The Hawks welcomed DACD to Ashling, following away wins against them in 20-20 and the 40 over format already this season. DACD had a change of skipper, Meredith, and a stronger looking attack, hoping for an improved performance this time out.

The Hawks batted first, with a welcome return to Mat, minus his new bat (not yet available for selection), his old blade performed well, however, in the first over almost cutting Paul W in two with a lofted straight drive for four.

Paul was gifted a high full toss first ball and his eyes lit up in anticipation, but he missed it! Both openers were soon knocking the ball around well for 1's and 2's, but boundaries were in short supply. DACD had a huge shout in the third for Mat, caught behind, but umpire Ben G turned it down.

19 x 0 off 5

A steady start exploded in the sixth when Matt hit consecutive 6's, into the long grass of the adjacent field. DACD's skipper was only half joking when he asked for seven fielders on the leg side boundary!

At the end of the sixth over it was 36 without loss, one ball into the seventh it was 36 for 1 as Paul was bowled by one that nipped back.

Andy W came in and Mat retired next ball with an all run 4; leaving Andy mopping his brow in the middle as Justin walked confidently in following his recent good spell with the bat. He was out first ball to one lifting off a good length and clipping his glove as he withdrew the bat- caught behind.

Ben came in as the bowling changed and whacked the first slower ball into the car park, first bounce, for 4. Next over, another straight drive, this time along the ground, into the feet of the bowler. Ouch!

57 x 2 at the half way stage.

Ben and Andy cut loose at this stage with 4's to all corners and some impressive running, much to Andy's horror, and even Ben refusing a third to an erratic over throw in order to catch his breath.

79 after 13.

Ben retired in the 14 th after a 6 leaving Paul O'D to face one ball, leg side, in the air; the second golden duck of the day!

The Hawks skipper then stood and watched Andy W top edge one to fine leg, in the air, put down! Next ball, chipped back to the bowler for a sharp catch low down.

Keith came in looking for runs and he was soon off the mark, first ball, much to his relief, as the 100 came up at the end of the 17 th .

Gareth made it three retired in rapid time at the start of the final over, bringing Tommy in to face with 4 balls left. Taking a leg stump guard he was only ever going to play one shot. Unfortunately he missed the ball and his leg stump was flattened.

David L knocked a single and Keith was out last ball for a well deserved 10.

129 for 6

Justin opened the bowling from the club house end and his second ball was smacked to the short boundary in the air. Mat was well placed on the ropes to take the catch, which he did, one handed and off the ground! He then bounced into the fence and 6 was signalled. A fine effort.

David L replaced Josh, sitting this one out to concentrate on upcoming exams (some members of the team have questioned his commitment)! David took a sharp c & b to dismiss DACD's skipper after being hit for consecutive 4's.

Justin had a loud appeal turned down in the 5 th , leaving DACD on 26 x 1 off 5 and well ahead of The Hawks (19 x0) at the same stage.

In a lively spell Justin took the second wicket, clean bowled, with the batsman trying to protect the more sensitive parts of his anatomy, before Ben and Tommy took over the attack.

Paul O'D split one in the deep, but saved a certain boundary off Ben and Tommy was economical as ever, restricting DACD to 46 x 2 at the half way stage-now 11 behind The Hawks on run rate.

Ben knocked over leg stump with his last ball in the 12 th to make way for Steve C and Keith D. Steve started with a tight over considering the run chase was on and Keith was unlucky to see Paul W put down a nick to his first ball. Keith then took no chances next ball, missing out the middle man, clean bowling the batsman.

Next over was a classic Clark effort, seeing the score race on from 58 to 82, including three 6's over Justin's head! Described by one fielder as a poor second, and third over! No pictures will appear on the web site due to a shortage of gigabytes on the teams camera; however a battered ball was recovered from a near by field and has been retired from future use.

Keith calmed things down a little with a maiden and Tommy returned to dismiss the big hitter by levelling his off stump. Keith bowled out the innings to leave DACD well short of the required margin on 93 x 6.

Both teams retired to The Barleycorn and were treated to a wonderful feast plus the odd beer! Cheers all ‘till next time!

