Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Early lessons handed out
Indoor cricket
When cricket went indoors again on Sunday it took just two hours for two teams who enjoyed considerable Pharon League success last season to find out how difficult life can be in the top division.
Both Gravesend, runners-up to CCCU1, and Sturry 1, promoted from Division 2, were well beaten by Canterbury 1 and Street End 1. At the same time, the losers were given a lesson in batsmen’s running between the wickets.
Although Canterbury’s attack conceded as many as 14 wides, Max Campbell and skipper Justin Macvicar each took two cheap wickets to dismiss Gravesend for 58
With Stuart Drakeley retiring on 26 and Brewster Surridge not out 24, Canterbury won by six wickets with five overs to spare.
Wicketkeeper Tim Biggs – Street End’s top scorer with 32 – and seamer Mark Hadlow, bowling three overs at little cost, returned from semi-retirement to play key roles in a 57-run victory over Sturry.
Tom Stewart (28), Kevin Hopper (22) . and Joe Goldbacher had taken Street End to 128 – the day’s biggest total – before Sturry were bowled out for 71.
For various reasons, there were late changes to the original fixture list. Whitstable 1 dropped out of Division 1 and Canterbury 2 stayed up, after all. They start on Sunday against Gravesend.
The two Margate sides made their Division 2 debuts but lost to Whitstable and Littlebourne.
After losing two early wickets to Margate 2, Whitstable recovered and thanks to an unbeaten half-century by Fraser Coupe and Josh Smith’s 36, they made 116-5.
In reply, Margate were well placed with their second-wicket pair together but once Malik and Ranjeswaren, each scoring 40, had gone, the tail folded and Whitstable won by 21 runs.
Despite Harry Carter’s 31 not out, Margate 1’s 80-5 was never enough against Littlebourne, who won by three wickets with an over to spare. Opener Steve Martin hit 26.
In Division 3, positive batting from Chestfield’s top three took them past Sheldwich’s 95 with three overs left and five wickets intact.
Openers Aaron Bennett and Ben Carpenter-friend both retired on 26 and Joe Mitchell was not out 24. So James Harris’s 55 for Sheldwich was in vain.
The tightest finish of the day came in the last match when Sturry 2’s bowlers did not take a wicket but still pipped
Canterbury’s Stuart Drakeley and Olly Bone Grasmere Park by four runs.
Mark Reynolds’ 50 not out took Sturry to 112-5 but four Grasmere batsmen Neil Gowers, Mark Bradley, Will Alder and Jimmy Huffer all got into the 20s only to fall short in the final over.
Gravesend 6ers 1 did not turn up for their fixture with Street End 2. They will be docked points and fined. Results Division 1: Gravesend 58 (M. Campbell 2-9, J. Macvicar 2-11). Canterbury 1 59-0 (S. Drakeley 26ret, B. Surridge 22not). Canterbury won by six wickets; Street End 1 128 (T. Biggs 32, T. Stewart 28, K. Hopper 22; P. Moon 2-31); Sturry 71 (T. Jessup 17, J. Fagg 16). Street End won by 57 runs. Division 2: Whitstable 1 116-5 (F. Coupe 52, J. Smith 36; Ajaz 2-29); Margate 2 95 (Malik 40, Ranjeswaren 40; J,. Guinan 2-17). Whitstable won by 21 runs; Margate 1 80-5 (H. Carter 31not); Littlebourne 81-3 (S. Martin 26). Littlebourne won by three wickets. Division 3: Sheldwich 95 (J. Harris 55; D. James 2-15, A. Bennett 2-18); Chestfield 99-1 (A. Bennett 26ret, B. Carpenter-friend 26ret, J. Mitchell 24). Chestfield won by five wickets; Canterbury 3 95 (M. Harris 32, D. Nunes 25; B. Croft 3-18); Faversham 79 (T. Bird 20, N. Appleton 18). Canterbury won by 16 runs. Sturry 2 112-5 (M. Reynolds 50not, T. Clifton 17; N. Gowers 3-33). Grasmere Park 108-1 (N. Gowers 27ret, M.bradley 25ret, W. Alder 23ret, S. Huffer 22). Sturry won by four runs. Fixtures Saturday Juniors: 11.15am Canterbury v Chestfield; 12.30pm Broadstairs v St Lawrence & Highland Court. Sunday Seniors: Division 3: 10.45am Chestfield v Grasmere Park; noon Sturry 2 v Faversham; 1.15pm Street End 2 v Canterbury 3; 2.30pm Sheldwich v Gravesend 6ers 2. Division 1: 3.45pm Street End 1 v Canterbury 1; 5pm Canterbury 2 v Gravesend. Division 2: 6.15pm Whitstable v Gravesend 6ers 1; 4.30pm Harbledown v Littlebourne.