compton and James Logan in their team for their relegation clash against Blackheath who will have Arafat Bhuyian and quite possibly Daniel Bell-Drummond too. Jas Singh and former Kent spinner, Adam Riley, will, no doubt, be playing for Bexley against Sandwich who could have Nathan Gilchrist, James Bazley and in theory Grant Stewart in their ranks. Alex Blake has played 20 matches for last season's champions, Hayes (who need to win to be certain of being safe) against Minster who are missing their South African overseas, Ed Moore, so former Kent and Essex seamer David Masters skippers the side with another ex Kent player James Hockley and current Essex spinner, Aaron Nijjar, turning out for them too. Lordswood, seeking to beat Holmesdale and become PL Champions in the process, will almost certainly have Scotland's Calum MacLeod and Cricket South Africa's Thando Ntini to boost their chances.
In the Championship, Tawanda Muyeye is making his seasonal debut for Bromley (who cannot finish higher than 3rd whatever the result) against Linden Park who have an outside chance of being relegated. Jaydn Denly is almost certain to be playing for Whitstable and there is, I suppose, an outside chance that his uncle, Joe, will too against potential champions Canterbury. James Tredwell played in the first encounter against Bickley this season and given that Folkestone have to win to stay up, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him turn up later on today in their colours.
havimg studied the rules we need a victory
we need 175 and 10 wickets
200 and 8mwickets
oppo,have won 10,of 13 tosses and. Batted first every time
if they bat firat we need them all out for 69 or 69/9amd they get a single we have to give em,104 more runs ffs so we can get enough bonus points for victory ffs
174 all out or 199 for 8 or,9,
got 264 /3 in our 40 overs
but couldn’t get the 8 wickets aaaaah
5 down for 199 oppo were at the end
skipper and keeper dropped 4 🤦♂️ 1 in each of the first two overs , he apologised afterwards … he was broken .
I was a tfc ffs
Jack Leaning 29 (49) & 7-0-28-2
Darren Stevens 15 (14) & 5-0-30-1
Ben Compton 17 (57)
James Logan 25 (53)
Daniel Bell-Drummond 40 (50)
Arafat Bhuiyan 1* (1) & 9-0-32-0
Adam Riley 0 (1) & 10-3-22-0
Ryan Davies 8 (29)
Alex Blake 6 (19) & 4.3-1-22-1
James Hockley 14 (19) & 4-0-9-1
David Masters 3 (42) & 4-1-17-0
Aaron Nijjar 1 (14) & 7.4-1-22-1
Calum MacLeod 32* (38) & 6-2-14-3
Thando Ntini 1 (6) & 7-2-32-2
Tawanda Muyeye 13 (18) & 4-3-1-1
Jaydn Denly 2 (9) & 10-2-22-3
Folkestone won the toss and asked Bickley to bat. Despite an opening stand of 54, Bickley struggled to gain any momentum and found themselves 121-8 with very little hope of making a meaningful total. However, a superb 9th wicket stand of 98 between George Styles (53) and Jason Benn (38) enabled them to reach 223 all out. Folkestone never really looked like chasing their target down and ended up with 116 all out. Sadly Folkestone are demoted.
The most pertinent aspect of the game for Bickley was the fact that no less than nine of the team that played in the final game of last season that consigned them to relegation by one point were in the team yesterday - a change in overseas and a player who moved clubs in order to stay in the PL were the only differences. Sometimes the sum of the total really is more important than the individuals within it - just ask Minster who succeeded in losing 10 of the 15 matches they played and avoided relegation by just 3 points.
Despite Bickley's emphatic 116 run victory they have had to settle for the runners up position by virtue of Canterbury's narrow one wicket win over Whistable. Congratulations to Canterbury. Thoroughly deserved. Just another eight months or so before they get to renew acquaintances again.
It would have taken a whole host of unlikely results for Minster to go down, but at one point, post-tea, they were in the bottom two, having failed to get any batting points. If they had also failed to get bowling points, that put them in deep trouble. They were playing Hayes, who had to win (as they couldn't afford to lose with enough bonus points having bowled Minster out cheaply), and Hayes duly did so despite a stutter.
Sandwich (also in trouble) bowled Bexley out in less than forty overs, but then lost by a single run (all out off the penultimate ball), having spurned the chance to draw level in an effort to win the game. That left Sevenoaks Vine knowing what they needed to do to send Sandwich down.
Blackheath scored a decent 252 - 9, giving the Vine their fourth bonus point in the last over. Blackheath bowled slowly. It soon became clear that the Vine were targeting 200 (for their fourth batting point, to take them past Sandwich) rather than try to win the game. Schlemmer and Logan batted very sensibly and got them close, but as the asking rate (to get to 200) went up, so wickets were lost. Logan is such a nice guy but seems so unlucky. He as bowled late on and Vine need 9 off the last over with two wickets left. A wide and a boundary gave them hope, but they then lost their ninth wicket. It came down to three off the last ball and the last man swung, missed, and was bowled. You can imagine how the Vine felt - They were the only team to have been ever-present since the Premier Division was formed....