6 out of 6-

C'mon Hawks...

Scorecard

Without Mat our opening run machine, Gareth as skipper volunteered to open with Paul to try and start the innings confidently, although both players had a couple of nervous moments with calling, the stand was into the mid twenties when Paul cut a ball to cover point and was caught. Andy came in at three but was unfortunately undone by the wiles of the off spinner and was bowled in the next over.
So with the score of 30 for 2 Justin joined Gareth at the wicket and the rest is history – records tumbled, both players played aggressively through the covers, lofting drives over the bowlers heads and unleashing carnage through midwicket so it was no surprise when both players brought up their fifties.
Although tiring the runs continued and a pact was made in the event of a player reaching their hundred they would retire, and so it came to place with the partnership reaching 197 Justin smashed a ball through the leg side to retire on 101, the first batsman to score a hundred for Chidham & Hambrook C.C.
Josh then joined his father at the crease with the hope of being there when the second centurion would raise his bat, alas fatigue got the better of the skipper and he was bowled in the next over for 94.

So with just over 33 overs gone it was left to the young guns to finish off the innings in style and that they did, with Josh smashing a 6 through midwicket and finishing on 18, Neil hammering 4 boundaries closing on 20 and Jimmy demonstrating his elegant shots through the offside, it was then left to Clive and David to see out the last over with another further onslaught of runs with Clive finishing on 16no.

Chidham & Hambrook innings finished on 275 – 7 wickets off their 40 allotted overs.

DACD’s reply

The opening over was to be bowled by David running down the hill for a change and Josh from the pavilion end and both bowlers gave little away.
The DACD openers were looking sound but David produced the breakthrough with a superb caught and bowled within his next over and C&H were up and running.
The next few overs gave very little and with the wicket being true the opening spell ended with DACD being 39-1 off 10 overs.
A joint change brought on Clive and Tom which produced immediate dividends with Clive gaining a wicket with a catch by Tom at cover point and a couple of overs later with another by a catch by Neil in the covers.
Fielding was superb with Jimmy and Neil being very fleet of foot and by the bravery of Steve & David with the undulations of the outfield.
Tom was bowling a very dangerous spell finishing unluckily with figures of 8 overs 0 for 13, this brought David back who bowled the opposition skipper Guy Andrews and then had another caught behind by Paul who gave another top drawer performance behind the stumps.
Steve gave us two spells from either end bowling up and downhill to prove what an indispensable bowler he is, but to finish Josh came back to bowl his last three overs for three runs and a wicket off his last ball, the batsman bowled and Steve catching the bail at fine leg!

DACD finally finishing on 115 – 6 wickets off their 40 allotted overs.

C&H C.C. winning by 160 runs.

Many thanks to all from DACD who gave us another great match.

Skip – Assistant Ed

Mat ran in from the pavilion and Josh opened at the far end. Josh had the first big chance when a lofted drive was dropped by Mat over his left shoulder, and to rub salt in the wound 2 balls later he was hit for 6! It looked like it was going to be one of those days!

In the fifth over Mat had a ball drop agonizingly between Neil and Steve, giving The All Stars a good start of 23 for 0 off 5.

The break through came with the last ball of Josh's third over, clean bowled, middle stump; a wonderful sight.

Tommy W replaced Mat and was fast and accurate, but catching was again to let The Hawks down in the eight over, Keith putting down a hard and fast spinning ball in Josh's final over. Tommy was then edged over the keeper for 4 in the next and the score moved on to 45 for 1 (and 2 dropped).

Ben came on to bowl over number ten and there was a chance of a run out as Keith tried to throw down the stumps, missing narrowly. 50 came up next ball with a boundary.

Steve only managed to get his fingers to a low one fired back past Tommy for the third chance down, but in the next over the game was about to take a turn. Ben got some extra lift, the batsman edged the ball onto his upper arm and Andy Wild took a magnificent catch at first slip.

In the next over and his first of the season, Steve Clark got the edge with his third ball and Paul snapped a sharp low catch behind. The fourth ball spooned up and Mat took the catch as well, but in a missed opportunity, the field stayed back with the batsman under pressure and the hat trick ball was fended away with out incident. At least Clarky avoided an expensive round in the Old House later.

