Hughes lights a fuse under Tonbridge
Mersham Sports CC 1st XI - 187 for 9
Tonbridge CC 1st XI - 190 for 7
Tonbridge picked up their biggest win of the season last weekend with a three wicket victory over second placed Mersham Sports.
After winning the toss, the visiting Tonbridge side took to the field looking for early wickets, and they got just that, with Chirag Patel continuing his impressive season with the ball by picking up the first two wickets of the innings. Captain Mike Jessop found himself out in the field instead of with the keeping gloves due to a few absentees, but that paid dividends when he was able to run out opener David Harman (28) with a direct hit. Khurram Shehzad removed the dangerous Ashley Cook for a duck the next opener, leaving Mersham on 55 for 4 and looking in trouble. Chetan Kurundale and Christopher Darlington were able to stabilise the innings for the home side, taking them past 100 before the former was dismissed by Joe Hughes for 33. Two more quick wickets left Mersham struggling on 123 for 7, but Darlington did excellently in the latter overs to take his side to a competitive score before finally being removed by the returning Patel (4 for 17) for a well played 55. Hughes (2 for 45) would also come back for a second spell, removing captain Jack Wilson for the 16 year old's best figures of the season.
With 188 required for victory, Tonbridge started off uncharacteristically slow, but much of that was due to the excellent opening bowling from the home side. With the score on 12 for 0 off ten overs, the rain came down which delayed play for over half an hour, but the visitors would come back out with renewed vigour after the break. Chirag Patel struck the first ball back for four and would hit three more in the next two overs before being dismissed for 24 by Ashley Cook. Fellow opener Julius Marshall would depart a few overs later with the score on 45 for 2. Ollie Peake and Steve Hall were watchful like the opening pair, seeing the team to drinks at the halfway way mark with the score on 58. Now needing 130 off 22 overs, the two batsmen would rotated the strike well, mixed in with some lusty blows from Peake for 4s and 6s. Hall would fall for 22 to Kurandale (2 for 39), but third wicket partnership of 90 would prove priceless. Cook (2 for 54) would return to the bowling attack, and although he would watch the ball sail over the boundary on a couple of occasions, he finally got his man, removing Peake for an excellent 74. Mike Jessop would hit a quick 15, but wickets began to fall, bringing the home side back into the game. Mohammed Hasan would pick up two of these wickets. With twelve required from three overs, Tonbridge needed someone to take responsibility, and it would be the side's youngest player Hughes who would take up the challenge. After hitting a beautiful straight drive boundary in the 43rd over, and then swapping some singles with Nadeem Shehzad, three was the required total off the last. After Shehzad was dropped off the first ball, Hughes would hit another booming straight drive to take Tonbridge to an excellent three wicket victory.
With Tonbridge now unbeaten in their last five games, they will hope to continue that fine run against Addington Village this weekend.