It was a lovely afternoon at Tilmanstone, but after a light drizzle in the morning and overcast conditions, Tilmanstone won the toss and elected to field.
Eastry’s attempt to set a decent score in their 40 overs got off to a solid start with Aaron Friend and Michael Eastman building a 59 run opening partnership. With boundaries looking hard to reach and a pitch with plenty for the bowlers, Eastry knew it could be a fairly low scoring match, and so after a good start, the incoming batsmen looked to push on. However it would not be an Eastry innings without a cluster of wickets, and so after seeing the opening batsmen start well, the Tilmanstone bowlers tightened up, particularly Finch and Dawkins, Eastry soon found themselves 90 for 4 with less than half the overs left. At which point Stephen Bettles returning to the team strode to the crease. With A Friend still ticking along at one end, S Bettles provided strong resistance at the other, and the pair were able accumulate another big partnership of 68 with some quick running and occasional big blows. Despite getting into a good position with a few overs left Eastry were unable to execute the big finish to the innings, due to some good death bowling from Cork, Eastry eventually finished on 161 with A Friend ending on a well-earned 94 NO.
At tea Eastry were in good spirits knowing runs would be hard to come by and they had a very youthful team in the field. Opening the bowling with Roger Hill and Paul McLean, Eastry got off to the perfect start, restricting the Tilmanstone openers to just 29 runs off the first 16 overs, with Hill and McLean bowling 4 maidens each. A tight start from Eastry meant Tilmanstone had to up the tempo and it was Dan Dawkins who stepped up hitting a quick 62 but while he could hold one end, he was unable to find a partner. And it was only so long that Dawkins could watch wickets fall around him thanks to some great catching from Eastry, started off by Ed Timpson and continued by Ned Gleave, that he soon fell to the same fate. Eventually S Bettles came on to bowl three balls to take the last wicket and finish off great bowling and fielding performance all round.

GF

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