An excellent 40 over win for Beckenham 6th XI versus Old Dartfordians at Hayes CC in west Kent this afternoon.
Dartford won the toss and chose to bowl. An encouraging opening stand featuring Peter Lee (43 runs) and Neeraj Kabra (27) set a match-winning tone, however the Dartfordians gradually fought their way back and held Beckenham to a respectable 156 for 7.
The weather was turning increasingly sombre as Dartford’s Kieran Jones (37 runs), together with a swift 34 by Louie Mason, meant the opposition stood at 152 for 7 and in a prime position to win.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! South African born, Beckenham junior Bradley Petrie preceded to bowl out the remaining three Dartfordian players in the 37th over without conceding a single run. Cue many celebrations amongst the Beckenham contingent!
Earlier, my son Ben bowled two tidy overs and took an excellent catch off Leeroy Samuels’ fast bowling to remove opener George Ross for the first wicket.
Much credit must go to the superb captaincy of Becks’ wicketkeeper Bhavin Patel – a true leader throughout the season – as the team finished third in their division behind league winners Sidcup CC.
(Bradley is kneeling in the picture, while Ben is standing second right. Becks’ eleventh player, Sam Humphreys, is missing from the photo as he had to leave immediately the match finished. As a welcome connection, Sam’s dad Huw is Head of Music at the Barbican Centre).
