Sidley v. Crowhurst Park 3rd XI

Sidley won by 6 wickets.  (Crowhurst Park 11 pts; Sidley 26 pts.)

Crowhurst 194-6  (50 overs).

Sidley 195-3 (34 overs).

On a gloriously hot summer's day at Claremont School, Sidley returned to winning ways against the league leaders (and winners, as a result of the points they gained in this game). Each side fielded only 10 players.

The home side were restricted to 194-6 due to some focused bowling from Craig Ramsden (2-59 off 16 overs), Cavan O'Connor (1-45 off 17 overs) and Trevor Ramsden (2-44 off 9 overs). Mark Gransden also bowled well - 8 overs for 35 runs. After the two openers put on 103, Trevor Ramsden quickly took the key wicket of the Crowhurst Australian overseas player who had amassed a significant number of runs in recent weeks, and the Crowhurst momentum was then slowed.

Guest player from Battle, Robert Yardy, got Sidley off to a good, solid start with Simon Newstead, who played with excellent technique and a high level of concentration. Simon went on to make an invaluable 55 before being caught at long mid-off. After Harry Little (8) had been caught behind, Mark Gransden (39) continued the patient approach shown by Simon Newstead, powerfully dispatching any bad ball to the boundary. Craig Ramsden (27) then came in to attack the bowling with real venom and move Sidley on to  what turned out to be a surprisingly comfortable victory, with 9 overs remaining.

All in all, it was a model example of how to win a league game, with the batsmen in particular showing real determination and the ability to concentrate hard for extended periods. 

The final game of the season is away to Robertsbridge 3rd XI.