Victory in a one sided game extended St Lawrence & Highfield Court’s lead in the Kent League Premier Division.
They asked fourth placed Bromley to bat first and bowled the visitors out for just 95 despite Sean Thompson’s 31 not out. Ollie Curtiss was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 6 from six overs.
Josh Julian then crashed 52 not out from 34 deliveries, and Dan Stickels hit 35 not out from 27 as they cruised to a nine wicket victory from just 11.1 overs.
Second versus third met when Blackheath hosted Hayes and, despite being asked to field first, the visitors claimed a comfortable win. George Wells scored 45, but Alfie Peck returned 4 for 29, and Finnan Bryan claimed five catches in the outfield as the hosts were dismissed for 115.
Aaron Burrage scored 37 not out in the response as the away team won by seven wickets from 20.3 overs.
If those matches were straight-forward for the victors, the match between sixth placed Tunbridge Wells and their fifth placed visitors Bexley at Skinners School, was completely different. That match went all the way with the hosts winning by four runs. Having won the toss, Wells recovered from 122 for 9 thanks to an unbeaten 68 run last wicket partnership with Danru Fearns finishing on 45 not out. Oliver Smith took 3 for 30 and Zeph Netherway 3 for 40 while Louie James bowled a miserly ten overs, finishing with 1 for 17.
In Bexley’s response, Leo Selvey-Clinton scored 46, Varun Anand 32, and George Haley 31. However, Michael Waller’s 4 for 21 kept them in check and the last pair needed ten to win off the last over, and six to tie off the last ball. They could only score two and a thriller ended in the hosts’ favour.
Depleted seventh placed Whitstable hosted Minster in eighth and the visitors elected to field first. Byron Gould scored 31 from just eleven balls while opening partner Justin MacVicar was a little more sedate but still scored his 80 at greater than a run a ball. Bill Prideaux removed both, finishing with 3 for 46, while James Thompson beat his figures with 4 for 31.
Chasing 193, Minster also made a quick start with Ed Moore scoring 66 from 44 and Thompson 48 from 37. Their opening partnership of 120 put them well in command and, although they lost seven wickets, they reached their target in the 28th over.
Finally, the bottom two met when Lordswood hosted Sevenoaks Vine. Linden Lockhart got the home team off to a good start after they had chosen to bat first. He scored 68 before Hugh Scott scored 44, and Calum MacLeod 38. However all three fell to Luke Schlemmer on his way to 4 for 60 in support of Tom Richards’ 4 for 22 as the Lords were bowled out for 235.
Schlemmer wasn’t done there though, and he joined Ben Compton with the score on 4 for 1, and they both scored unbeaten centuries. Compton finished on 118 from 109 balls, and Schlemmer 101 from 116 as they won by nine wickets with eleven overs to spare.
Images courtesy of Keith Gillard