Hottest day of the year so far – tick. Win toss and bat first – tick. Early classy boundary from Louis – tick. Early 6 from Irv – tick. Louis sadly swept a straight one to go for 9, before a somewhat out of sorts Richie managed to spoon a full toss to extra cover. The pitch didn’t quite feel as good as last week’s and Irv and Keeran had to battle quite hard to build a partnership of 62, before Keeran over-estimated his own pace to run himself out running an overthrow. It was great to see the man mountain Reyhan striding to the crease to open his Kent League account and he didn’t disappoint with an early flicked 6 over square leg. Sadly, that was about it as Reyhan went for 8 and it was proving to be quite hard work with the bat (probably not as hard as it was fielding in that heat). Bushy joined Irv and they moved the score on to 142, bringing a little more impetus to the innings knowing how much quality they had left in the hutch. Irv finally went for an excellent, diligent 74, once more the spine of the innings (and now league leading run-scorer). If you want to up the scoring rate, Josh Cryan’s your man, especially if he gets past 2. His first ball was swiped viciously for one, but as he settled into his stride, gliding past 2, he managed several more lusty blows, trading these with Bushy who was finding his range well. Josh went for 12, replaced by Hammer who watched Bushy batter Beckenham’s attack a little more, before being run out backing up thanks to a deflected straight drive. Noah went next, and went soon, so Jonny joined Bushy, who was dismissed in the last over for an excellent rapid-fire 33. 196 felt above par with the pitch increasingly erratic in its bounce, and following a much enjoyed tea, OE’s took to the field.
Noah opened up with Vitty and both bowled pretty controlled spells. Noah made the first break-through, enticing a skied leading edge which Richie grabbed thanks to a fantastic dive at the last moment. His next was an absolute beauty which swung one way and seamed the other and Beckenham were looking 2nd favourites on 20 for 2 after 7. However, what followed was a masterclass in batting from Rohit Sharma and Kim Jong Un, Beckenham’s 1 and 4. Picking off loose balls and with some excited calling from one end ensuring that singles were maximised, they put on over 100 despite the best attempts of Vitty, Noah, Jonny, Irv, Bushy and Keeran, taking the score on to 150 off 30. 47 off 10 with 2 batsmen set and 8 wickets in hand….cricviz was showing us with a 2.8% win chance.
The breakthrough came courtesy of Jonny, tempting Beckenham’s skipper down the pitch and smart work from Richie saw him go, stumped, frustrated and vociferously self-critical. Irv and Jonny were now operating in tandem and squeezed the scoring rate a little, but Beckenham were still clear favourites. However, it got really interesting in the 36th when Irv took a neat caught and bowled to dismiss Beckenham’s number one. Over 37 went for 13, not what we really wanted, meaning Beckenham needed just 17 off the last three. However, Irv’s next over saw two wickets, both caught by Jonny and just two runs added. Jonny bounced back with his last over, keeping the scoring down to just 4 from the over and Beckenham needed 9 off the last (or 8 for a superover?). Irv kept the cork in the bottle – no boundaries and we’d clawed our way back to a hard-earned victory, of the type we’ve seen so rarely over the past few years – great to see belief, grit and resilience on a hot and sultry afternoon.
We retired to Beckenham’s clubhouse for awards and a 1980's theme night:
MOM – Irv – runs and bowls
DOD – Noah – getting angry at their umpire after a direct hit
Maidstone award went to Bushy for spending at least half of Beckenham’s innings sat in a chair on the boundary
Noah’s POD award – Beckenham’s skipper and all-round sorter out of everything
Parikh positive race relations award - Reyhan – he’s back!
Conchita Wurst award for best transformation – Reyhan – my, how you’ve grown
Most ajil moment – Keeran for falling on his backside at short midwicket
The Jonny Ncholls award for taking the last wicket of the match with a leg spinner – Irv
Greatest comeback since Jesus Christ – Jonny Nicholls (over 39 after over 37)
Nick Smith award for the most chaotic bowling spell – Jonny Nicholls
Piper-Heidsieck champagne award – Noah’s awesome ball for 2nd wicket
Hammer Super Supporter – Vik (with nominations for Jon and, once more Phil Alger)

Next week, we’re on the road again – vs Bexley Park. That’s four wins on the bounce for us……important to keep that going.