Kentish Express Ashford & District
GOLDEN YEAR
Part two of the KM Group’s review of the year includes world and British champions, records and more changes at The Gills... JULY
Tammy Beaumont and Laura Marsh were members of the England team which won the Women’s Cricket World Cup after beating India by nine runs in the final at Lord’s. Kent skipper Beaumont, 26, was named player of the tournament after scoring 410 runs – more than any other player. Her tally from nine innings gave her an average of 45.55 and included 23 in the final, opening the batting with Lauren Winfield. Pembury-born Marsh, 30, added a crucial 14 not out at the end of the innings to help England post the second-highest score in a World Cup final (228-7). She also bowled 10 overs for 40 runs. Of the final, Beaumont said: “Robbo (the coach Mark Robinson) had to remind me that I’ve been doing well. So many of the girls stood up. It’s been a great team performance.” Marsh added: “I bowled OK but the way Anya (Shrubsole) bowled was fantastic. In a final, every run’s important. We always knew we were right in the game. Simply brilliant.” Beaumont, in her maiden World Cup, started slowly but turned things around against South Africa in Bristol when she scored 148 from 145 balls. Her other knocks included 49 against Australia, 93 against New Zealand and 42 against the West Indies. England Women celebrate Off-spinner Marsh played in five matches, including both the semi-final and final. Her best performance with the ball came against Sri Lanka, taking 4-45 from 10 overs. Dickson produced the second-highest individual score in Kent’s history when he hit 318 in the drawn County Championship game against Northamptonshire at Beckenham. Dickson (pictured) and Joe Denly (182) added 382 for the second-wicket – Kent’s highest for any wicket – as the home side declared on 701-7, their second-highest first-class total. The South Africanborn batsman had made ducks in four of his previous five Championship matches. The 25-year-old admitted: “After the way things have been going, for me the most satisfying thing was getting to 100. That means more to me than the 200 or 300, though they were obviously amazing too. When I got to 100 I celebrated like mad.”
star race-walker claimed a new World Record at London’s Olympic Stadium in July in the one-mile walk. Sevenoaks-born Tom Bosworth, 27, blazed to a superb time of 5minutes 31.08seconds, taking six seconds off the previous record. The Tonbridge AC ace racewalking star - who is a five-time British champion and came sixth in the Rio Olympics over 20km - took part in the Diamond League’s first one-mile walk in London and left his competitors in his wake to beat the 26-yearold record.
Bright stepped down as chairman of the Kent FA after 34 years in the role. The 70-year-old said: “I don’t have to retire because of age at this stage but I think it’s the right time, both for Kent football and for myself. “I’ve been there a long time. I’m the longest-serving chairman in the country and it’s right that we begin to move forward. “It’s not a sudden decision, there’s been succession planning talked about in the county for three years.”