Broadstairs Cricket Club
Broadstairs Cricket Club
After securing their second win of the season last week, Broadstairs 1st XI suffered a disappointing defeat away at 3rd place Bromley Common. On a flat and bouncy track with a lightning outfield, Bromley Common won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision that seemed vindicated when they took 14 off the opening over of the match. With only two fielders allowed out in the first ten overs, Broadstairs’ opening bowlers had their work cut out trying to stem the early flow of runs, with the Bromley Common openers seizing on anything wide and fielders seldom being able to chase anything down once it had broken through the infield. Despite this, Bradley Ellison and Jamie Dewell were able to go for only 30 and 32 respectively in each of their 6 overs, a good effort in the context of the innings. However, the crucial first wicket was to remain elusive until captain Chris Kidd got the opening batsman to run past one with keeper Tom Marshall compleing the easier of his two stumpings throughout the day, leaving the score 157-1. Kidd would then go on to take a further 3 wickets, bowling in tandem with Matt Frewin (2-63 off 10) to slow the scoring, and stop the hosts reaching a score of 350+ which they had threatened to do earlier. Some smart catches in the outfield from Dewell and Callum Morgan among others meant that in the 49th over overseas Jayojit Basu was able to take the 9th wicket of the innings ensuring the Seasiders were able to secure maximum bowling points, with the batting side finishing on 309-9 off their allotted 50 overs. Although there had been a lot of ball chasing on a hot day, it was encouraging to see the fielders stick at the task of taking wickets with few meaningful fielding errors. Unfortunately, Broadstairs were unable to replicate the success the hosts had enjoyed with the bat, as Bromley looked to make use of the bouncy surface by bowling short and fast with only one fielder in front of square. Opening bowler Masoud Rangin was sent in as a pinch hitter to try to get the innings off to a fast start, but he was bowled early before both opener Elliot Fox and overseas Basu were caught behind. Dewell was able to continue his good run of form with the bat and offer some resistance, riding his luck with a hard-hitting 49 off just 30 balls that included 9 fours, but once he was out only Ellison (18*) and Alfie Huntley (18) were able to get into double figures as the hosts slumped to 121 all out in just 24.4 overs. The match had been a tale of contrasting first 10 overs, with Bromley Common able to get to 70 without loss, and Broadstairs only managing 39-5 meaning they did not have wickets in hand to cash in against the less imposing change bowlers. Having said this, Broadstairs were able to take 4 points from an away match against one of the better teams in the league, and with a stronger side in the second half of fixtures than the first will be hoping to secure another 4 wins which should see them safe from relegation. Next week they face top of the table Bromley at home.
