Bat & trap

The Artichoke A are five points clear at the halfway stage of the Canterbury & District Premiership season. They beat the Herne Bay Catholic Club 2-0 away. The Bay’s Ric Jordan hit 39 runs but a solid team performance by the Choke saw them take the points. Dove Inn B remain in second place despite losing 2-1 to the Gentil Knyght C. Littlebourne Rec went down 2-0 at home to Golden Lion B for whom Tony Jenner made 31 and Jamie Cheeseman took three traps. Golden Lion A beat Dover Castle at the Market Inn to secure all three points. The top run scorer went to the Castle’s Dan Eller who hit 25 runs in the first leg. The Lions were in a fine bowling form with four traps for Chris Dardenne and three each for Raulf Martin, Dan Boden and Bruce Aitken. In Division 1, Smugglers B moved back to top with a 2-0 victory over the Compasses at Crundale. Black Pig moved into joint second after winning 2-1 against the Gentil Knyght B. Castle A won 2-0 at home to the Market Inn A and Market Inn B beat Two Brothers 2-1. Faversham Town FC and Castle B are locked together at the top of Division 2. Town won 2-1 away to the Shipwright Arms thanks to good bowling from Josh Moat (four traps) and a hattrick in the third leg from Luke Allchin. Kestrels moved up to third despite drawing 1-1 against the Alma A as the third leg was tied 51-51. Castle B won 2-0 at Evenhill Crusaders B and in the allRed Lion game, the B side took their first points of the season at the expense of their A side. Two Brewers A won their Division 3 clash against the Artichoke B 2-0 with Dave Bennington making 69.

In the ladies’ section, Golden Lion continued their domination at the top of Division 1 with a 2-0 win over second-placed Ratling Club. Traci Aitken scored 32 and Sue Wickenden 44 in the second leg. Haywain beat Herne Bay Catholic Club 2-0 in a high scoring game. Twenty runs from Stella Jolliff helped secure the first leg for Haywain but it was Katie Miller who knocked up an impressive 72 runs in the second to contribute to the team total of 101 runs. The Catholic Club managed 60 runs in reply, 31 of those coming from Denizelipyeat. In Division 2, Ye Olde Beverlie beat Artichoke 2-0 with Amy Pascal scoring 21 in the first leg. Red Lion B lost 2-0 to Red Lion A, while Castle A won 2-0 against Kings Head A.