HYTHE SUNDAY XI vs LANGSTONE

Sunday 15th June

Hythe hold on for draw at a wet Jones Lane.

Mike Bowman’s first half century after returning from injury guided the green caps away from a four match losing streak. Earlier good work in the field had limited Langstone to 163-9 on a very damp day in Hythe.

With rain always likely on a day forecast for showers it was not until five minutes before the beginning that it decided to come which delayed the start by about ten mins. When the players finally got out on the pitch Langstone were batting after winning the toss.

Hythe opened the bowling with young pair Greg Woods and Lee Powell and both bowled very accurately to keep the early run scoring to a minimum. The first change then saw Gareth Mead and Luke Mills come on to try and break the opening partnership. At first the Langstone batsmen upped their scoring rate with Brown in particularly taking fancy to Luke’s bowling. After a few overs Hythe finally made their break through with the score on 88 with Gareth Mead bowling Wellington for 32 and once Brown was finally caught behind off the bowling of Luke Mills for 71 the rest of the Langstone batting would prove less substantial as Hythe took a grip on the game.

Russell Moore picked up a wicket while there were three run outs with direct hits from Lee Powell and James Page whilst Sean Tongs claimed the other after a mix up. Openers Greg Woods and Lee Powell then returned to the attack and Powell took three more wickets including two from two balls to finish with the best figures of 10-1-21-3 as Langstone ended on 163-9.

When another light shower hit Hythe at tea it was decided after a short delay that the teams would take the field anyway, which proved a positive idea as 10 overs later the showers had receded. Less happy about the move were Ewan Bell and Matt Howe as Ewan opening with Mike Bowman edged behind for a golden duck whilst Matt Howe was LBW for a duck.

James Page then joined the already impressive Mike at the crease and scored 10 before he was bowled by Peck. While Mike was happily feasting on the Langstone attack the other Hythe batsmen would find it more difficult as Sean Tongs went for 14 and Russell Moore for 2. Mike was finally dismissed on 51 after hitting nine fours in an innings showing him near his best.

From then on Hythe would have to hold on for a draw as Mills. Powell and Mead would all fall cheaply and Leave Matt Young and Greg Woods to save the result for Hythe. Young finished 12* and Woods scoreless but the game ended as a draw with the green caps 119-9. Langstone’s opener Mafsin had figures of 10-3-20-3.

All credit to the visitors who made the relatively long journey up the coast for the game and gave a good account of themselves - They also played the game in a very good spirit.

Innings of : LANGSTONE 163 For 9 (42 Overs)

( Brown 71, Wellington 32 )

Hythe Bowling

Innings of : HYTHE 119 For 9 (35 Overs)