Harvel Home and Away
The 2s secured promotion to Division 1 next season with a handsome away win at Harvel, bowling them out for 109.
  The 1s at home did even better, bowling them out for 91 in a match that finished well before 5:00 pm. 32 points in a full house and only one point conceded over both games.  
 On Sunday we played at Hawkinge and won narrowly and entertained Sandwich losing narrowly with an over to go. It's worth looking up Tel's match report on the Hawkinge game on the Forum. 
  Elsewhere, Hythe managed a tie and a win which should keep both sides in the top half, while our chums from Hayes are secure of Division 1 cricket next season.

Rain stopped play
Again. This time not a ball bowled at Hayes and them with a Beach Party all set up for after the game. Still, allowed plenty of time for social catching up. The 2s will possibly break all club records for last over finishes in a season as Saturday's game against Linden Park provided yet another. Linden Park batted first and looked on the way to a big total at 100-1 but were held to 189 by steady wicket taking. The Sibton reply was similar, looking easy at first but steady wicket loss kept everyone on tenterhooks till the second ball of the last over.
  Colts Interclub day was a big success again with the clubhouse packed with parents and once again went down to the wire with Nathan Smith's team, batting last, needing to pull off the improbable feat of making 103 in their six overs yet falling just three runs short with Nathan on 78 having scored 54 off just two overs. Ross Anslow managed the first Interclub ton with 103 not out and winning captain Jan Metcalf collected the 2005 trophy.

Rain stopped play
Also stopped us losing lots of hard earned ground as both the 1s and 2s were very glad to see the rain on Saturday. At Canterbury, the 1s Lite, no AA or Bear, struggled to 113 off their full 50 overs in shocking light with the rain imminent throughout. There was no time for a reply.
   At the top of the table clash at the Park, it's hard to say who was happier when the game was called off. Two wickets for Macca in his last two overs gave some indication of what might have happened had the game continued, though Bickley Park only needed 112 from their last eight wickets when the game was called off.
  3rd and 4th were also playing each other and Orpington managed to collect the last five Catford Cyphers wickets in three overs, for a single run.
  Batting was the problem on Sunday too as Woodchurch and the Band of Brothers overcame both Sunday sides.
  Normal service needs to be resumed next weekend

More good results
Another 16 points for the 1s and still no change in the League order, still fourth. Tough division eh? Another 16 for the 2s has stretched the the promotion chasing pack again. With Bickley Park winning, there's now clear blue water between 2nd and 3rd. Big test this weekend when the No 2 side come visiting.
  Holmesdale can visit anytime. Cheerful, friendly, good spenders in the bar and made the 1s a present of 16 points. Max Sorenson was quick, mind, and handy with the bat. Tough division. One division down, Dartford seemed to have knocked Hythe 1s promotion chances on the head with a 108 run win at the Grove.
   2s young gun Tom Matcham needed to hit 2 off the last ball at Catford & Cyphers after Muzza had managed just a single off the previous 5. His straight driven four back past the bowler had old gun Colin Clarke purring at the clubhouse bar later that evening.

Weekend wash out
Stan was keen, Lynn was keen but the weather wasn't. Even HSBC were keen for us to hand them their biggest defeat of the season but there was no play at The Park on Saturday and the 1s were back from Maidstone by 3:00.

Full house
Another great weekend, with a full house of 40 points from the 1s game against Broadstairs and the 2s against Tenterden. The 2s are top, 9 points clear of third place in a pack that has dwindled to four as the gap between them and mid table increases to 16 points.
  The 1s, meanwhile are still in the chase for second spot for promotion to the Premiership, though that's looking like more of a long shot now. Finishing above Broadstairs and The Mote, two clubs who were Premiership clubs last season, looks well within their grasp and relegation is starting to look mathematically unlikely.
  Sunday saw Hythe Green score 216 on another brilliantly sunny day with the 1s overhauling it relatively easily for the loss of 2 wickets. While the 2s at Elham, were doing well when last I heard.
  In the Coaches v U15s, the U15s rather let themselves down with a way below par batting performance but still made things interesting taking 6 of the coaches wickets on the way to their winning 79.

