Well what a game.

We didn't win or lose the toss. We then didn't bat first and the Beckenham bowlers didn't bowl. Am I turning in to Mick Cork with all this nonsense?  No, it bloody rained hard and had to be abandoned because there were puddles everywhere on the square.

Hey ho - we need to keep focused on the last 3 games and not worry about anything else. We play our best, train hard, play hard, stick to our plan, hold our nerve and at the end if we know we've done our best, then that is all that matters. Anything else is a bonus.

2's had a fantastic win, which has boosted them and potentially leaves them with a chance of going up. Like us they also need to focus on the last three games - work and train hard.

Sibton Park U13 won by 23 runs.

The way the season has worked out, this match ended up being a play-off for 3rd place in the league. Fitting therefore, that it should be against local rivals Elham, a match that already is interesting enough as a local derby, with plenty of the boys on both teams familiar with each other.

Sibton batted first and immediately got their noses in front with a strong opening partnership of 45. Charles Wilson contributing a solid 16 and Sam Ansell a typically dominant 28. The Elham bowling was impressively tight though and Sibton were never allowed to take control. Noah Greenwood again batted impressively, continuing his remarkable season with another crucial innings, this time of 29. Max Yorke also made a notable contribution of 18. Credit to Elham though for never giving anything away and restricting Sibton to 113 for 6.

In the Elham reply, the Sibton boys also showed that they can bowl and give little away. Bradley Wake-Smith (3-0-11-1) bowled with his usual pace and menace and made the first breakthrough. Sean Howard (2-0-5-0) proved equally difficult to score off and Noah Greenwood (2-0-6-1) continued to keep the pressure on. Elham were strangely hesitant about taking some of the singles on offer and this was starting to prove crucial as they began to slip behind the required run rate.

Nevertheless, Elham may still have been entertaining the possibility of a victory, when on 65 for 3 after 15 overs. They were not allowed the opportunity though, with William Taylor-Gammon (3-0-10-1) proving as accurate as usual and Charles Wilson (3-0-16-1) bowling some probing spin for a change, to protect a slight rib injury. Captain Sam Ansell continued to rotate his bowling attack well and the match swung completely in Sibton's favour with some decisive overs from Isaac Bergin (2-0-3-1) and Max Fisher (1-0-10-1). Elham eventually fell short on 90 for 7 from their 20 overs.

So Sibton took a creditable 3rd place in the league with this in the end quite comfortable victory. Elham may well regret not taking a few more risks with their running early on, which would have made this game much closer. Nevertheless a strong performance from the home team.

Man-of-the-match went to Noah Greenwood for his fine all-round performance. The usual award to someone who also made a key contribution was shared this week between Max Fisher and Isaac Bergin for their decisive overs at the death. A good team performance though. Well done lads!

And so to the last Development X1 game of the season – and a nice one to finish with – Bossingham at home. The weather could have been kinder though. A sharp shower in the morning had interrupted the U11s in their pursuit of a League and Cup double ( well done lads – a magnificent season – you are a very good team indeed ! ) – and left our track a little damp and because of this and the fact that we had batted first in all of our games apart from the opener versus Sandwich, I would definitely have bowled first, had I won the toss. 

A satisfactory double over Folkestone was achieved, all done and finished by 4.30pm, tea after the game - a civilized time to finish cricket.

Losing the toss we are asked to field. Folkestone get off to a good start with Stuart Graham playing well. At 6 an over and 24 on the board, Rowey then strikes removing Tom Cullen. Then the other trundler picks up the dangerous Himmy cheaply. After that Rowey then rips through them picking up 5 wickets in no time including back from injury Ryan Ten Doeschate for 1! Folkestone are reeling at 37 for 6. Whilst keeping it tight, Meersie then comes on and picks up 4 wickets for himself including Graham who had changed tack and stopped playing his shots, leaving Andy Bray 16 not out at the end as Folkestone are skittled for 59 inside 25 overs

So no tea as it was early, it's straight round. Folkestone open up virtually with spinners, as Mikey James has 2 brief overs. Bishy falls for 0 and AA plays a false shot as we are 21 for 2. Bowling tightly we find ourselves 21 for 4, and slightly nervous. No better person in these conditions than the skipper to get his foot down the pitch and nurdle, whilst Hickers looking solid puts the bad balls away and it's all over by 4.30.

A convincing and crushing win in all. Unfortunately no slip ups by other teams still leaving it in the mix with a good Beckenham side visiting next week. What lies ahead for the next installment?

Two's, unfortunately, lost from a winning/safe position - I'm sure they're disappointed. See you at training then!