MIDWEEK TOUR MATCH

Tuesday July 31st Vs OLD SUTTONIANS (SURREY)

Experience Tells in Tricky Conditions

In a low scoring game and in tricky conditions an Unbeaten 70 run partnership between Gary Howe and Nardus Grobler set up Hythe for a 4 wicket win over their Surrey opponents after Hythe had lost their first six wickets for 23 chasing 91.

The weather finally turned this week to allow Hythe to host touring side Old Suttonians on Tuesday afternoon. The guests elected to bat first but may have started to regret this decision when in just the fourth over of the match, under 13 Harry Smith bowled a double wicket maiden, first having Dagley caught by James Carse for 2 then Griffiths caught by Mike Bowman for 0. Batsmen T Wood and P Smith then put on a partnership of 20 before P Stevens JNR bowled Wood for 13. Nardus Grobler then replaced Stevens bowling down the hill and after a couple of erratic balls, found his line and length bowling Smith with a fast yorker.

Success came again in his second over when he bowled Fitzgerald for 0. Under 17’s James Carse and Greg Woods then came on to bowl, both taking a wicket in their first over, Carse trapping Martin LBW for 12 and Woods trapping Wortley LBW for 9. Both had success again in their third over with Carse bowling M Smith for 5 then Harry Smith catching H Wood for 6 off of Woods’ bowling. Both boys bowled economically with only 24 runs coming from the 14.1 overs they bowled between them and Carse finished off the innings with Matt Howe catching O’Toole for 7.

This left Hythe chasing 91 to win after the tea break.

Mike Bowman and Pete Stevens SNR opened the batting but the innings did not start well when Bowman was bowled for 0 by Mellett in the first over. Things did not get much better for the rest of the top order. Not long later Stevens was trapped LBW for 4 by Dagley then just a few overs afterwards Ben Smith followed in the same suit. Matt Howe was next to return to the pavilion when he was caught and bowled by Mellett for a duck and a couple of overs later Mellett had Harry Smith caught for 1.

Pete Stevens JNR was then bowled by Dagley for 0 but this was the last wicket Hythe was to lose. Nardus Grobler and Gary Howe, with plenty of time left, played sensibly dispatching the bad balls and defending the good ones in order to steer Hythe to victory, Grobler finishing on 42 and Howe on 37. Hythe won by 4 wickets.

Toss Won by Old Suttonians

Innings of : OLD SUTTONIANS 90 All Out (40.1Overs)

(P.Smith 17, T.Wood 13, L.Martin 12)

Hythe Bowling

Innings of : HYTHE 91 for 6 (31 Overs)