32 points again
WBS becomes the most common result as the 1s go third and the 2s slip off the top.
  Hayes, one of our favourite forum clubs, were the welcome visitors to The Park, especially as they appeared to stop batting after the first drinks break. From a comfortable 100-2, they sank to 163 all out (still a good score against the 1s, mind). The chase was over before the barbie was properly hot.
  At Hartley, Heathie and Feisty seemed to have the openers tied up with just 30 on the board when the 4th wicket went down. But they managed to get away and post 206, chased down with 5 overs to spare.
  Sunday morning saw the U13s put in what will probably turn out to be the league winning performance against Folkestone. They are now 70 points clear of St Margaret's in second place. In the afternoon, the 1s at home were too strong for Bearsted, winning by 91 runs, while the 2s were not strong enough for East Langdon, losing by almost the same margin.

Great weekend, points and prizes
This weekend started on Friday with a winner takes all qualifier against Hythe for the right to progress in two competitions, the Godden Cup and the National 20/20. Ferocious batting set Hythe 159 to chase and they were bowled out in the 19th over 40 runs short.
  Saturday found the 2s unable to collect a maximum at Holmesdale, ending with 14 points from a winning draw, enough to stay top, though, while the 1s grabbed 16 points in a close fought win over Canterbury at the Park. Very nice to see young Wrenny (45) back in the runs in the 1s. Sadly it hasn't improved the league position very much though the gap between us and the relegation places is starting to look good.
  Then on Sunday, a whole new trophy for the cabinet as Bear, Rowey, Hickers, Matt, George and Ben collected the Canterbury Sixes top prize, a very considerable achievement for a side containing 3 Juniors. Rowey got the opportunity to spear Joe Denly's middle stump (after he'd played and missed loads against George) in the Final against Whitstable after the Park has beaten Canterbury (again) in the semi-final.
  At home on Sunday, we played Elham. Nuff' said?

1s comfortable, 2s pretty comfortable
A successful weekend. The 2s are still top with a bit of a gap opening between the promotion places and the pack and the 1s are holding on to their fifth place.
   The only thing Holmesdale got from the 1s was the distinction of fielding the youngest top order batsman. Extremely tight bowling from openers Rowey and Smudge never allowed the Holmesdale innings to get off the ground and as wickets fell tight bowling and even tighter fielding gave Holmesdale's batsmen nowhere to play. There was a hiccough or two on the way to Holmesdale's low all out total of 125, but Wash and Craig Coleman set things to rights and 16 points went up on the board.
  The 2s found themselves on a decidedly non-early season track with the ball coming on and Stan (46) and Martyn Wren (74) enjoying themselves. Even George (18) grabbed a 6 in a late run rush which left Bromley Common chasing 240.
  The chase looked on after 10 overs, until Tidy closed up one end and then George shut up the other and from 20 overs Bromley seemed to give up everything except the chase for batting points, however much temptation was thrown in their way.
  On Sunday, the 1s at The Park saw another big innings, this one from Rowey out on 94 to a ball he claims to have missed by miles. Bobbing Court also refused the chase and were down to 9 wickets by the end.
  Meanwhile, on the famous Etchinghill pitch, Hickers (63) led the way and George got his second hat trick of the week, clinching a win in the last over as Etchinghill were bowled out 29 runs short of the winning post.

2s do it again (and so do the 1s)
The 2s managed yet another dramatic finish and turned in one of the oddest looking scorecards ever. After having Barbados OCA at 105-9, massive hitting by their No 11, who finished on 55* with the total on 169 - a long way from 41-6 after Macca and Muzza completed their opening spell and a long way short of their full allocation, all out in 29 overs.
  With 20 extra overs taking our time didn't seem to work and 41-5 didn't look much better than Barbados at that point. Macca had the answer and batting steadily with Feisty, Ben, Tidy and debuting James Squire saw the 2s safely home to 16 points and a comfortable lead at the top of the table. How long can it hold?
  At the The Park the 1s lacked a similar strength in the lower order as only Pardip and Andrew Towse made a dint in the low and gettable total of 149 set by The Mote. Steve Hobbs and Tim Smith were left holing out for the draw.

