2s fall short v Eynsford

Bearsted 2s welcomed Eynsford to a slightly damp Green after heavy rain overnight and on Friday. Chris Filmer was in charge and it was a genuine pleasure to welcome back Gutsy Gutteridge to the side.

With our normal useless tosser away on holiday it was no surprise when we actually one the toss; we chose to field.
With stormy showers forecast, the captains agreed to play a reduced 35 over game. In fact the rain stayed away, although other parts of the village were caught in heavy storms.

We opened with a useful and youthful attack of Sam Luxton and Harry Slevin. Slevin’s first ball swung into the right hander on a perfect length and then seamed away, straightening up and just missing the outside edge. The batsman, Geear, was to take full advantage of his near miss.
Slevin (5-0-31-0) and Luxton (5-1-33-0) both bowled well but the Eynsford openers were in good form. We needed to bowl a good length and let the sticky wicket do its thing.
Luxton jagged some balls sharply into the right hander but from too short a length.

It looked like chances would come but they never really happened, with balls falling short or between fielders.
Geear was well supported by the left handed Wise. They scored 66 off the first 10 overs and 90 off the next 10. To be fair, with Pearce running late at work we did only have 10 men for half the innings.

French (5-0-30-0) replaced Slevin. He took a while to get his length but can move the ball in the air and off the seam. His highlight was getting one to pop off the seam right back into Wise’s Crown Jewels. The crack was heard from some distance away. He got all the sympathy from his team mates you would expect.

Feehan (5-0-56-0) was more expensive than usual. He dropped a sharp caught and bowled chance. He also dropped one at backward square leg which is unlike him.

It took the arrival of Ben Lush and Steve Horrocks to stem the flow.

Lush took a wicket maiden in his second over accounting for Wise who departed for 56, with the help of a catch from Filmer. Lush finished with figures of 7-1-29-2, his other wicket being clean bowled.

Horrocks from the other end bowled a tight line, wicket to wicket, letting the ball and pitch do the work. Bearing in mind the opposition were under no pressure, his figures of 7-0-32-5 were outstanding. Filmer took two more catches. Horrocks finally got rid of Geear who played down the wrong line. He fell for 96. Not only is he a fine batsman but seems a nice bloke and plays the game in right spirit. It was actually a shame he fell just short of a deserved ton.

We conceded only 65 runs off the last 14 overs whilst taking 7 wickets.

We had fielded ok. At one point though we had Haggert at gully and a slightly immobile Gutteridge sweeping on the boundary. Haggert was asked if it made sense that way round and agreed probably not. But stayed happily in the gully!

Skinner kept wicket reasonably well, even if he does say so himself. His use of his throat to stop one ball though is not to be recommended.
The opposition finished 222 for 7.

After tea we opened with Pearce and Haggert. Both looked in good form and showed excellent technique. Haggart’s leading elbow was high and correct as he drove well.

The opposition opened the bowling with a new face, Shersby. He looked sharp and bowled a good line. However it was his fielding which stood out. His first throw from the boundary landed on top of middle stump.

Haggert was bowled for 44 after an excellent opening partnership of 59.
Sam Luxton was next out to bat. He played and missed a bit initially but soon settled down and played some nice shots. Pearce was next to fall, for 41. It was the first of two catches by Shersby. The pair had put on 55.

Skipper Filmer came in at No 4. Luxton was caught by Shersby for 47. The stand had been worth 43.

Horrocks was next in. On his first ball he was hit in front, on his back leg. I’m not saying it was plumb but the square leg umpire also gave him out and without looking up, Steve turned and walked back to the pavilion.

Filmer was going well and hit a fine 6.
He was joined by Gutsy but although we were going well, were falling behind the run rate. Gutsy did well to reach one ball that was going for a clear wide. Unfortunately it brushed the toe of his bat and he fell to a good catch behind.

Louis French came in at the end and was 2 not out. Filmer finished unbeaten on 46.

We were 195 for 5 at the end.
We did not play badly and the top 4 batsmen all scored decent 40s. Eynsford though had the two best players on the pitch and deserved their win.

The post match debriefing lasted a long time in the sunshine, with various theories as to why we had now lost 4 games on the trot. Eventually we all agreed it was the fault of Tim Croom. (Editor’s note: a) that’s complete Nonsense and b) he’s the only one who knows how to load the match reports so you won’t get that in)