Kentish Express Ashford & District
Kent’s campaign ends with win
Cricket
Kent ended their WICB Regional Super50 campaign in the Caribbean on a high with a sixwicket victory over West Indies Under-19s at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday. The win – their third in eight matches – featured a maiden List A half-century from Adam Rouse but the Spitfires failed to go through to the knockout stages after finishing a distant third in Group A. With Sam Northeast rested, Will Gidman captained the side and 18-year-old academy scholar Ollie Robinson was given his debut behind the stumps. The Windies under-19s were 20-4 inside eight overs after choosing to bat first thanks to a three-wicket burst from Calum Haggett (3-43 from 10 overs). Captain Kirstan Kallicharan dug in to make 47 and added 63 for the fifth wicket with Shamar Springer (26). Man-of-the-match Keemo Paul then went on the offensive hitting six sixes in his 72 before giving Robinson his first catch from the final ball of the innings as the youngsters closed on 191-8. Matt Coles finished with 3-42 from 10 overs while Imran Qayyum bowled his 10 overs for just 26 runs. Kent openers Daniel BellDrummond (29) and Adam Ball (25) gave Kent an assured start with a half-century stand and Sean Dickson and Rouse continued the good work with a 104-run third-wicket stand. Dickson’s 53 made him Kent’s leading scorer in the tournament with 202 runs while Rouse finished unbeaten on 61 – a second successive List A careerbest – as Kent won with 5.1 overs to spare. Kent’s hopes of qualifying had been ended on Wednesday with a five-wicket defeat to defending champions Trinidad & Tobago who avenged their earlier loss against the Spitfires at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Gidman’s first List A halfcentury for the county was the highlight of Kent’s 194 all out in 46 overs after they had been put into bat. Gidman (94) and Rouse (40) had both hit List A career bests in Friday’s game against the Windward Islands Volcanoes but their efforts were not enough to prevent a six-wicket defeat at The Coolidge Ground. Kent collapsed from 21 without loss to 35-5 before Rouse joined Gidman in a sixth-wicket stand of 104. In reply, Kavem Hodge (68) and Sunil Ambris (48) helped Volcanoes to victory with 13 balls to spare.
PW D L F A Ps Thanet Wdrs . 16 13 0 3 502 245 65 Pulborough ... 16 13 0 3 484 273 65 Haywrds Hth . 16 13 1 2 378 162 60 Lewes........... 16 11 0 5 434 317 56 Folkestone .... 16 11 0 5 455 349 56 Sheppey ....... 16 5 1 10 376 477 33 G’ham Anch .. 16 5 0 11 373 436 26 Park House ... 16 5 0 11 259 419 26 O D’stonians . 16 6 1 9 374 453 23 Aylesfrd Blls.. 16 4 1 11 282 444 23 Eastbourne ... 16 5 0 11 255 379 22 Ashford ......... 16 3 0 13 241 459 8
Aylesford 25 Ashford 0, Gilli Anchs 12 Old Dunstonians 29, Haywards H 23 Thanet W 17, Lewes AWO Folkestone, Pulborough 34 Eastbourne 0, Sheppey 28 Park H 10.
Ashford v Gillingham Anchorians, Eastbourne v Sheppey, Folkestone v Haywards Heath, Old Dunstonians v Pulborough, Park House v Lewes, Thanet W v Aylesford.