1stXI Match Report - Beckenham v Bexley
On another warm, sunny day, despite Beckenham’s dreadful season (the worst ever!), the careworn Beckenham scorer was looking forward to an afternoon in the box with good friend Richard. After the problem with a broken aerial had been overcome by Richard producing his own scoreboard console, the toss was made with Bexley winning and opting to bat first.
From the outset on a decent, easy-paced track, openers Aiden Griggs and Shaun Evans started steadily against David Moody and Junaid Nadir. The Beckenham bowlers performed with good control backed up by keen fielding but the Bexley pair were not seriously troubled but were made to work hard for their runs. Disaster struck in the 13th over when Nadir turned his ankle in a foothold and had to be withdrawn from the attack. Griggs, meanwhile, completed a workmanlike fifty in 62 balls as part of a hundred partnership. As skipper Alex Senn resorted to an all left-arm spin pairing of recently-married Rob Clements and Ishan Sabharwal, it was the former who capped a splendid spell by having Griggs held by Moody for 67. George Haley helped to push the score along as Evans carried on with his anchorman role in making a solid fifty from 113 balls, but then it was Clements again as he trapped Haley (25) in front and then had Matt Stiddard edging behind to the ecstatic ‘Barney’ Balmforth for a ‘Primary’. Evans’ fine knock was ended by the return of Moody, edging behind to Balmforth for 56. Keeper Ben Aldred joined Adam Ball in adding a further 25 before Moody had him holing out to Gethin Roberts. Ball followed shortly afterwards when he was dismissed by Harri Aravinthan before Moody bagged two more wickets in his final over as the Bexley innings closed on 235-8. The target was always going to be a tall order for Beckenham’s under-performing batting but the bowlers did well with Moody (4-46) and Clements (in his best spell since joining the club in 2017), 3-35.
With Nadir incapacitated to an extent, skipper Senn decided to employ him in a ‘pinch hitting’ role as makeshift opener and, as the Beckenham reply began, it seemed as if it might just work! With Gethin Roberts showing his growing maturity, a superb cover drive illustrating this, the innings started brightly with 31 on the board in the 7th over before, yet again, Roberts drove uppishly to be caught for 13. Nadir, meanwhile, was enjoying himself hugely in dominating a stand of 42 with skipper Senn who, woefully out of form, departed to the spin of Patel. Sadly Nadir followed almost immediately as he tried for the ‘name in lights’ shot to reach fifty only to be easily caught on the boundary off Freddie Foster’s left-arm spin. Thereafter it was the same old story as a succession of Beckenham batsmen, still batting like it was April, succumbed to Patel. Clements and Rigg tried hard in reaching the teens but it was to no avail as another awful batting performance ended with the last wicket falling on 146 and defeat by 89 runs.
Although it is mathematically possible for Beckenham to escape the drop, it now looks highly unlikely with the club 54 points behind next-bottom Bickley Park.
Scorecard: https://beckenham.play-cricket.com/website/results/5093726 (external site)