1st XI Match Report: Bickley Park v Beckenham

Yet another occasion when Beckenham made the short journey to Bickley Park closely followed by the rain!  After several showers and, the covers came off, the toss was made and Dan Magin sent Beckenham in on a grassy pitch with definite signs of something to keep the seamers interested.  The two diehard manual scorers settled down in the scorebox to await the opening salvoes.

Park openers Dan Magin and Max Luckett both commanded respect as the visitors’ innings began cautiously.  After a plethora of wides caused by the swinging ball, Magin straightened one to have Beckenham skipper Alex Senn trapped in front for 10.  James Fear started confidently before aiming a big hit against Luckett and playing on before Magin straightened another one to have Rithik Hari pinned in front to leave Beckenham groggy on 26-3.  Sadly, worse was to come with the introduction of Jason Benn in place of Magin.  After he had Harry Jones edging behind for 3, he trapped key batsman Johan Malcolm in front for 7 and the rest of the innings became a procession as Benn put on a display of high-class seam and swing bowling to take a magnificent 5-11 as the visitors collapsed horribly to 53 all out.

As Park began their innings in bright sunshine, Jahid Ahmed worked up impressive pace down the slope while Shojib Ali plugged away at the other end.  The pitch had, by now, flattened out and, with the outfield now dry, the prospect was for an early finish to one of the oldest local derbies.  There was only one success for Beckenham when Ahmed made one stop and Ranjit Singh offered a looping return catch.  With Imtiaz and Fullarton now going for their shots, the end arrived swiftly in the 11th over.  With Holmesdale losing but gaining bonus points, Beckenham now sit in the drop zone and must now regroup for the second half.

Scorecard: https://kcl.play-cricket.com/website/results/4146918 (external site)