Tonbridge bounce back over Bapchild

Tonbridge CC 1st XI – 154 All Out

Bapchild CC 1st XI – 134 All Out

Tonbridge got back to winning ways last weekend with a 20-run victory over Bapchild.

With rain promised and clouds gathering, the match was immediately reduced to 35 overs a side. The visitors won the toss and inserted Tonbridge to bat. Chirag Patel (21) got the home side off to a very positive start, but after a mix-up resulted in his run out, and fellow opener Steve Hall was dismissed in the next over, Bapchild grew in confidence. Martin Snow and Ollie Peake have batted together for the last three weeks and are putting together a good partnership. Both looked in great form, rotating the strike well, and hitting boundaries when the opportunity arose. With the score on 100, Peake would fall first for 34, and soon after Snow would fall for 40 to an iffy looking LBW decision. Both wickets fell to Bapchild skipper Tom Carey, who would be the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 31. Two more quick wickets reduced the score to 117 for 6. A quickfire 18 from Mark Burns helped to advance the score, but with 155 set for victory, Tonbridge knew they were about 30 short of where they should have been.

The weather still didn’t look promising, and with rain scheduled around 45 minutes after play resumed, it looked as though an abandoned game would be the likeliest result. Tonbridge came flying out the blocks, taking a wicket in the first over, and looking threatening with every ball. When Khurram Shehzad removed William Costick for 6, and Maritn Batley took his second wicket when removing opener James Weller for 9, Bapchild looked shaky on 24 for 3. Mark Burns was introduced to devastating effect, taking the wicket of Joe Millls for 14, and putting the visitors into preservation mode. At 54 for 4 at the halfway stage, it looked as though the weather might be the only thing standing in the way of victory for Tonbridge. However, Nicholas Page (38) and Ricky Dale (21) didn’t see it that way, putting on over 60 for the fifth wicket, and bringing the game back into the balance. The reintroduction of Chirag Patel would make the difference, as he would take the scalp of both batsmen. Batley (3 for 24) would also take another wicket in his second spell, but it was Patel’s 4 for 25 that really shone through, as well as a couple of amazing catches behind the wicket from skipper Mike Jessop. Burns (2 for 35) would take the final wicket of the innings, giving Tonbridge a much-needed win.

Tonbridge travel to Linton Park this weekend hoping to put a run of positive results together.