Knockers Vs Tenterden

Win :: Played on Sunday 21st August 2022

Tenterden
229-7

Knockers
230-4

Match Report

Knockers chased down a challenging looking total in a rare timed game at Tenterden. 44 overs in the field saw Kuts, Hector, Freddie and Ziggy lead a decent team effort with the ball before Snellers built on fine work from JT and Matt to bring us home.

Captain Freddie lost the toss, turning to Hector and Kuts - the latter fuelled by lunch at The Bull. The deck was true and the outfield lightning quick. Kuts was hooping it while Hec-tour, on a bittersweet day as non-touring game numbers equalled that of his efforts further afield, probed and it was the latter who got Woollett out playing across the line. It was something of relief as the opening pair had raced to 27 off the first four overs.

Kuts dived forward at a fielding position best known to himself to snaffle Agnew’s second in his last over. Ziggy took over while Kuts was given one more to bring justice to his fine bowling before Akhil stepped in. Bowen got a well set Sargent for 44 with the worst ball he’d bowled all afternoon as Stevens did a passable impression of a falling tree to grab it at point. In the eighteenth year of his Knockers career, and despite accompanying heckles from the slip cordon, Scott finally held on to a skied one at long off to help Ziggy to his second wicket and Knockers looked back in the game with Akhil and Bowen looking very tidy. JT was instantly dismissed from the slips after spilling one from Zig - it’s a brutal regime at Knockers sometimes.

A 75-run partnership between Betgridge and G Sargent then followed. Young replaced Ziggy with a bowling display best described as ‘hungover’ while a merry-go-round of Stevens, JT and Scott was employed at the other end. Young was very unlucky with unsuccessful appeals for a two padded LBW and a stumping but undeterred, he accounted for two well set batters in B Sargent, bowled and Clements caught behind as Boreham spilled it from one hand to the other then down to a deft bit of keepy-up from his left boot and back into his glove. The remaining Tenterden partner joined the celebratory huddle, so wonderful a moment had been witnessed.

We pause to praise Hector’s work at point here - chasing down numerous cuts on a rapid outfield. His book, ‘The loneliness of a long distance fielder’ comes out close-season, foreword by Mo Farah.

S. Landers figured out that he didn’t need a busted thumb to bowl and a very slow straight one did for Kokkinos who seemed vaguely pleased with proceedings, we were to discover why later. The innings concluded when the scorer shouted complaints that Knockers were getting through their overs too quickly to keep up.

Thoughts of former chair, Mr A Darry, came to mind as a vast spread for tea amidst a timed game had a nostalgic vibe about it. One suspects the sharp-tongued former leader might have been a tad vociferous about having less than an hour from the last twenty to attack 229. As it turned out, Tenterden read it very well.

Kokkinos’ comfort with his earlier dismissal was soon explained as his teasing, accurate and extremely slow bowling played with minds for ten overs on the trot. Boreham’s innings consisted of: block, a mighty six to cow, thick edge straight to the gloves. M. Landers entered the fray.

Stevens soon departed having looked pretty handy when he was caught hitting out off Kokkinos. JT joined Matt and life in the pavilion became increasingly relaxed with the pair sensibly smothering Kokkinos’ straight ones while picking off anything loose from him and attacking the few helpful ones B Sargent sent down at the other end. Matt’s straight six is deserving of mention. He eventually holed out having continued to add to recent form well.

JT is now in a three-way race for leading run getter in 2022. With Jai absent, his other competitor, Snellers, sauntered out to join him. They put on a second much needed partnership and with 92 on the board when the last twenty was announced, they did superbly well to help make this victory possible. JT’s recent-ish repositioning as a reliable source of runs was on show again, happy to solidly block in between lusty blows. Snellers timed the ball as beautifully as ever, trading mostly in boundaries but increasingly taking singles conscious of the necessary run rate. His 73no taking him past 7000 runs for Knockers.

When one got through JT’s defence, Ziggy joined Paul and was back to his purposeful best as a third fifty partnership in succession brought home the win with two overs to spare. Ziggy took advantage of a lack of third man as well as hitting a rare cover drive. He did the honourable thing and allowed Snellers to hit the winning runs with a cover drive of his own to conclude a fine day out with everyone chipping in.

 

Batting

Batsman	How Out	4s	6s	Runs
Oli Boreham	caught	0	1	6
Luke Stevens	caught	2	0	9
Matt Landers	caught	7	1	40
James Thompson	bowled	10	0	61
Paul Seldon	not out	13	1	73
David Bowen	not out	3	0	19
Akhil Anand	dnb	0	0	0
Scott Landers	dnb	0	0	0
Christian Kutner	dnb	0	0	0
Hector Agnew	dnb	0	0	0
Freddie Young	dnb	0	0	0

 

Bowling

Bowler	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts
Hector Agnew	7.0	0	32	2
Christian Kutner	8.0	1	40	0
David Bowen	7.0	1	24	2
Akhil Anand	6.0	0	23	0
Freddie Young	8.0	1	39	2
Luke Stevens	2.0	0	19	0
James Thompson	4.0	0	23	0
Scott Landers	2.0	0	6	1

 

Match Photos