2s BEAT HORSMONDEN

With skipper Croom absent, performing a jazz, tap and modern dance routine for the Pink Flamingo dance school at Bearsted Fayre, Vice Skipper Filmer led the 2s for this home fixture against Horsmonden.

With the Green being occupied by Croom and his fellow tutu clad dancers, the game took place at Hollingbourne. The ground is as picturesque as ever but the wicket is perhaps not what it once was.

With Croom away, we naturally won the toss and chose to bat.

Filmer and Tim Lush opened and started steadily. It was not the easiest wicket to score on and a few balls kept low.
After 10 overs we had 47 on the board without loss of a wicket. Filmer scored the quicker, his trademark late cut upsetting the opposition greatly. He reached his fifty but was out soon afterwards, looping up a catch from their young off spinner who was turning the ball sharply.

Barker came in and without ever looking in great form scored 47 and put on 104 with Lush before gloving a pull to the keeper.
Steve Pearce came in at 4 and scored an entertaining 18 not out. Lush reached his century in the penultimate over and finished 101 not out. On a very hot day he carried his bat in a remarkable display of focussed concentration. The opposition had been generous, with 54 extras.

Skinner had obviously upset the skipper as he was left out to umpire for all 40 overs under a baking sun.
After tea, the opposition started chasing 274 to win.

Feehan (5-1-16-1) and Lush (6-2-24-2) opened the bowling. One of the opposition openers looked a fine bat with a powerful classical driving technique.

Daly (4-0-14-1) and Gutteridge (6-0-32-1) came on first and second change.
Fielding was tough on a hot day and several chances were put down notably two by Feehan, two by Peter Taylor and a sitter by Ben Lush. The fielding highlights though came from Dan Skinner who went to pieces in two overs including the use of a classical long barrier technique that had a gap you could drive a horse and coach through.

Excuse of the day came from Ben Lush who after being reprimanded by Barker for some lazy use of a boot to try and stop the ball replied, in a voice trembling and almost tearful “But I’ve just bowled 6 overs”

Steve Pearce (7-0-20-0) bowled well without much luck, although his Martina Hingis like grunting when he bowls his quicker delivery was recorded at 124 decibels.

Horrocks was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 9-0-39-4. His figures would have been more impressive had one umpire not called several wides from straight balls that the keeper took without moving his feet.

Horroocks accounted for the opposition opener who scored a fine 60, courtesy of a catch by Pearce on the midwicket boundary.
Once the opposition’s decent batsman were out, skipper Filmer, who had been previously reluctant to turn over his arm, suddenly decided he was the man to come on and get a couple of cheap wickets.

The opposition were all out for 158