2s win in last over again while 1s hang on
The 2s are definitely worth the entrance money this year. For the third wek in a row they won in the last over collecting 20 points from the home fixture against Hythe on Saturday. Dave Stewart led the line with some great hitting from Muzza and Heathy which set 213 after a slow start.
  Hythe were well adrift when captain Shahid Rajput came to the crease but SR is not one of the world's great drawseekers. He set about butchering the Sibton bowling, making 52 off 24 balls and left Hythe looking good with 8 overs to go. Wickets fell as they continued chasing the win until the last over, when, still needing 22, they lost their last two wickets to three accurate balls from Muzza.
  Great game, hugely appreciated by the onlookers. Oh and Macca wasn't out.
  The 1s didn't do so well, though a losing draw against top club Blackheath on their own ground was nothing to cry over. Andy Allon 4-42 stopped Blackheath getting away with the bat and Craig Coleman (57) showed what a useful addition he will be to the side.

U15s v New Romney
Looked like it might be a good game with tidy batting, bowling and fielding from New Romney. However, 4 wickets in 4 balls from George Leadbetter made a hole in the New Romney innings that they couldn't easily recover from. Another in the next over left him on 6-5. Fast bowlers James Squire, Callum Guida and Anthony Bull had some of the seniors at nets worrying about their places and in the reply, Nathan Smith carried on where he left off on Sunday with 5 boundaries in his 24, Sibton overtaking the New Romney total of 78 in 14 overs.

Weekend 2
Much better all round. The 1s had a difficult trip away to Lordswood, down from the Premiership last year and took advantage of a side who looked as if they were struggling to readjust to the loss of several key players. Whatever. Tight bowling from AA, Bear and 26-4 from Rowey managed to hold them to 149 despite, count 'em, 6 dropped catches. AA (64*), Pardip (20 odd), Bear (20 odd) and George (22*) worked their way steadily to the total with overs to spare.
  The 2s opened their account with 20 points against Old Colfeians after steady batting from Cymbals (26), some very good looking stroke play from Wash (33) before a fluke run out and a good partnership between DS an Macca had built a total of 197 on a disappointing start.
   Not as disappointing as the start Old Colfeians made. Wilting under the Muzza/Macca attack, 25-4 became 78-8. The match looked dead. Muzza left for work after taking 5-28. The remaining 10 dropped catches, dodged boundary-bound balls and gave away overthrows until the last over started with Old Colfeians captain Thomas (106*) facing Feisty and needing 12 for a highly unlikely win.
  He refused a single off the first, smacked 4 off the second and tried to run 2 off the third. Will Purcell nailed the throw in to the bowler's end. Andy Pye didn't quite have his bat down and 6 points turned into 20 as Feisty clattered off the bails. Funny old game.
  Sunday's 1s match against Gore Court proved to be a bit of a cakewalk against a young side in front of what can only be described, in Park terms, as a large crowd who drank the bar dry of Harveys and 4x.   Andy Keeler, bowling ahead of Rowey, got his first wicket for 20 years, while the Sunday 2s proved cricket's not all about points and Premiership sides, enjoying stunning weather and the perfick pub & village green cricket atmosphere at Evington in beautiful downland settings, miles from anything built later than the nineteenth centrury.

Well, we're off
After a big win over Elham (hooray!) the Under 13's have a big lead at the top of their table over Nonington, who went down to St Margaret's, yesterday. Now let's see if we can find some other good news.
   Nope. Ah well. On we go.
   The 1s looked well positioned to win their first game after pinning Tunbridge Wells down to 150. But batsman after batsman slid out without getting in. U15 George Leadbetter (33) and Steve Rowe (24*) batted purposefully and Hobo also loitered with intent to demonstrate the virtues of patient shot play, and we hung on for a losing draw, finishing on 117-8.
  The 2s snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the friendly at Wootton and returned with lots of excuses, though Ross Johnston (49*) didn't need them.
  The two Sunday games against Walmer were rain affected but the 1s at Walmer saw a ton from Wrennie (113) and two wickets from consecutive balls from U13 Callum Morgan and one from team mate Jamie Keeler both of whom will happily explain what it feels like to be early season League leaders, if anyone's interested.
  Man of the Match at home on Sunday was U15 Nathan Smith, who carted the Walmer attack into both the road and the field (did we find that one?) with two 6's and five 4's in his 46* off 21 balls.
  Youth to the fore this weekend, on all fronts.

