It was a young team who took the short journey to St Margaret’s on a sunny yet cold afternoon. Eastry lost the toss and were put into bat on a pitch which looked slight damp but with plenty of bounce as usual. With short boundaries on 3 sides and a quick outfield, the batsmen look to play freely but were frustrated by some tight bowling and although the scoreboard ticked over, so did the wickets, with Eastry soon finding themselves 5 down after 17 overs for 100 runs. But for once it was a long batting line up and so while Ned Gleave still played his shots after coming in at 3, he was eventually partnered by some sensible batsmen in Robin Smit and when he eventually fell for 33 Matt Deveson. The two held up their ends and were rewarded with prime viewing of the Ned Gleave fireworks blasting 137 of just 94 balls. Eastry eventually finished on 249.

In reply St Margaret’s openers King and King were restricted early on by Roger Hill and Matt Deveson with only 21 runs scored in the opening 10 overs. D King looked to kick on but the first sign of aggression saw him edge Matt Deveson to Gully where Harry Kenton to a sharp catch. Eastry continued to restrict St Margaret’s chase through the first change bowlers of Harry Kenton and the returning Ed Timpson. It was only once L King reached his 50 that the score kicked on with some big hits from King and incoming Batsmen of L Narayanan and A Birchenough who swung from the start. The game looked to be heading for a tight finished but Eastry were able to hold on to their catches eventually and although St Margaret’s were taking chunks out of the Eastry total, they were unable to hold on to their wickets and eventually finished on 225 with one wicket remaining.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2834257

Highlights
Ned Gleave – 137 off 94
Robin Smit – 3/46 off 8 overs

First home game of the season and the ground was looking at its best on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Eastry batted first and got off to a steady start with Aaron Friend and Harry Kenton before Aaron uncharacteristically hauled out to mid on. When Harry Kenton fell shortly after, Ned Gleave and Ian Dartnell started to rebuild but Dartnell fell just as he started to get on. Wickets started to fall around Gleave before a new face to club Paul ‘I have not played in 20 years’ Mclean came to the crease. With 140 on the board and 8 overs remaining, Eastry were hoping to scrap towards 200 on good looking pitch. But some big blows from Gleave and a PB from Mclean saw Eastry total 235 with Gleave nudging a single off the last ball to reach a well deserved 100.

In reply Dover Cosmos knew they needed a solid start, however some tight bowling and sharp fielding meant they struggled to keep up with the run rate, managing only 19 runs off the first 9 overs. Once Eastry broke the opening partnership through Roger Hill, the incoming batsmen looked to catch up but Stewart Thompson stood firm and spun his way to figures of 6-8 off 6 overs, backed up by some good catching. Finally Paul ‘the Hustler’ Mclean was brought into the attack to finish with 3 wickets for himself.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2740950

Highlights
Ned Gleave – 100 Not Out
Stewart Thompson – 6-8
Paul Mclean – 35 runs, 3 catches, 3 wickets