Sunday XI win at Lenham

The Sunday XI headed down the A20 for a friendly against Lenham. It was, as is the norm this summer, baking hot and the outfield brown and parched.
We had a mix of age and athleticism in the side.
With only 10 on the team sheet James West’s dad Brian made the fateful mistake of wandering over to the pavilion when dropping him off. Some spare kit was found and we were up to a full complement.
Alex Lush lost the toss and we were in the field in the heat of the day. West jnr and Baker jnr opened the bowling. Yes, it was indeed “Bring your Dad to Cricket” day and Jamie had roped in paternal support from Nigel.
The track was not great sadly. You never quite knew what the ball was going to do, sometimes stopping and sitting up and on other occasions shooting along the ground.
West started with a maiden but his next two overs went at 10 and over and he was promptly hauled off.
The opposition openers were useful. Hill, the No 2, clearly did not intend on hanging around and hit the ball very hard. Lane was more traditional in his approach.
Baker was replaced after two expensive overs and we now had Lush and Terry bowling in tandem to keep the run rate down. After 10 overs the oppo were 72 without loss and questions were being asked about how successful the tactical change had been.
Terry finally accounted for Hill, clean bowling him. He would finish, in two spells, with good figures of 9-1-30-2. His second wicket was caught and bowled.
Lenham had a crop of youngsters and made sure they all got a game. The no 3 was caught in the gully off Lush. It looped up slowly off a glove and not even Skinner could make a hash of that.
Lush in the heat had cut his run up but still bowled at a good pace. He finished 9-0-53-1
Christian Roberts bowled 9 overs unchanged. His length was a little variable but he got an important wicket bowling their no 4 who had made a useful 41.
Olly French bowled 4 overs at the end. He has a run up that is probably longer than it needs to be but he can move the ball. He clean bowled their no 7 for figures of 4-0-17-1
Our fielding was not great. The outfield was hard and bobbly but we put down a few easy chances. Notably by Terry and West junior who don’t have the excuse of ageing bodies or failing eyesight.
West senior belied his years though by showing a fine turn of pace, charging around like a gazelle. In one chase to the boundary he gave French 30 yards and 40 years’ head start and still beat him to the ball.
Highlight of the innings though was the return of Baker. He bowled much better in his next 4 overs and had the opener out for 87. It was a fine caught and bowled. His surprise at holding onto it was matched by our delight at his first wicket for the club. May there be many more.
Lenham finished on 234 for 6 off their 40 overs.
Will Terry and James West opened up for us. West had looked tidy before misjudging the length of the ball and playing round it departing for 14.
Skinner was delighted to be next in. Having scored a streaky single he then changed his mind to the first ball from the first ball from the young girl from Lenham and gently looped it up to square leg. Ironically it was the worst ball she bowled all day.
Baker senior was in at 4 and made good use of his opportunity. From the state of his kit he last last played in the 90s but he clearly has played a decent level. He played himself in before opening up. He was well stumped for 17.
That did bring the reassuring figure of “Bobby” Roberts to the wicket. Having played 9 games in 9 days he was aching a little. But a weary Roberts still plays classy shots. With Terry going well the pair accelerated the scoring.
Terry had batted nicely with some correct shots and good running. Eventually he succumbed to a tired hoik across the line and was l.b.w for an excellent 90.
Leo Petty was in next. He can bat and supported his partner well scoring 9 before being bowled
Alex Lush was in at 7. He kept the score going and developed a nice competitive, but slightly daft, battle with Roberts to try and pinch the strike.
Roberts had moved swiftly to 61 before being bowled.
Olly French was not phased by coming in at the death. He ran well with Lush for the final few runs. Lush was unbeaten on 20 and we won by 4 wickets with 9 balls to spare.
Onto more serious cricket next Sunday back in the League.