Rain halts victory bid

Ashford Town

Kent League Division 3 leaders Ashford Town were denied another 20 points after the rain interrupted their game against second-placed Chestfield on Saturday.

In their first six games, Ashford had taken maximum points and had set themselves up with a chance of doing it again until the rain came.

Injured captain Sam Kennett said: “It was a bit frustrating but when the teams came off we were 72-3 and it could have gone either way.

“It started raining at about 5.30 or 6pm and there was no chance of getting back on the field.

“We had just lost a couple of wickets so at the time the rain came, it was quite a nice time for us but we felt their score was a bit under-par.”

Chestfield were bowled out for 235 thanks to Simon Taylor taking 3-25 at the start of the innings and stand-in skipper Liam Tegg taking 3-52 to restrict them at the end.

Kennett said: “We did well in the field and Simon Taylor was the star bowler as he got three wickets in his opening spell including Dom Chambers who is their best batter.

“Martin Saggers had his first game of the season and got 31 with the bat but Liam Tegg played him well at the start of our innings.”

The rain came when Ashford were 72-3 after 15.5 overs and Luke Reeves was 36 not out.

Tegg had gone well at the top, scoring a quick 32 before being dismissed by Arron Bennett.

Ashford play bottom-of-the-table Minster on Saturday and with there being nearly 100 points between the teams already they will be confident going into the game.

Kennett added: “We are hoping for a big win as they are bottom of the table. It’s another big chance for us to get 20 points.”

In Division 5 of the 2nd XI league, Ashford could not complete their game against Offham when they had looked likely to win.

Some lower order resistance from Steve Tanner (66) at No.7 and Luke Perkins (39) at No. 8 saw Ashford reach 235-8 off their overs.

Tanner took 3-44 in the Offham innings as they got them to 117-6 before the game had to be called off.