Also our 1s stayed up thanks to some old-guard contributions. Nothing like a crunch game to get the big hitters back in eh
That said, Sandwich lost by the margin of just one run to Bexley courtesy of a penultimate ball run out. They then had to wait for the outcome of the Blackheath v Sevenoaks Vine encounter - Blackheath needed to win and The Vine had to secure maximum bonus points to survive themselves. The Vine had already taken all four bowling points and needed to reach 200 - but fell an agonising 3 runs short. So Sandwich (174) survive on matches won from Sevenoaks Vine (174) with the sides above them Minster (177) and Blackheath (177).
At the other end of the PL table, Lordswood landed the title though there must have been a few worried faces in their ranks at one point - despite rolling already relegated Holmesdale for a mere 78, they found themselves 23-5. An undefeated stand of 59 between MacLeod and Goldsack meant that they were Champions by 15 points from Bexley.
The point I was trying to make is that the surfaces pros encounter on a Saturday are not equivalent to the ones they are used to batting on. But some of the bowling is of a comparable standard i.e. batsmen really do have to work harder to be successful than one might think they should have to given that they are dropping down what is perceived to be a much lower level of cricket. Bowlers such as Bhuiyan, Masters (x2), Riley, Stevens, Nijjar, Denly, Jamal, Sikander, Ntini, MacLeod, Singh, Hockley, Hooper etc etc are aided by the tracks they get to play on at that level whereas it really is the complete opposite for batsmen on the slow, unreliable decks we've encountered for most of this season. Just 5 batsmen have averaged more than 38 this season out of 74 that have batted 10 or more times in the PL.
Equally, it is a stiff learning curve for any young batter on these surfaces. Just ask Jaydn Denly who will, I am sure, become a very good all rounder but his 93 runs from 11 innings in the second tier of the Kent League do not reflect that. His bowling returns certainly do given that he is just 17 years old as yesterday's figures of 10-2-22-3 evidence.
Strong clubs with a lot of depth, such as Bexley, will be happy because their 2nd XI, for example, has been promoted to the third tier whereas, under the old system, there were half a dozen divisions between their 1st and 2nd XIs with no chance of that gap ever being bridged.
The top three Divisions, as we know, were originally made up of 1st XIs only. This is a breakdown of the makeup of the promoted and relegated sides for the next seven divisions:
Division 2:
1st Bexley 2s
2nd Sidcup 1s
9th Tenterden 1s
10th Lordswood 2s
Division 3:
1st Catford & Cyphers 1s
2nd Blackheath 2s
9th Sandwich Town 2s
10th Bromley Common 2s
Division 4:
1st Hayes 2s
2nd Frindsbury 1s
9th Orpington1s
10th Tonbridge 1s
Division 5 Spitfire:
1st Chislehurst & WK 1s
2nd Gravesend 2s
9th Linden Park 2s
10th Old Colfeians 2s
Division 5 Hurricane:
1st Minster 2s
2nd Whitstable 2s
9th Folkestone 2s
10th Walmer 1s
Division 6 Spitfire:
1st Simba 1s
2nd Gravesend RF 1s
9th Cowdrey 2s
10th New Beckenham 2s
Division 6 Hurricane:
1st Ash 1s
2nd Linton Park 1s
9th Broadstairs 2s
10th Gore Court 1s
If there was one aspect I would like to see changed it would be the tables indicating which of the Club sides are actually in that division. Yes we can look at fixtures to discern that but it is easier to view in the table itself.
One slight correction to the above, in the two Div 5, only the top club gets promoted, plus whoever wins the play off (next week at the Mote) between the two second placed teams. And three teams go down from Div 4....so Upchurch 2's in 8th place were also relegated.
Special note to Chislehurst and West Kent CC, who went through the season unbeaten (except by the weather!) - 14 wins out of 18, with four curtailed by rain. No other team (from what I can see) won 14 games this year. Kings Hill (3's I think) were also unbeaten, as were Simba 2's lower down the structure. Cowdrey 3's won their league (Div 12 Knott) having only own 4 games all season!!!!
However, Ash, winners of Division 6 (Hurricane) in the Kent League have had six players by the name "Laslett" in the same team - Alexander, Steve, Ed, Charlie, Tom and Harry (they also have a Gary but he hasn't played in the same side as all the others this season). Given the unusual surname, I am assuming that they are all related - and I wouldn't want to be the one on the selection committee to make that call to a sibling to tell them that they've been dropped for one of the other relations!
So six to equal or even beat!