Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Record-breaking knock from Luke
Luke Stoner-Lewis scored a record 199 not out for the Kent Physically Disabled Cricket team against Middlesex last weekend. The youngster posted the highest ever individual score for his side – from just 119 balls – hitting 21 fours and six sixes as he played a captain’s innings. The skipper contributed the majority of his team’s runs as Kent scored 256 yet still lost by 91 runs at Hampstead Cricket Club. Stoner-Lewis – who also plays for Mersham – was one of the youngsters honoured as the Ashford Leisure Trust launched their 2015 Talented Athlete Programme at the Julie Rose Stadium just last week. The 15-year-old is set to attend a two-day training camp with the England Physically Disabled Cricket team at Malvern College, Worcestershire, where he will take part in 40-over and T20 action against other members of the squad. He was also selected as part of the South East Regional Performance Squad last October. Stoner-Lewis has Perthes disease and can use a runner when batting as he has no left hip bone. As well as opening the batting, the youngster is also a spin bowler.
Kent wicket-keeper Sam Billings said he was looking to help carry England’s winning momentum from the 3-2 Royal London One-Day Series triumph over New Zealand into Tuesday night’s one-off NatWest T20 against the Kiwis. And Billings, 23, who made his international bow in the first game of the one-day series, certainly kept his word. England won the clash at Emirates Old Trafford by 56 runs after defending 191-7 in which Billings scored 21 off 11 balls, including one six and two fours. Before the win, Billings said he thought England’s successful Royal London One-Day Series could help with preparations for later in the summer. He said: “Hopefully the positive cricket and vibe around the team can be taken forward into the Ashes and the one-day team when we meet against Australia.” As for his own experience, Billings suffered mixed fortunes at the start of his international career, making just three on debut at Edgbaston before hitting a vital 41 as England clinched the series in Durham on Saturday. Playing purely as a batsman, Billings said: “Edgbaston, the debut, I felt like I’d been hit by a bus to be honest. It was an emotional rollercoaster. All of a sudden you play around a straight one and you’re sitting there with your pads off so it puts it in perspective. The longer this series has gone on, I’ve just focused on doing what I do for Kent and it’s been fine.”