2s win at Linton Park

In their final competitive fixture of this truncated season, Bearsted 2s travelled up the road to Linton Park who were sitting top of the league table. The weather was very pleasant for September and the track, whilst a little green, looked in good condition.

Whilst Linton Park are fierce local rivals, it is with a heavy heart that it must be reported that they engaged in some of the most outrageous gamesmanship and skullduggery ever witnessed in over 500 years of our marvellous sport.
As soon as they got news of the Bearsted line up, the conniving and unscrupulous home team persuaded the local farmer to graze his sheep in the fields that surround most of the bucolic ground.  It meant that in practice Bearsted would be playing with only 10 for most of the game.

One minor advantage of the nearby flock was that our Celtic leader was admiring their rumps whilst chatting to the home captain before the game.  His plaintive cry of “oh look there now, tails”  was taken to be a successful call of the toss.
Bearsted chose to bat.  Croom and Lush started up against the youngish Linton attack.  The pair put on 45 for the first wicket without ever looking very fluent.  The bowling attack was more accurate than many we have faced and the outfield massive.  One boundary at the top of the ground was literally out of sight below a ridge.  The decrepit Bearsted umpire had to call for oxygen after taking a long route march to find out precisely where it was.  

Croom had worked out a cunning plan of hitting the ball into the paddock and then offering to help the fielders look for the ball.  One huge six from a short ball looked promising but he had foolishly hit it to the wrong boundary. In sheer frustration he soon after failed to move his feet and was plumb in front of the wicket.

Leo Charlton was persuaded out of the crease by a good length ball from T Thirkell and fell for a duck to a sharp stumping.

It was a joy to see Steve Pearce stride out to bat in his only competitive match of the season.  He worked hard with his long reach covering the wicket.  He looked dangerous but was never fully in the groove.  He and Lush put on 35 before Pearce found a fielder out at midwicket and was caught for 27.  After T Lush was bowled, with a thick inside edge from a wide ball for a valiant 36, there is not much else of note to report about our batting. Nobody reached double figures and the young Linton quick returned to clean up the tail.

We were bowled out 132 in only 34.3 overs.  With the umpires being harsh on leg side wides they were our 4th highest scorer with 15.  We looked to be at least 30 runs short.

After tea, we opened the bowling with Slevin and Benjamin.  The Linton openers were experienced and looked tidy with the occasional ugly shot creeping in.
Slevin went for 17 off his three overs.  With a vast array of bowling talent available he was taken off and replaced with Dampier.  With his usual away swing he ended with good figures of 9-2-32-2.

At the other end Benjamin continued to put in maximum effort and bowled really well. He used the slope to his advantage jagging the ball back well. Having had Luxton catch the home skipper he then clean bowled two more batsman.  One, who departed for a swift duck, was the Head of 6th Form at a well known local grammar school and who had foolishly called out Luxton on Friday.  Assembly on Monday could be interesting. Benjamin finished with excellent figures of 9-1-17-3.

All of a sudden Bearsted realised they were in with a chance.
The fielding was good but, as ever, we put down too many chances.  Charlton dropped a very difficult chance that not many would have even reached.  He then surprisingly dropped a sitter. What is perhaps ironic is the fact that he had shouted “catch it” every time the ball even left the ground. Whether an exhortation or instruction it is perhaps of limited benefit to his team mates who have cottoned on to the rudimentary ideas of fielding.

Feehan replaced Benjamin and carried on in a similar vein with some good seam bowling.  In his 8.5 overs he took 4 for 22.  He accounted for the other opener who had battled to a good 30

Ben Lush took two catches in the gully but also put down a sitter and dived over another difficult chance.  Pearce and Charlton also took catches.

Sam Luxton replaced Damps and again bowled well, using his natural rhythm and seemingly ever increasing height. In his 6 overs he took 2 wickets for 27 runs.  Both wickets were important and accounted for two batsmen who had just started scoring runs.

Machiavellian Linton Park had though made a foolish and frankly crucial mistake. The farmer was allowed to call the sheep in for feeding; they all duly trotted off and departed from sight.  With Bearsted back up to 11 fielders it was no surprise that it was a now fully focussed Croom who took a good catch at Mid On to end the home innings. They were bowled out for 120.

It was an exciting end to the season and played in good spirits.  Linton Park had secured enough bowling points to remain deservedly top of the table.