Tonbridge CC Match Reports 2016
Match Reports - most recent first
3rd September
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –Faversham CC 1st XI 153 all out (40.3 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 156 for 2 (17.4 overs)
Tonbridge 1stXI wins Kent Division 5 at the first time of asking- with three points needed to secure league victory, Tonbridge made the long journey down to Faversham on a warm but overcast day. The hosts failed to provide an umpire, giving Tonbridge skipper Julius Marshall an automatic win of the toss and, despite TCC’s strength in defending totals, Marshall took the tactical decision to bowl first to provide the best opportunity of securing the vital three points.
TCC started well, opening bowler Martin Batley continuing his fine form from the previous week, taking two early wickets, both of Faversham’s openers. But this was a good pitch with a lightning fast outfield, and runs were leaked in the field, especially when Lee Rigden (42) hit his stride, pouncing on any loose deliveries. The introduction of the league’s leading wicket taker Nadeem Shehzad meant Faversham's total never got away from Tonbridge and the game was always in their hands. Matt Smiles took his 20thwicket of the season with a smart caught and bowled, a fine achievement, but was slightly over shadowed by N Shehzad who took figures of 4 for 43 on the day, bringing his total wickets for the season to a staggering 50, a career best.
N Shehzad's 50th was also the innings 7th, and this meant TCC had secured enough points to ensure the league was won, regardless of what happened beyond that point. Khurram Shehzad bowled tightly, and was unfortunate not to get any wickets on the day, but finished with 30 for the season, also an incredible achievement, reflecting once again TCC's strength in its bowling attack.Some late hitting from Andy Perkin (29) and Benedict Croft (26*) meant Faversham had a fairly respectable total to defend, and after the last couple of wickets were picked up by Ben Peters, Tonbridge had been set the target of 154 to go out on a high.
With the league won, TCC could bat with an element of freedom, and this certainly showed as opener Chirag Patel blasted two huge sixes on his way to a blistering 31 off just 13 balls. With Faversham already on the back foot, Zach Rossiter (27) and overseas Michael Waldren tightened the screw and shared a brisk 71 partnership putting the game beyond Faversham. A couple of late wickets, and explosives from Ben Morgan and Chait Kurusala meant TCC won by 7 wickets and reached the total in just 17.4 overs. Waldren scored an unbeaten 64 taking his seasons runs total well above 500 and sending his batting average soaring above 40. Adding this to his 4 league wickets and 11 sharp catches he's taken behind the stumps, this ended a great first season in England for him.
A strong finish to the season in the end meant TCC won the league at a cantor, by 13 points, despite a couple of hiccups a month ago. Rainham will join TCC in Division 4 next year after securing second place by a solitary point. This result for TCC means a third successive promotion for the first XI, and topped an incredible season full of success for the club at both senior and junior level.
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 210 for 6 (40 overs) vsDartfordians CC 2nd XI 212 for 7 (36.4 overs)
27th August
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –Tonbridge CC 1st XI 150 (42 overs) vsWalmer CC 1st XI 103 (43.3 overs)
As has been a familiar story this season, Tonbridge’s bowlers secured victory at home to Walmer on Saturday, a result that takes the 1st XI to the brink of the KCL Divison 5 title.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Tonbridge’s captain Julius Marshall would have hoped to post an intimidating score on what looked an excellent wicket. Unfortunately a mixture of good bowling and some poor batting saw Tonbridge post a less than impressive 150 all out. Marshall went in the first over, strangled down the leg side and despite good starts from Chirag Patel (28) and David Blain (23), Tonbridge found themselves in trouble at 81-6. The returning Ben Morgan (37) stood firm, picking the right moment to play some attacking shots. He was supported well by Ben Peters (22) and their partnership of 49 ensured Tonbridge had something to bowl at. Most of Walmer’s bowlers bowled well with Alex Butler the pick as he finished with figures of 3-7.
Tonbridge knew a good start would be paramount to the defence of their total and made early breakthroughs. Openers Matt Smiles and Martin Batley picked up two quick wickets each leaving the visitors struggling at 11-4. From then on Walmer never looked like troubling the total. KhurramShehzad’s left arm spin was gripping in the surface and Walmer decided to simply defend against him. 12 maidens in 15 overs from Shehzad added pressure to Walmer’s batsmen and his two wickets paved the way for older brother Nadeem Shehzad to roll through Walmer’s tail. With his consistent line and length with a bit of movement both ways, N Shehzad finished with 4-19 to bring his wicket count this year to an incredible 46 making it his best year in a Tonbridge shirt with a game to spare. Tonbridge’s bowlers were well backed up by their fielders with a few contenders for catch of the season taken. Only Paul Holiday reached double figures for the visitors and looked as if he was batting on a different track to most as he made 63 not out.
Tonbridge travel to 3rd from bottom Faversham for their last league match of the season where they hope to secure the title
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Blackheath CC 6th XI 141 (42.1 overs) vsTonbridge CC 2nd XI 165 (41.2 overs)
Champions Tonbridge extended their unbeaten run in a competitive, hard fought victory at Greenwich Park, Blackheath after a dramatic spell of 3 wickets in 4 balls by Nilesh Patel saw them run out winners by 24 runs. On a bowler friendly surface all the Tonbridge batsmen made starts with John Simmons (25) & Nilseh Patel (25) top scoring in a fitful batting display as Town reached 165.
