CURDRIDGE vs HYTHE XI
Saturday 24th April
SKIPPER LEADS FROM THE FRONT IN OPENING WIN
Simon DIXON 93*
Opening game of the new season and The Green Caps put in a polished all round team performance to beat Curdridge by 8 Wickets on a excellent track @ Reading Room Lane.
In a game played in very good spirit - The Hythe bowling attack reduced the home side to just 170 for 8 off their 40 overs with Richie Froggett taking 3-36 and Rob Saunders 3-45. Hythe lost an early wicket but a 98 run partnership between Matt Howe 49 and Simon Dixon followed by an unbeaten 3rd wkt partnership of 66 between Dixon 93* and Ewan Bell 18* sealed the win 3 overs spare.
On a pleasant afternoon Hythe took to the field first after the skippers verbally agreed Curdridge had to bat first as they were still waiting for 2 players.
Hythe opened the bowling with Jon Weall and Rob Saunders and it was the squaddie who got the breakthrough in the 4th over thanks to a good catch from Richie Froggett. M.Pone and C.Proctor then added 62 in 13 overs before Proctor was excellently caught by Jon Weall in the deep off Froggett for 25. Froggett struck again to dismiss T.Skinner for 0 and at drinks Curdridge were 73 for 3. Russell Moore then got a deserved wicket of Pone for 32. The home side 92 for 4 and 6 runs later Bates was caught behind by Gary Howe off Weall for 14.
Ben Smith bowled 8 tidy overs for 0-25. A.Anthony 20 and Mark Emm 41 added 53 for the 6th wicket to take the score to 151 for 6 in the 37th over before Anthony was bowled by Froggett. 19 more runs were added in the final 3 overs for the loss of two Saunders wickets as Curdridge ended on 170 for 8 off their 40 overs.
Hythe opened the batting with Dixon and Bowman - both finding it hard at first against a new swinging ball. Bowman fell in the 7th over for 1 after getting a corker from Proctor which moved very late. Matt Howe smashed his second ball to the boundary to set the tone for a very good 49 inc 8 fours. Howe and Dixon added 98 in 17 overs.
Ewan Bell then joined his skipper who brought up his fifty with a four. Dixon and Bell put on an unbeaten 66 runs to seal the win with 3 overs remaining. Dixon ending on 93 not out including 10 fours. Bell ending on 18 not out
A good opening win for Hythe with a lot of good individual performances
Innings of : CURDRIDGE 170 For 8 (40 Overs)
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Runs |
| 1. S.Russell | Ct. Froggett | Saunders | 4 |
| 2. M.Pone | Bowled | Moore | 32 |
| 3. *C.Proctor | Ct. Weall | Froggett | 25 |
| 4. T.Skinner | Bowled | Froggett | 0 |
| 5. S.Bates | Ct.G.Howe | Weall | 14 |
| 6. M.Emms | Bowled | Saunders | 41 |
| 7. A..Anthony | Bowled | Froggett | 20 |
| 8. J.Field | Not | Out | 8 |
| 9. D.Skinner | Bowled | Saunders | 6 |
| 10. D.Candy | Not | Out | 1 |
| 11. H.Pone | |||
| Extras - 19 | TOTAL | 170 For | 8 |
Hythe Bowling
| Bowler | Ov | Mn | Runs | Wkts |
| J.Weall | 8 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| R.Saunders | 8 | 0 | 45 | 3 |
| R.Moore | 8 | 2 | 30 | 1 |
| R.Froggett | 8 | 1 | 36 | 3 |
| B.Smith | 8 | 1 | 25 | 0 |
Innings of : HYTHE 172 For 2 (37.4 Overs)
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Runs |
| 1. M.Bowman | Bowled | Proctor | 1 |
| 2. *S.Dixon | Not | Out | 93 |
| 3. M.Howe | Ct & Bd | T.Skinner | 49 |
| 4. E.Bell | Not | Out | 18 |
| 5. S.Tongs | |||
| 6. R.Froggett | |||
| 7. J.Weall | |||
| 8. R.Saunders | |||
| 9. R.Moore | |||
| 10. B.Smith | |||
| 11. +G.Howe | |||
| Extras - 11 | TOTAL | 172 For | 2 |
Curdridge Bowling
| Bowler | Ov | Mn | Runs | Wkts |
| C.Proctor | 7 | 2 | 23 | 1 |
| S.Bates | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| J.Field | 5 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| D.Candy | 5 | 1 | 23 | 0 |
| M.Emm | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| T.Skinner | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| A.Anthony | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| H.Pone | 1.4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
RESULT : HYTHE XI Beat CURDRIDGE by 8 Wkts