There was a top two battle in the Kent League Premier Division when leaders Minster entertained reigning champions Lordswood.
Having won the toss, the visitors elected to bat first and Owen Palmer went after the attack. However, when James Speer had him second out for 34 from 40 balls, wickets tumbled. Ed Taylor put up some resistance scoring 45 from 31 but they still finished on a disappointing 141. Aron Nijjar mopped up the lower order with 3 for 15 following Speer’s 3 for 33.
At 28 for 4, Minster knew that it was not going to be easy with Thandi Ntini a handful. Kai Appleby hit 45 before going with 84 on the board and when two more wickets fell on the same score, there was still work to be done. Speer was not to be denied though, and once Ntini’s 4-40 stint was over, the Minster all rounder guided his team home with 45 not out. The team from Sheppey now have a 23 point buffer at the top, one week before the halfway stage of the season.
Third placed St. Lawrence and Highland Court travelled to Blackheath in fourth and when the away team chose to bat first the spectators were treated to a vintage Darren Stevens batting performance. Having got themselves to 66 for 3 in under fifteen overs, a partnership of 162 between Oliver Curtiss and Stevens in just over 25 overs put the visitors well in command. Curtiss fell for 65 but Stevens went on to plunder 121 from 97 balls before falling to Arafat Bhuyian who finished with 5 for 55, and the innings ended on 306 for 8.
Joseph Payne made the hosts’ task even harder when he removed both openers for ducks. Australian professional Riley Ayre gave them some hope when scoring 79, and Charlie Sid-Speller added 38, but they were always behind the required run rate. Payne added the scalp of Ayre on his way to 5 for 44 as the Heath were bowled out for 227.
Hayes, the remaining team in the top half, hosted a local derby against Bickley Park and the travelling team followed the trend by winning the toss and batting first. They struggled against accurate bowling with nobody reaching thirty. Alfie Peck claimed his twentieth league wicket of the season as he took 3 for 19 and Will MacVicar was also amongst the wickets with 3 for 32.
Set 124 to win, there was little doubt on the outcome when MacVicar settled in and his 39 not out eased his team to a six wicket victory with just under twenty overs remaining.
Sixth placed Tunbridge Wells visited Bexley in seventh and it was the hosts who won the toss to take first knock. Captain Matt Stiddard batted patiently with Shaun Evans before the latter had to retire hurt on 47. Ben Aldridge replaced him and scored 50 then Stiddard accelerated, eventually holing out for an excellent 93. Helped by two wickets in the final over, Sahil Shah claimed 3 for 44 as the innings closed on 257 for 6.
That proved to be more than enough as no batsman reached 30 in the response. Wickets were shared but Freddie Foster ended with the best figures taking 3 for 14 as the away team were bowled out for 122.
Finally, the two teams starting the day in the relegation places were involved in a contest when Canterbury entertained Sandwich Town, who also won the toss and opted to bat. Rory Smith (51) and Ben Chapman (50) helped to set a competitive target of 209 for 8.
Ben Marsh scored 56 and Ben Rutherford 40 in Canterbury’s response but it required a well crafted 77 not out from Anthony Mosca to see his team home with five wickets and eight balls in hand.
Images courtesy of Keith Gillard