Watched by probably the largest crowd of senior members ever assembled, at two minutes past two, Ben Allon (Uncle Ben these days) snicked a tempting half volley through the covers, ran two, and the scoreboard recovered from a nervous hiccough then flickered back into life to register 126. It no longer mattered what Blackheath did to Folkestone, that was the Championship and Sibton Park join the Top Ten, becoming probably the smallest club ever to play in KCL's top flight. 254 points and no draws, as they almost say on Mastermind.
Congratulations all round on all the hard work that has gone into taking the club from the bottom of the KCL to the top, an achievement that must have looked like a wastrel's daydream just 10 years ago when we were shovelling slurry off the square.
It was easy to see, in the professional way that the 1s despatched Hythe, winning by 131 runs, how much the team have benefitted from hard work and Mark Dobson's coaching in the winter but particular thanks should also go to all those who have contributed indirectly, by pioneering the ECB development strategy, helping to build the finest playing facilities in Kent, running a highly successful Junior Section, managing the club's affairs and finances, making the teas and doing all the thousands of other jobs that need to be done well to make a club successful.
A great day. And an opportunity to build further.
