2's vs Blackheath

Having lost the toss and being made to field on the first decent day of the summer, The Mote thought some leather chasing was about to ensue on what appeared to be a belter of a pitch.

With former Motester Hadleigh Luff launching James Leggett over extra cover for 4 in the first over, this signs were ominous. However, Leggett bowled Luff in the next over and Blackheath never really recovered. Leggett and Paul Usher combined effectively to keep the runs to a minimum. Usher’s good bowling failed to induce an edge, however he was finally rewarded when the Blackheath number 3 clipped the ball of his legs straight to the skipper at mid-wicket. Captain Waters was soon in to the attack to replace Usher, and in tandem with Chris Bell, kept the pressure on the visitors. Waters induced an error by the remaining opening batsman, who was caught at cover by James Leggett. In the next over, Bell induced an edge which was easily caught by Waters at slip. This left Blackheath in trouble at 58-4, however their best batsman was at the crease. The Mote bowlers continued to apply the pressure and with the wicket not being as flat as first thought, with some variations in bounce along with decent seam movement and spin, eventually Blackheath cracked as Waters took a fantastic caught and bowled to dismiss Fleming for 11. Waters continued to take wickets and stall any acceleration Blackheath tried to apply to their innings. Waters finished his spell having taken 5-24 from 10 overs. Hood had replaced Bell and he took the wicket of the Blackheath captain. Blackheath looked in danger of not getting too far past 100, however the last wicket proved stubborn. Chris Feltham, having bowled some total filth for 1.2 overs managed to take the final wicket as Kent League legend Rupert Staple played on to his own stumps.

So 126 was the target and the opening pair of Corke and Taylor got the home side off to a flying start. Taylor was particularly punishing on any width as the score raced to 49 when Corke was caught off the bowling of Hands for 19. Taylor continued to attack as Nick Waite played the anchor role. Having scored 45 from 54 balls, DT played a rather nothingy shot to be caught at midwicket. The Mote were 70-2 with plenty of overs remaining. James Leggett joined Waite in the middle and after a period of dots balls, Leggett began to play his shots and scored a breezy 34 until he was out LBW with only 6 needed to win. Entering the fray was Facebook Live sensation, Dan Mason. He wasted no time in finishing the game and sealing a fantastic win over the 2nd placed team in the league as The Mote romped home by 7 wickets.

This was an outstanding performance by the team and got us back on track to have a good crack at promotion.