THE COLTS HAVE THEIR SAY

Now its time for the Colts to have their say on the new season which starts for them in just 3 weeks time. Hythe are just starting to benefit from the hard work Kev James, Gary & Anne put in and now Richie Froggett have put in, with several colts now starting to play senior cricket. Long may it continue.

First off its U17 skipper - Russell (Crouchey) Moore 

The first competitive match for a Hythe side this season is when the Under
17's play away at Milford, and with high expectations are hoping to get the
campaign off with a bang.

This season could prove to be the most successful year for Hythe in recent
times with the firsts pushing for promotion to county 1 helped by the return
of SAlad Nardus, return to fitness of Whits, the evergreen Froggett... the
list goes on.

The seconds also surely on the verge of finally escaping from
Regional 3 SW with the help of an ever strengthening batting line-up and
experienced bowling attack. But from the atmosphere around the colts section
there appears to be the sense that this year will see the best performances
from a colts side, certainly since the turn of the century.

I can't talk too much about the younger colts sides but the under 11's were
very strong last year and would not have been put into the 'A' league for no
reason. The under 13's and 15's sides as well have appeared to have improved
a great deal from what i have seen in the net sessions at Houndsdown, which
must be considered a key element of season preparation. One player who
imparticularly stands out for me is Harry Smith, at his age he looks
comfortable in the crease when playing the under 17 attack and has a wide
variety of strokes, which makes me belive he will have a very productive
year.

For the coming Under 17 season we will see the entire team that played last
year and so i'm sure they all have personal targets to work on and it gives
us a goal, which i believe is a 50% or better win rate this year. Looking at
the fixtures we should win the four matches against Mudeford and Pylewell
with only Matt Kitcher possibly providing a severe threat.

Redlynch & Hale we faced last year and after speaking to their captain, most of their squad
is too old for this league now and it gives us a great chance to show our
development. Bashley's games are the obvious tough fixtures and they are
favourites for the title having not lost for two years but we face two
relative unknowns in Milford and Calmore, Calmore who we know should be
strong but we do not know how strong yet and we will have to wait and see.

These results i think are easy to predict having seen the depth in quality
the Under 17's now has, the obvious starting point being Mr. Howe, who would
bet against him bettering his 50+ average from last year and safe hands
behind the stumps. The pinch hitting of Tom Porter could also provide us
with ferocious starts to our innings, with the eye for the ball he has and
we have seen against Mudeford and in the Presidents game he could take apart
any weak attacks.

The depth of our batting is another asset with big knocks also capable from
James Page, Rich Last, Lee Powell, Ben Smith and even James Carse who i have
seen in the nets produce some vicious attacking shots.
In the bowling department we have always been strong and with the form of
Pete Stevens jnr. last year we are looking to him to prize open some
opposition innings. The swing of Last and Powell provides problems for any
batsman and the seam bowling of Porter and Ben Smith looks stronger and
quicker than previous years (Depending whether Ben bowls spin or seam).
James Carse's spinners last year prized 10 wickets and the best average from
a Hythe bowler which we can also rely on.

My personal targets are for 300+ runs in the league this year, hopefully
providing the team with a solid start to the innings and also to support the
bowling attack, ending up as any all-rounder should with a higher batting
average than bowling which i missed last year by 0.70.

So in less than 4 weeks now the First league Hythe match will get underway
and take to the field hopefully ending in the first win of a season that
offers Hythe so much.

Thanks Crouchey good review - if any other colts want to have their say then just e.mail your story to me at chiv.com@virgin.net and well put it on the website.