1st XI Broadstairs CC v Bromley Common CC
The final match of the season for Broadstairs 1XI saw them host third-place Bromley Common. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat and then proceeded to back up this decision with some expansive batting. By the 10th over they were 72-2 and continued to score at breakneck speed through to drinks, reaching 171-4 at the halfway mark, wickets claimed by Jamie Dewell, Chris Flint, Matthew Frewin and Chris Kidd. The remainder of the innings painted a very different picture with Bromley Common adding just 32 to their total for the loss of the remaining 6 wickets, 5 of them claimed by Jayojit Basu who finished with figures of 5-10 off 4 overs.
The Broadstairs reply began shakily with the loss of Basu and Dewell in quick succession. A productive partnership between opener Alex Hogben and Jack Wheeler was looking impregnable at 74-2 when an attempted reverse-sweep by Wheeler led to him being bowled for a hard-fought 40. The subsequent dismissals of Elliot Fox (16), Matthew Hardy (1) and Chris Flint (2) for the addition of just 26 runs placed the pressure back onto the Seasiders with Hogben and Frewin having to re-build. This they did with an excellent 66-run partnership which was eventually broken when Hogben was dismissed for a season’s best 65. Broadstairs then limped towards the finishing line as Alfie Huntley was bowled without scoring and Frewin (31) followed 5 overs later. With just one wicket remaining and 19 runs still needed, Skipper Kidd and Bradley Ellison looked well-set to reach the target in a last-wicket partnership resembling the Stokes/Leach combination. In the end, with 6 runs still needed and 9 balls still to come, a vociferous LBW appeal was upheld by the umpire and the match and season finished on a somewhat disappointing, anti-climactic note.
Broadstairs will rebuild for next season and look forward to introducing some of the emerging players from the successful 2nd XI as part of the drive to regain their Division 1 status.
