25/05/2015 Away vs West Farleigh

The marathon weekend of cricket continued with another away fixture at West Farleigh. Confidence was high after a so far undefeated weekend and so Eastry looked to establish a big target for West Farleigh to chase. But after 8 overs they had lost the two openers for not many runs and the wickets continued to fall on a flat track (slight slope). Matt Deveson dug deep for 33 but was running out of partners until a resolute Stewart (Steve) Thomson came to crease. It was not quick scoring but they looked to use the overs take the runs when they came. A few slogs at the end brought the total up to 141.
Eastry used the tea break to reflect on the disappointing performance with the bat and concluded they needed wickets. With a youthful team in front of the wickets Eastry looked to keep the runs tight and soon got their reward with a couple of wickets including a great catch from Pete Eastman using every inch of his long reach at wide mid-on. Buoyed by some great bowling and fielding Eastry were getting back in the game but it wouldn’t be an Eastry display without a few drops. McKellow played a patient innings for West Farleigh and was nudging them closer but like a mirror of the Eastry innings, wickets fell around him. A rare appearance with the ball from Aaron friend gave West Farleigh a shock in the form of some chin music (even if it was on the lowest speed of the Gramophone). Rupert Hill was brought on to take the last wicket, with James Wethered taking the final catch.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2576433

24/05/2015 Away vs Goodnestone

Turning up to Goodnestone with just 9 players, Harry Kenton was obviously adopting the less is better approach after winning the previous week with 10. But thanks to the generosity of Goodnestone, Eastry made a loan signing for the day in the form of Steve Patfield. With the sun shining and the band playing in the big house, Eastry were happy to take to the field to soak up the atmosphere. Harry Kenton did not have his usual bowling selection but still had a youthful team which were encouraged and coached throughout. Goodnestone were restricted by some wily spin and tight lines on what was a fairly slow outfield and the pressure showed with wickets falling regularly which eased the fact that the rain had started to fall. Goodnestone used a brief delay in the game due to the rain to regroup and came out finding the outfield had quickened up and were able to accelerate their scoring to finish on 130.
After tea, there was still drizzle in the air and with more rain looming the Eastry openers Aaron Friend and Harry Kenton set out to score quickly. As with any partnership there is always a dominant one and in this case Harry Kenton had to be submissive while Aaron Friend dominated the strike. With some lusty blows, Eastry were flying before Aaron Friend was again caught. Harry Kenton looked to carry on with some quick running but he did not take into account his partner at the other end, and after running one too many Steve Patfield had to retire. Eastry eventually reached the target before the heavens opened.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2576077

23/05/2015 Home vs Woodcutters

Eastry started the weekend with a victory over touring side Woodcutters. After losing an early wicket, Eastry looked to rebuild and did so gradually with Woodcutters openers bowling tight lines. Seeing off the opening bowlers for the loss of just the one wicket, Eastry looked to kick on. Paul Welch played an uncharacteristic innings scoring and running quickly in an effort to get back in time to organise tea. The Lord had set a target of 225 but with regular wickets falling, the target was getting further away. A wicket in the last over brought Dave Waring to the crease and with a few swings he brought the total to within 1 of the target, much to the Lords disappointment. It was pointed out that the total 224 meant a chase of 225 and so the Lord was happier going into tea.
After tea, Eastry took to the field in high spirits, these were further lifted by an early wicket from Mathew Deveson. However Woodcutters fought back with both Isaac and Jessop reaching half centuries and putting Woodcutters in a good position. With Eastry getting nervous and the Lord questioning his own target, there was one last push and as the result of some tight bowling from D Swain the breakthrough came. As the old saying goes one brings two, and before long Woodcutters had gone from 122-1 with 20 overs left, to 171-9. The last Woodcutters batsmen of Clifton and Patterson showed some fight and frustrated Eastry with some intelligent batting getting their side to within 9 of the total. Desperate times called for desperate measures and so the Lord turned to James Mayland who had previously gone for 48 off 5 overs. But this time he was back with vengeance and marked out the long run, taking five balls to claim the final wicket.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2576076

Within a hairs breadth

On a surprisingly sunny opening game of the season, Eastry were in good spirits after a pre-season which managed to avoid any major injuries. Canterbury won the toss and elected to bowl on what looked like a solid, dry track.
Guest skipper for Eastry was Roger Hill and he sent out Aero and Kevin The Groundsman to set the tone. With both trying to re adjust after a winter of indoor cricket it took a few overs to get up to speed. Aero started to find the boundary while Kevin nudged and nurdled picking up singles fighting through the pain of having to borrow shoes slightly too small. Before they could establish a partnership Canterbury found a breakthrough dismissing Aero for 20 bringing Harry Kenton to the crease. Harry soon picked up the pace with some power hitting along the ground causing a few fields to duck and dive to avoid a few irregular bounces from an uneven outfield. But just a Harry was kicking on he was deceived by a good old fashion straight ball. Eastry batsmen continued to progress with a few decent shots and also some unconventional from Paul Welch. The innings finished with Albert honing his vision and a usual cameo from Mayhem, settling for a 249 total.
Canterbury’s chase took an early set back when Dave Waring was asked to bowl from the pavilion end and rewarded Roger for his bold decision with a wicket in his first over. With Canterbury digging deep to steady the innings Roger looked to change it up and made another bold decision asking the returning Greeny not to bowl his new found pace weapon but return to the old trusted leg spin. Robson and Trafford both passed 50 with two different styles. Eastry were still unable to make the break through despite Greeny eventually unleashing the new weapon off a run up rivalling Matt Deveson. 20 overs were called and Eastry had a chance to regroup and mount one last push introducing Harry to the attack picking up 4 wickets. Once the breakthrough was made Eastry went into attack and found themselves needing only a couple of wickets to secure victory. But with a resilient tail, the final wicket did not come in the dwindling light.

http://eastry.play-cricket.com/website/results/2561901

ECC Quiz Night 28/03/15

Woodnesborough Football Club, 7pm for 7.30pm start
Tables of 8. £5 per head. Contact Roger Hill to book a table.
Bring your own food – bar available
If you are interested in coming, but don’t have a team, let Roger know and we’ll try and get you on one.