Broadstairs Cricket Club
Broadstairs Cricket Club
Sevenoaks Vine won by 7 wickets
Broadstairs CC won the toss and elected to bat first, posting 167-7 (42) in a rain-affected innings
Matthew Frewin 73, Matt Hardy 36, Nathan Fox 30
Sevenoaks were set a revised target of 194 from 42 overs and won with 3.1 overs and 7 wickets to spare.
Nathan Fox 2-36, Jake Benfield 1-45
Broadstairs suffered their second defeat of the season as they entertained Sevenoaks Vine CC in a rain-affected match. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Broadstairs had reached the modest score of 137-4 after 38 overs when heavy rain brought a temporary halt to proceedings. The high quality Sevenoaks bowling attack had stifled free-flowing run-scoring at the top of the order that has typified their season so far and only Nathan Fox, Matthew Frewin and Matt Hardy achieved double figures. It was the two Matts who would resume the innings following the rain break, with just 4 overs remaining in a reduced overs match. Unfortunately, the run-out of Hardy (36) initiated a sequence of quick dismissals and the hosts finished on 167-7 off 42 overs with Matthew Frewin the stand-out performer with an impressive 73. Once the DLS calculation was applied, this resulted in a target score of 194 from 42 overs – and it could have been even more if those late wickets had remained intact.
Unfortunately, Broadstairs were unable to reproduce the high standard of bowling and fielding that has underpinned their excellent start to the season. A series of early dropped-catches allowed the openers Price and Schlemmer to settle into their work; by the break at 21 overs, the visitors had reached 98-0 and the game was slipping away.
Schlemmer in particular looked impregnable by this stage and the latter part of the day was all about Broadstairs ringing the changes to get a bowling point. The wickets eventually came with Fox (2-36) and Jake Benfield (1-45) shortly before Sevenoaks reached the target with 3.1 overs to spare and Schlemmer stranded on 97*.
The defeat sends Broadstairs to 3rd place in the Championship and was a clear signal that all aspects of their play needs to stay at the high level they have reached for much of the season if they are to come-out on top in this division. Next week they travel to leaders The Mote and will be determined to get things back on track and consolidate their place towards the top end of the table.