Sunshine and Rain
Brilliant sunshine for most of the weekend as serious cricket got underway. However, despite most people getting caught out without sunblock we still managed to lose the 2s game against Hythe and the 1's Bank Holiday fixture aganst Wye, which at least stopped Macca and Ledderz and their terrible puns.
  Hythe 1s, who met at a boggy Grove, were a bit surprised to arrive 4 miles away to 25C and sunbathing. Runs were tough to get and 177, achieved with only Andy Allon getting much beyond 30 followed by a fierce rearguard action from Bear, seemed like a good total. Hythe managed only 67 all out in reply, so it was even better than it looked.
  Old Stacians, visitors on Sunday, didn't fare much better, their last five wickets falling almost in between trips to the bar. Nice to see that young players Callum Morgan and Tom Payne both got a mention in dispatches.
  The news from the away fixture at Boughton and Eastwell is obviously too dire for communication, as none has reached us. (I see I got that right)
  U11s lost to Nonington and the U13s won at St Margarets. All these results are on play-cricket for the first time this season.

Worst snow for 40 years

Inches and inches of snow. If it was two degrees colder it would be up to your knees here by now. Fortunately the ground is too warm for it to stick much but it still took me 3 hours to pick up the kids from school yesterday. More pictures here.

The Park achieve Focus Club Status
The Park will be one of the first Focus Clubs in Kent. Director of Development, Jamie Clifford, seen here presenting Gazz with the Clubmark certificate, announced the plans for Focus Clubs in Kent this year and The Park are on the list. This will open many doors for us and allow us to get on with planning the future with the County's full backing and assistance. To read more about Focus Club status and what it means, click here.

Scoop
First pictures of the downing of the most famous tree in cricket. Last night's storms finally brought down the St Lawrence lime tree. It snapped near the base at around 9.00 on Friday evening.

Clubmark Award
We are proud to announce that The Park has become the third club in Kent to be awarded the Clubmark, Sport England's inter-sport seal of approval. Clubmark is awarded to sports clubs that are committed to providing a safe, effective and child friendly environment. It forms one element of a unique, national development strategy for sports clubs.
   Actually we are joint third with Sandwich, but that still puts us in an élite group of just four Kent clubs who have achieved the award.
  Colts Team Managers are already familiar with the changes in procedure that Clubmark management entails, as are team captains and the Cricket Development staff. Next season, it will touch every aspect of Club Management.
  We'd like to congratulate everybody associated with the Clubmark application, which underlines the Club's committment to improve on all fronts and we look forward to the benefits that we are sure will accrue from all that effort.
  The mark itself can be seen on the left, where I put it, and on our play-cricket site, where Sport England put it.

Smudger's Quiz Night
Well, once again this had everything. Excellent prizes in the raffle and for the winner, a packed house, controversy, and teams pretending to relax as the ground their teeth and swore under their breath.
  Winner, in the end, was the misfit outfit of Hickers, Osborne the Leadbetters and their saving grace, Michelle Keeler, though the Allon team they pipped responded magnifi-cently by winning almost everything in the raffle. Great night, well done Smudge, Adrienne and the crew.

The Agony and the Ecstacy

Of the 2004 Colts Evening Awards, held, with grateful thanks to HPB, at Sibton Park Manor on Friday.
   Colt of the Year 2004 was Tom Matcham; U15 Most improved Player, Richard Harrison; U13 Player of the Year, Jan Metcalfe; Most Improved U13, Ben Stratton; U11 Player of the Year, Harry Winter Taylor; Most Improved U11, John Luke Back.
  Congratulations to all the prize winners and especially to the mighty U13s, who carried all before them and dropped only 4 points out of a maximum of 160. Look out for these guys.
  There is a photo album here.

Congratulations also to Brian Washer, whose 18th birthday bash at the clubhouse was a huge success.

Awards
If you haven't looked in on the 2004 Forum Awards, they are here. The Acceptance Speeches are excellent and will introduce you to a new way of sending mail that's a bit more fun than your current methods. But they'll only be there for another week or so.

The Champs. U13 Saxon Shore League winners

Click on the image for a larger one and see David Payne, Nigel Arnold or Mike Leadbetter if you'd like a print as even the larger one won't print all that well as it has been compressed for the site. And sadly, no, there wasn't one with Ollie's eyes open.