75 for 4 off 15, and Keith Davey entered the fray; last delivery, caught by Jimmy after juggle only inches in from the ropes. A couple of inspired bowling changes from the skipper had swung the match in favour of The Hawks at last.

Neil managed to drop 2 in Steve's next over, bringing the total to at least 5 missed chances (and that's being conservative). Ben finished the innings with a run out after grabbing the ball in his follow through. The All Stars finishing with a charitable 107 for 6. It could have been a lot worse if The Hawks had followed Andy Wild's example and tucked in their shirts (apparently the cause of all the dropped catches)!

Mat and Paul opened with a near run out, if it had hit, off Matt off the second ball and a dropped catch later in the first over.

In the third The All Stars fast bowler collapsed in his follow through, an ankle problem, but recovered well and kept it tight. The first boundary came in the fourth from Mat, who living dangerously was dropped in the 5 th before Paul was bowled, off stump, next ball.

Andy came in to see Matt hit a four into the pavilion and subsequent retirement. The skipper strode out to the crease, and soon strode back-lbw PLUMB!

60 for 2 off 10. Up with the required run rate and Ben in to bat with Andy Wild.

A communication error, followed by an apology by Ben, led to Andy's demise in a run out and Josh was next man in, and soon off the mark - first ball 2 down to fine leg.

Ben was dropped off the first ball in the thirteenth over and in the fourteenth Josh hit a wonderful 6, which went to his head, clean bowled next ball! Neil came in and Ben went out-retired. 85 for 4 off 14.

Keith was in all too briefly, out for a duck, giving way to Jimmy.

With 4 required to win Neil tried a reverse sweep, giving way to much hilarity from the pavilion, managing 1 down leg side next ball and giving Jimmy the strike.

A classic drive had Jimmy of the mark and the scores tied followed by a 4 all along the ground and a well deserved victory.

3 out of 3, but a bit of catching practice required by all, and the reverse sweep by Neil!

Well done to all for a 100% turn out in the pub. Neil and Mat (have a good holiday and make time to get a new bat) for winning the raffle and Steve and Paul for helping drown Keith's sorrows till the early hours!

Till next time, C'mon Hawks.

Steve - Ed.

The two skippers agreed on the match format and tossed the coin, Skipper Haskett once again called correctly and was promptly told by the opposition captain they would bat and walked back to the pavilion. Skipper Haskett slightly non-plussed and probably more than hussled thought “what the hell, more than happy to chase anyway”; although openers Mat and Paul were definitely thinking wouldn't be good to bat in daylight for a change.

Hawks Reply

The Hawks opening partnership of Mat & Paul walked confidently to the crease intent on giving us the start we needed, Mat settled in well with a couple of boundaries but Paul copped a full one on the toe and was given out LBW, Paul the gentleman that he is agreed it was probably out but it still hurt like hell!.

So it was left to Ben who finished on 21no and a late cameo by Andy 16no to give us win number two by 5 wickets with more than four overs spare.

Hawks Win by 5 Wickets

Once again great match, another great result and our thanks go to DACD for hosting us this evening.

Assistant Ed – Skip,
“Ed - Steve will definitely be back next week”.

Season opener May 12 th v Lavant away

So with shadows lengthening across the ground regular openers Mat & Paul strode to the wicket hoping to send us on our way and that they did. Even with a slower wicket then they would normally like after 4 overs we were 28 without loss, another good start.

Unfortunately the next four overs only increased the score by 14 runs for the loss of Mat, Paul and Keith all undone by the vagaries of the wicket. Odd stat so far all wickets falling to the bowlers had come from the pavilion end, I think next year we will have a queue for one end and a dirge of interest from the other, hopefully they will forget.

To the close, Ben and Paul O'D were together at the crease and both finished 18 not out with a good smattering of attacking shots and boundaries between them and Paul finishing it with a four through cover.

Hawks 73 – 3, winning by 7 wickets with over 8 overs in hand

Great match, great result, great hosts thanks again to Lavant who we look forward to playing again later in the season.

Assistant Ed – Skip “who's looking forward to Steve sartorial report next time”