Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Champions dominant Late flourish worth wait
Indoor cricket
To no one’s surprise, Canterbury are champions of the Pharon Indoor Cricket League – and for the 13th time this century.
So dominant are Canterbury 1 they did not have to rely on Lady Luck in their successful title defence – without a defeat after 12 First Division matches and with another two to play ( against Canterbury Christ Church University).
Canterbury’s demolition of the pointless Gravesend 6ers on Sunday meant that, even if there were some freak results, they could not be caught.
Since September their players’ ability to adjust their skills to the different conditions required indoors has baffled opponents.
Canterbury now qualify for the county finals on February 3 – at their home venue, the Kent Academy at the Spitfire Ground.
On Sunday they took only 7.1 overs to dismiss the 6ers for 36, five bowlers being employed. Opening batsmen Isaac Dilkes and Sam Burt did the rest in 3.3 overs.
Taking most of the strike, Dilkes – in his first indoor season with Canterbury – hit 20 with seven strokes.
CCCU 1 are runners- up, whatever the result of their games with Canterbury and Whitstable this Sunday.
Best placed “village side” in the league are Street End 1, now third. Their first four batsmen, Paul Betts, Joe and Matt Goldbacher and Tom Stewart, all contributed to a total of 139-4 against Gravesend 6ers, all out for 53.
The premier Gravesend club also moved up the table with convincing wins over CCCU 2 and Whitstable.
Divisions 2 and 3 continue until March 24 and Chestfield, with a 100% record, are already hot favourites for promotion to the First Division.
After a thrilling victory over Sturry 1. Canterbruy 2 must also be contenders.
Opener Paul Steer was one of two players in the league to make the day’s highest individual score of 70 (three sixes and two fours included) as Canterbury totalled 122.
But the Jessups, Tom (54 not out) ad Kieran (28), struck back for Sturry only to lose by six runs after a brave effort to take 22 off the final over.
In a successful run chase for Sheldwich, Kit Sims carried his bat for 46 after Harbledown had set a target of 110-4 thanks to Henry Roberts (41), Greg Shields (26) and Singh (19 not out). Sheldwich had five balls to spare.
In Division 3 there were victories for Faversham, who beat Street End 2 by three wickets, and Sturry 2.
Long-serving Frank Wrench was the day’s second batsman to make 70 – for Sturry 2 in a 52-run win over Reculver. He was not out after hitting a six, a five and three fours in Sturry’s 127-5.
Another experienced player, Mark Bradley, was also not out (for 26) in Reculver’s reply of 75-4.
Results Division 1
Street End 1 139-4 (M. Goldbacher 34not, P. Betts 25, J. Goldbacher 22, T. Stewart 22not); Gravesend 6ers 53 (K. Hopper 2-11). Street End won by 86 runs. Gravesend 6ers 36; Canterbury 1 37-0 (I. Dilkes 20not). Canterbury won by six wickets. Gravesend 123-4 (S. Ohri 40 not, U. Khan 26not, A. Rana 24, U. Khan 18); CCCU 2 92-4 (A. Hobbs-moore 27, J. Roche 17, H. Wise 16). Gravesend won by 31 runs. Gravesend 117 (A. Chavid 28, S. Singh 25, A. Hill 18, U. Khan 18); Whitstable 99-5 (J. Smith 25, K. Smith 23). Gravesend won by 18 runs.
Division 2
Canterbury 2 122 (P. Steer 70, M. Belt 16, J. Mcvittie 15; S. Wilkinson 2-34). Sturry 1 116-5 (T. Jessup 54 not, K. Jessup 28, J. Fagg 16). Canterbury won by six runs. Harbledown 110-4 (H. Roberts 41, G. Shields 26 not, R. Singh 19 not); Sheldwich 111-4 (K. Sims 46 not, J. Harris 19 not, T. Copestake 17). Sheldwich won by two wickets. Street End 2 98-5 (B.kite 30, M. Bryse 25); Faversham 99-3 (T. Machin 30 not, J. Mewett 25). Faversham won by three wickets. Sturry 2 127-5 (F. Wrench 70 not, J. Walsh 22; S. Alexander 2-27); Reculver 75-4 (M. Bradley 26 not). Sturry won by 52 runs.
Fixtures Sunday, Division 3: Division 2:
Noon, Canterbury 3 v Reculver. 1.15pm Chestfield v Margate 1; 2.30pm Whitstable v Gravesend; 3.45pm Whitstable v CCCU1 ; 6.15pm CCCU 2 v Street End 1; 7.30 Canterbury 1 v CCCU 2.
It was a case of getting back in the saddle for a Canterbury side which had taken a fall in the pre-christmas outing at Tonbridge Juddians, writes David Haigh.
They eventually raced home in style as seven tries and a bonus point against Redcliffians lifted them back into second place in National Division 2 South.
The city side kept everyone waiting until the second half before dismantling a hardworking but defensively vulnerable Redcliffians, who conceded three tries in the final five minutes.
That late burst may have added a gloss to the winning margin, but if Canterbury had taken
47 12
every chance created by the power and pace of their back division they could have been out of sight much earlier.
They rattled Old Reds from the early minutes through a series of searing line breaks, but failed to turn them into points and had to settle for just two first-half tries.
Even more frustrating, the visitors had drawn level by halftime after the city side got two yellow cards within a minute and were reduced to 13 players.
Canterbury finally lived up to their early promise with a try after 14 minutes.
Tom Best made the decisive run and brother Ollie grabbed the touchdown from Kyan Braithwaite’s pass.
The second, seven minutes later, was a classic catch and drive with flanker Freddie Edwards applying the final touch and Ollie Best hitting a post with the kick, his only failure in seven attempts.
All seemed under control until the Reds, mainly through their hard-carrying back row, built pressure and first Braithwaite then Jonathan Murray were sin-binned for the same offence, deliberate knock-ons.
Reds did not waste the opportunity as the league’s leading try scorer, Henry Bird, added two more to his tally.
He came off his wing and into the line for the first and then cantered over from a huge overlap.
Kieran Hill added a conversion but those setbacks, however, saw a galvanised Canterbury restore their authority after the break with two tries in the early minutes.
A scrum ball taken against the head gave Braithwaite his chance and the opportunism of the everdangerous Ricky Mackintosh brought the bonus-point try.
Until that late flourish, however, the rest of the half was a scrappy affair, punctuated by penalties and stoppages, but the Reds’ legs were beginning to betray them and it showed in those closing phases.
Mackintosh blasted through three tackles to register his second, followed by lovely individual breaks from deep by Murray and Aiden Moss to round off Canterbury’s victory. Canterbury: A Moss, R Mackintosh, S Sterling, T Best (repl C Grimes), J J Murray, O Best, K Braithwaite (repl D Smart), A Cooper (repl A Wake-smith), T King (repl S Rogers), S Kenny, R Cadman (repl J.stephens), M.corker (repl R Cadman), F Edwards, S Stapleton, J Stephens (repl J Otto). n Canterbury Ladies returned to action in NC South East East 1 with a 43-10 home win over Worthing on Sunday.
The leaders, who have won all eight of their games, travel to Tonbridge Juddians on Sunday.
CANTERBURY REDCLIFFIANS