Tony Shepherd immediately picked up an early wicket caught behind by John Smiles before resistance from Wipat with 67 held Tonbridge up. Steve Allen, making a rare bowling foray, broke the spell helped by a good catch in the outfield by skipper Paul Smiles. Patel then ripped out the middle order in a match winning display of accurate seam bowling as he bowled three batsmen in four balls to leave Blackheath reeling. Nigel Johnstone came on to encourage some rash shots against his leg breaks and was unlucky to go wicketless. The obdurate Wipat was then brilliantly run out from the boundary by Patel to end his long innings before Patel again caught the belligerent Gafa off Simmons. Shepherd (2-18) returned and induced an edge to keeper Smiles before MoM Patel fittingly bowled the last man to end with a superb 4-15.
Tonbridge can celebrate at home in style with the final match of the league season next week as Champions by a large margin.
20th August
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –R A C S CC 1st XI 150 (48.3 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 164 (49.1 overs)
Tonbridge extended their lead at the top of the KCL Division 5 with a fourteen run victory over bottom placed RACS last weekend, although the performance was less than convincing.
After winning the toss, Tonbridge skipper Julius Marshall elected to bat, hoping to gain the maximum points possible from the match. He and Chirag Patel got off to a strong start, but the pitch was not easy to play on at all, and the outfield was incredibly slow. With 28 on the board, the visitors lost their first wicket with Patel falling for 19 off the bowling of Steven Lawrence. David Blain joined Marshall at the crease, and the two worked well to take the score over 50. The conditions, coupled with good bowling by RACS, meant that progress was slow. The introduction of Sagar Patel made a huge difference as he first removed Blain for 18, followed by Marshall for 23. Two more quick wickets fell, both to Patel (4 for 17), reducing Tonbridge to 83 for 6. It was Ben Peters who once again came to the rescue and together with Nadeem Shahzad put on an invaluable eighth wicket partnership of 53. Peters made the difficult track look easy, and was unlucky not to hit his second consecutive 50, falling on 45 to David Weatherhead (4 for 43). Shahzad was the last man out, falling for 21, and leaving RACS with 165 to chase.
The blustery conditions really helped to dry out the whole ground, and the pitch RACS were now batting on was very different to the one at the beginning of the game. Robert Donnelly and Harry Purbrick were able to find the boundaries regularly at the beginning of the innings, and propelled the home side into a great position. At 46 without loss, Tonbridge turned to Nadeem Shahzad, and as normal he began the fightback for the league leaders. He first removed Purbrick for 18, followed by Weatherhead for a duck. Donnelly was holding the innings together well, and was working well with each partner to squeeze out as many runs as possible. Ben Peters, Chirag Patel, and Matt Smiles all picked up wickets, but at 141 for 5 RACS were the favourites to win the game. Khurram Shehzad (3 for 41) was the man to make the big breakthrough, accounting for Donnelly initially for a well-played 50, then Steven Lawrence soon after. A wicket for Nadeem Shahzad (3 for 25), followed by a superb run out by Julius Marshall made the difference. The final wicket fell courtesy of a great diving catch from Chirag Patel, and giving the team a valuable 20 points.
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 220 for 5 (36 overs) vsR A C S CC 2nd XI 69 for 8 (21.5 overs)
Tonbridge 2nd XI have been crowned champions of Div 2A Kent Regional League and gain promotion for the first time in their history to the Kent League. After painfully losing out last year by a single point to bad weather a dominating display saw them beat RACS 2nd XI in style by 151 runs on Saturday to be crowned Champions with two matches to go.
Tony Shepherd continued his fine form with 18 not out and dismissing the first five batsmen for only 23 in RACS reply to Town's 220-5 from 36 overs. In a reduced overs game due to heavy rain at the start, Tonbridge were given a positive opening by skipper for the day Paul Smiles, who top scored with 44, and Ben Morgan with a hard hit 42. Morgan looked in great form before holing out in the deep and Smiles was then joined by John Simmons the leading run scorer this season. Their running between the wickets belied their veteran status and these two quickly took the score to 140 before Smiles was run out and Simmons bowled for 40. Nick Helyar and Steve Allen continued their good form with the bat adding 23 apiece with well struck boundaries all-round the ground as RACS kept at it throughout the innings. With Helyar and Shepherd unbeaten Town closed on 220-5.
Immediately in response RACS were in trouble as Shepherd destroyed the top order. He blew away the first five batsmen for single figures, the first dismissal courtesy of a smart low diving catch at slip by Chait Kurusala. At the other end Helyar bowled superbly without luck but the advent of Nilesh Patel did the trick as he collected 3-19. Only Coyne with a well struck 40 reached double figures and offered any resistance. Tonbridge have lost only one match in this campaign (a high scoring game by 4 runs) and still have two matches remaining. Patel, Helyar and Shepherd are the league’s leading wicket takersin a brilliant season.
