Peake performance in tight affair
Tonbridge CC 1st XI - 222 for 9
Linton Park CC 1st XI - 213 for 9
Tonbridge made it back to back wins in a close battle at Linton Park last weekend.
Having been put into bat, the visitors lost their openers in the first two overs. Tonbridge's strength this season has mainly come from the third wicket partnership of Martin Snow and Ollie Peake, and it would be no different once again as they steadied the ship against a good Linton Park bowling lineup. Peake, in particular, was looking to play aggressively on a nice looking deck that offered a little bit for bat and ball early in the innings. Snow was dismissed with the score on 64, but with Tonbridge's Australian looking in full flow, a score of 200+ remained the aim.
It was the 6th wicket partnership between Peake and Ben Peters which saw Tonbridge really accelerate the run rate, and take the attack to their opponents. With the former hitting sweeps and powerful drives, he soon reached his maiden 100 for the club, and thus propelling his side to a good score. He was finally dismissed by Thomas Beeney (2 for 27) and Peters also followed for a well made 30. Tonbridge would end on 222 for 9.
The home side came flying out the blocks, but Tonbridge were made to rue some early missed chances in the slip cordon. Chirag Patel finally made the breakthrough with the score on 45, trapping Nicholas Catt for 22. Fellow opener Benjamin Austin was not in the mood to hang around, and together with Jordan Austin they took the Linton total to 131 for 1 at the halfway stage. Tonbridge needed a hero, so up stepped Mark Burns. He first removed Jordan Austin for 41, and followed up with two more quick wickets including that of Benjamin Austin for 62, to quickly change the game. He would finish with figures of 3 for 32. Linton skipper Toby Hughes and Alex Keeler combined well to get their team's innings back on track, and bring the total closer to the 200 mark. Khurram Shehzad returned to take the wicket of Hughes for 16, and then two more wickets for Chirag Patel (3 for 31) in the same over, including that of Keeler for 32, really turned the tide. The best was yet to come though, with Shehzad (2 for 38) getting his second wicket thanks to a superb diving catch in the deep by Dan Sanders. The home side would go on to finish ten short of their target, giving Tonbridge successive wins.
They host Upchurch this weekend hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins.