Victory for Hayes at leaders Tunbridge Wells meant that the race for the Kent League Premier Division championship is far from over.

After being asked to bat first, the visitors found themselves struggling at 78 for 5. However, Liam Buttery with 40, and Tom Gallagher, 30, helped them work their way to 185. James Poulsom finished with 4 for 32.

Gus Freeman scored 37, Alex Williams 34, and Viraj Bhatia 30, but none of them were able to go on as Alex Blake claimed 3 for 40. Vaibhav Vaidyanath cleared out the lower order with 3 for 24 and when Michael Waller was run out for 32, trying to get back for a second run with three balls remaining, the hosts fell five runs short of their target.

Having leapt up to third place seven days earlier, Sandwich Town travelled to Minster and kept themselves in the hunt by winning in a rain affected match. They elected to bat and scored 193 with Tom Chapman top scoring with 48, supported by Rory Smith and Roshin Jayatissa who both scored 31.

Chasing a revised target of 183 from 44 overs, the hosts came up nine runs short despite Jaahid Ali scoring 78 at around a run a ball. Smith followed up on his batting feats with 3 for 36.

There was also a win for fourth placed Bexley at St Lawrence & Highland Court after they chose to field first. Kent’s Jack Leaning top scored with 33 but teenage leg-spinner Louie James took wickets at important times to claim 3 for 42 as the hosts were bowled out for 181.

Ben Aldred, with 35, and Ken McClure, 33, put the away team on the road but despite stumbling to 129 for 6, they held their nerve to ease home without losing any further wickets with two and a half overs to spare.

Sixth placed Lordswood were away to seventh placed Bromley and it was the hosts who claimed the eighteen points having elected to field first. Linden Lockhart (67) and Max Wood (33) added 83 for the second wicket before Oliver Butterfill went to work taking out the middle order and finishing with 4 for 21 from his ten overs. The visitors were dismissed, eventually for 162.

Stan Greenleaf held firm in the reply scoring 51 while Will Straker made inroads at the other end. Greenleaf found an ally in Ollie Streets, 38, and the home team eased home by three wickets with eleven overs unused. Straker finished with 3 for 53.

Finally, the bottom two met when Blackheath made the trip to Holmesdale with a ten point advantage following two consecutive wins that took them off the foot of the table. The hosts were asked to bat first and Leo Carter went to town scoring 176 not out from 146 deliveries. His knock included six sixes and twenty-two fours as they finished on 273 all out. Angus McKenzie returned 3 for 58.

George Wells led the response with 93, supported by McKenzie’s 41 as the visitors eased home by two wickets with seven deliveries to spare despite Nathan Khelawon taking 3 for 63. Although they remain in the bottom two, the teams immediately above them are now just a handful of points ahead and the battle to avoid relegation is poised to go all of the way to the end of the season.

Images courtesy of Steve Griggs