14th August
Tonbridge Exiles CC –Penshurst Park CC 194 for 8 vs Tonbridge Exiles CC 229 for 7 dec
13th August
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –Rodmersham CC 1st XI 171 (40.1 overs) vsTonbridge CC 1st XI 182 (47.2 overs)
Tonbridge went back to the top of Division 5 following a hard fought 11 run victory at Rodmersham on Saturday. After two back to back losses, their first since the opening game of the season, it really was a must win game and in classic Tonbridge style they did not make it easy for themselves.
On what appeared to be an excellent batting wicket, Tonbridge won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bat first. Unfortunately their innings did not get off to the best start as Chirag Patel was run out for 0. Tonbridge’s innings struggled to get going and despite Julius Marshall’s 32, Tonbridge found themselves 70-6 after 23 overs. Tonbridge’s bowlers held their own with the bat however to give themselves something to bowl out. Khurram Shehzad (28) and Matt Smiles (20) contributed, but the innings belonged to Ben Peter who scored his maiden league 50 for the 1st XI. Peters was in fact the last wicket to fall. Rodmersham would have been satisfied with their efforts despite the late runs, reducing Tonbridge to 182 all out. Singhasain was the pick of the bowlers with 4-37.
Rodmersham’s reply started badly as opener Quealey was bowled for 9 but D Nokes and J Horne steadied the ship. They were both dismissed by Nadeem Shehzad for 24 and 42 respectively but at 85-3 they had built a platform for their teammates. The platform was then built upon by M Henry and S Rana who scored quickly, taking the score to 140-3. It was not until the reintroduction of openers Martin Batley and Smiles that the game turned in favour of the visitors. Batley dismissed Rana for 25 and Smiles dismissed Henry for 32 and this led to a quick flurry of wickets. In a Tonbridge style collapse, Rodmersham lost their last 7 wickets for just 31 runs. Smiles finished with a double wicket maiden for figures of 4-47 from his 15 overs. The Shehzad brothers picked up a wicket each to quickly mop the tail up. Tonbridge often make games difficult for themselves but skipper Marshall will hope this changes over the following two weeks knowing that two wins could well be enough to see them promoted.
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Tonbridge CC 2nd XI 114 for 7 (44.5 overs) vs Bromley Common CC 4th XI 111 (35 overs)
Tonbridge 2nd XI are very close to sealing the 2nd XI championship after a 3 wicket win at Poplar Meadow on Saturday. Deciding to bat first, Bromley Common skipper Dave Williams was soon regretting his decision as Tonbridge speedster Tony Shepherd left the visitors in tatters at 18-4 picking up the top order in quick time. Only young Oscar Hussey (29) stood firm and he found an ally briefly in Austin (23) before Nilesh Patel (2-24) removed him. Patel and Nick Helyar (1-18), who also bowled with skill but no luck, are the league’s leading wicket takers with 32 apiece but it was part timer John Simmons (2-13) who removed top scorer Oscar and then skipper Williams for a duck in quick succession courtesy of two very smart catches by keeper John Smiles standing up to the stumps.
Shepherd, having been rested earlier, returned afresh to claim a deserved fifth victim courtesy of Smiles’ third catch. 30 extras however ensured Common reached 111 at the close. Shepherd, whose recent form has seen him at his best, bowled 8 overs, 5-14, leaving Tonbridge only a meagre run chase on a glorious batting surface.
Openers Mark Stokes and captain for the day Paul Smiles however soon found that Bromley Common's opening bowler Dean Trendler (1-26) was in top form and his lively left arm proved testing. His first 11 overs went for 11 runs as he beat the bat in an excellent spell. Stokes it became apparent had broken his foot and after a painful innings was soon on his way to hospital. Smiles was bowled by Trendler for 11 whilst at the other end some dogged defence from Nigel Johnstone kept a fired up Common at bay. A breezy 16 from Simmons was ended by Pursey (2-30) straight after the drinks break and Steve Allen looked good for 13 before clubbing to deep mid-on. Helyar then looked to be rapping up the game with several well struck boundaries as he top scored with 25 before he was stumped off the flighted spin of Williams (3-30). Johnstone's stoic defence was then ended for 18 as he went for the victory and Ben Hoey followed him immediately. It was left to the experience of Shepherd (15*) who fittingly smashed a glorious drive to the mid-off boundary to seal a comfortable win. Tonbridge are now 44 points clear of their nearest challengers with 3 matches left.
6th August
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –Tonbridge CC 1st XI 158 for 10 (41.3 overs) vsFrindsbury CC 1st XI 190 for 7 (50 overs)
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Dartford CC 4th XI 155 (45.5 overs) vsTonbridge CC 2nd XI 156 for 6 (43.3 overs)
31st July
Tonbridge Exiles CC –Tonbridge Exiles CC 232 for 2dec vs Beechwood CC 1st XI 168 for 5
30th July
Tonbridge CC 1st XI –Chislehurst & West Kent CC 1st XI 217 for 8 (50 overs) vs Tonbridge CC 1st XI 142 for 10 (39.1 overs)
Tonbridge CC 2nd XI –Tonbridge CC 2nd XI vs Hayes (Kent) CC 4th XI