The Frindsbury side today contained six colts, including four under 15s and one Under 14, so we were not expecting to take a great deal from the match with Hythe, despite the visitors being rooted to the bottom of the table.The late addition of Sunny Singh to the starting line up allowed John Tadman to stand as umpire rather than don his whites, and a conversation with opposition skipper Roger Mapstone suggested that Hythe were also missing some regular players so maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Frindsbury batted first on what looked to be a belting track, but soon found themselves in trouble.First Matt Palmer was unlucky to be out as the ball flicked the top of his leg bail, then Keith Hanshaw was run out looking for a quick single to mid-wicket.Skipper Rob Peters stuck aroundfor a while supporting the typically-belligerent Sunny Singh, who blasted his way to a brutal 77 before falling to a spectacular diving catch at mid-on by Dan Marechal.Harry Horsfall added 26 with just seven scoring shots (including three fours and two sixes), and Ray Burt made his highest ever score for Frindsbury, surviving a confident appeal for a catch behind the wicket early in his innings to finish on 49 not out (including eight fours) – unluckily just one run short of a maiden half century as the innings closed.
A total of 38 extras helped the home side to a total of 215 for 8, which looked to be a fairly competitive score on a decent cricket wicket.
Hythe started well enough against the young opening bowlers Paul Dunne (4-1-22-0) and Luke Duthie (4-1-13-0), but although they weren’t losing wickets they were never quite up with the required run rate.Under 15 Duthie, making his first senior appearance, proved particularly hard to get away, and Under 14 Dan Carter continued where he left off by bowling his first 4 overs for just 14.Paul Dunne was replaced by Mohsin Raza, who found Mapstone to be quite ruthless against anything wide outside his off peg. However it was Raza who achieved the breakthrough by removing the other opener Pappalla - LBW for 30.51 for 1, and Hythe were still very much in the game, and so it continued as Tom Bean joined Mapstone to take the score to 138.However the overs were being used up, and when Mapstone fell for 69 - LBW to the impressive Matt Palmer the visitors still needed 78 from 12.
Sometimes a skipper has one of those days when all his decisions seem to work, and when the pressure is on, his bowlers all step up to the mark for him. And so it was today when Hythe were at their most threatening two young men stood up to be counted.Firstly the above-mentioned Palmer (5-1-27-1), who Peters entrusted with the ball at a crucial phase in the match and who not only removed Hythe’s most dangerous batsman, but bowled with confidence and control in a pressure situation to ensure that the opposition never got on top.
Palmer was excellent, but the undoubted star of the show was Under 14 Dan Carter.Having bowled his first four overs for 14, he came back to complete another four for just 15, bowling in tandem with Palmer, and producing the champagne moment of the match when he bowled Vani Shah with an absolute beauty.His final analysis of 8-0-29-1 was good enough in itself, but with a bit more luck he could have snapped up at least a couple more as a catch was put down off his bowling and he beat a succession of batsmen past both edges.
Thanks to Palmer and Carter, Hythe were 52 runs short of their target when it came to the last five overs.Sunny Singh and Ray Burt were asked to finish things off, and both kept their cool as Hythe tried all the shots in the book – and some that aren’t in the book – in an attempt to snatch victory.Sunny Singh (8-1-34-0) contained them at one end, unable to prise a wicket but keeping the run rate down, and Ray Burt (7-1-35-2) removed a couple batsmen just at the right time to stop any chance Hythe might have had of reaching the total.Tom Bean got to his 50 in the final over, but by then the game was well and truly up and the visitors finished on 193-5, giving Frindsbury victory by 22 runs.
Thanks today to John Tadman for umpiring, and especially to My Nest of Vipers and Kath “do you want pickle with that?” Tadman for somehow providing teas when there were no facilities on site.
