HYTHE SUNDAY XI vs SARISBURY ATH
Sunday 10th August
@ Jones Lane
Hythe Cruise To Their Easiest Win of The Season
Hythe cruised to their most comfortable win of the season after Bellie elected to field first - but after realising the visitors were full of colts unfortuantely the Sarisbury captain stuck to batting and a quick exit home.
Hythe skipper Ewan Bell elected to give his bowlers first use of the wet Jones Lane pitch following heavy rain during the preceding 24 hours.
Regular openers Richard Last and Greg Woods (1-11) once again gave the hosts a good start by removing two of the top three batsmen cheaply to leave the visitors on 25-2 off the first 12 overs. Sarisbury were finding runs hard to come by and when all-rounder Michael Graham (3-10) replaced Last at the top end they lost three senior batsmen in an impressive four-over burst from the spinner.
With Matt Howe (1-12) offering support at the other end after coming on for Woods, the away side were left languishing on 68-6 off 26 overs and were grateful for a terrific innings from young Hopkins who expertly worked the ball around the field before ultimately falling to the bowling of Mike Bowman (1-20) in the last few overs. Jon Weall (1-6) and the returning Last (2-17) helped remove Bruce and Street in the last couple of overs to leave Sarisbury nine down for a disappointing total of 105 at tea.
The resumption of play saw Bell joined at the crease by Damon Lord, and the youngster showed his attacking intend from the start and crashed a four to the midwicket boundary before succumbing to a catch by Farley off the bowling of Grant for just 4. That brought the experience of Bowman to the crease and he proved the perfect foil for the skipper as the two put on 55 runs in just 13 overs. The fall of Bowman (21) to Farley brought Graham to the middle and he sought to guide Hythe towards their target but was soon out for just 11 with just 19 runs needed for victory.
The hosts sealed the victory shortly after as Woods (8*) and Bell (53*) saw them home with plenty of overs to spare. Hythe won by seven wickets.
Innings of : SARISBURY 105 For 9 (39 Overs)
(Hopkins 28, Waller 22, Stewart 14)
Hythe Bowling
| Bowler | Ov | Mn | Runs | Wkts |
| R.Last | 8 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| G.Woods | 6 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| M.Howe | 8 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| M.Graham | 4 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| E.Bell | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| J.Weall | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| M.Bowman | 5 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
Innings of : HYTHE 106 For 3
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Runs |
| 1. *E.Bell | Not | Out | 53 |
| 2. D.Lord | Caught | Farley | 4 |
| 3. M.Bowman | Bowled | Grant | 21 |
| 4. M.Graham | Caught | Pye | 11 |
| 5. G.Woods | Not | Out | 8 |
| 6. M.Howe | |||
| 7. J.Weall | |||
| 8. R.Last | |||
| 9. R.James | |||
| 10. +A.Wood | |||
| 11. M.Croucher | |||
| Extras -10 | TOTAL | 106 For | 3 |
Result : HYTHE SUN XI Beat SARISBURY by 7 Wkts |