2008 Results

You can view all the results for the 2008 season here. If you want to see how we did in previous years, check out the Match Archives which have reports of every match we've played since 2003.

The league points system is as follows: 10 points for a win, 5 points for a tie or no result, batting bonus points at 120, 160, 200, 240 runs, and bowling bonus points at 6, 8, 10 wickets. An additional bowling bonus point is awarded for bowling a team out for fewer than 120 in the first innings of a match.

21/09/08: Chevening v Ide Hill: match report to come

20/09/08: Chevening v Bells Yew Green: match report to come

14/09/08: Chevening (201-8) beat St John's (76) by 125 runs
Chevening pulled off a convincing win on Sunday against a depleted St John's side (they had seven players). Despite the lack of fielders, Chevening's score of 201-8 was an excellent one: the pitch was slow and most of the boundaries were long. David Franklin and George Fisk did most of the damage, putting on 124 for the second wicket before Fisk was bowled for a quickfire 73. Wickets then fell at regular intervals until skipper Roy Smithers came in to steady the ship, and he guided the team through to tea after Franklin had departed for 86. One of the St John's bowlers finished with figures of 6-96 from 18 overs

In reply, the seam bowlers were having little joy due to the lifelessness of the pitch. In the end, all six wickets were taken with spin; the first went to James Clayton and the next five were shared between Smithers (3-10) and Franklin (2-7). The key wicket was an excellent catch from Will Fry in the deep, and Pete Rushbrook was cat-like behind the stumps on his birthday. St John's were eventually all out for 76, giving Chevening the win by 125 runs.

13/09/08: Chevening (130-8) lost to Woldingham (132) by 2 runs
A thrilling finish saw Chevening lose their game by just 2 runs on Saturday. Some excellent early bowling from openers Rob McAllister and Paul Blake reduced the opposition to 25-5, but a sixth-wicket recovery helped them claw it back to reach a defendable 132 all out. They then bowled tightly on a very difficult pitch to bat on, and we needed five to win with one ball left. A wide was bowled, leaving a boundary for the win - but we could only muster a single. Mark Burkitt batted well for 47.

07/09/08: Chevening v West Peckham cancelled due to rain.

06/09/08: Chevening v Gills Green cancelled due to rain.

31/08/08: Chevening v SR & Kenley cancelled due to rain.

30/08/08: Chevening (149) lost to Sissinghurst II (168) by 19 runs
A below-par batting effort resulted in Chevening's third league defeat in a row, despite the efforts of Simon Baldwin, who had earlier taken 5-28: Chevening's best bowling figures of the season so far. Simon Martin looked like he might win Chevening another game with his determined middle-order batting, but when he was out for 47, Chevening folded quickly. John Smith also batted resolutely for 18, and Simon Baldwin (22) and Simon Smithers (23) contributed earlier on.

23/08/08: Chevening (145-5, 3 pts) lost to Halstead (155-9, 11pts) by 10 runs
After a slow start, an excellent 63* from Simon Smithers was not enough to secure victory for Chevening, who fell a disappointing ten runs short. Simon Baldwin (25) also contributed. Rob McAllister took another three-for in Halstead's innings, as did Chris Hadlow. View report on the play-cricket site.

17/08/08: Chevening (153-8) beat Wrotham (111) by 42 runs
An excellent bowling performance meant Wrotham were bowled out for 111 on Sunday. Since this was a 12-a-side game, this gave them the biggest "Nelson" in the history of cricket, finishing on 111-11. Will Fry took 3-19, James Clayton 2-20 and Carl Smithers on debut took 1-2 without conceding a run off the bat. He also batted with Roy, his grandfather, meaning all three Smithers generations have played for Chevening this weekend. In Chevening's innings, they recovered from 40-5 to post 153 after John Smith (43) and John Recaldin (44) put on 100.

16/08/08: Chevening (150-6, 3 pts) lost to Weald (186-9, 13 pts) by 36 runs
Chevening ended up falling 36 runs short in a spirited effort against Weald on Saturday with only nine players. Rob McAllister and Paul Blake took three wickets apiece, and Simon Smithers scored 48*. Full report on the play-cricket site.

10/08/08: Chevening (79-1) drew with Belvedere (186)
Chevening's match away against Belvedere was abandoned due to rain as a draw after Chevening got off to a promising start in their chase. After bowling out the home side for 186, with David Franklin and debutant Tom Wild taking three wickets apiece, David (42*) and Mike Franklin (20) then managed to put on 79 for the first wicket in very bad light. The match survived one interval for heavy rain but once the rain came second time round, there was no hope of a result. Another miserable day's weather.

09/08/08: Chevening (202-7, 14 pts) beat Kilndown (200-7, 4 pts) by 3 wickets
On a cold, damp, rainy, windy, dreary, drab and generally awful day in August, Chevening ended up pulling it together to secure an excellent win against Kilndown. Mark Burkitt scored his third 57 of the season and his second against that opposition, and Rob McAllister took three wickets before taking Chevening to the brink of victory with some superb lower-order batting with Simon Martin (40*). It went to the last over but Kilndown's competitive score of 200-7 was overhauled. Top effort to come away with a win on what was (as you probably gathered) a truly miserable day! View full report on the play-cricket site.

03/8/08: Chevening vs Halstead cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

02/8/08: Chevening (130-2, 12 pts) beat Kemsing (129-6, 1 pt) by 8 wickets
Chevening chased down a small total without any alarms for the second match in a row, this time in the league against Kemsing. Andy Black was the mainstay of the Chevening innings with 59; the full report is on the play-cricket site.

27/7/08: Chevening (126-1) beat Brasted Invicta (125) by 9 wickets
Chevening produced a fantastic performance to brush aside a strong Brasted Invicta team on Sunday. James Clayton (2-22) and Will Fry (3-26) bowled superbly at the start of the innings, before Rob Allen (4-38) cleaned up the tail, as well as getting rid of Brasted's half-centurion Keith Cheese (52). The traditional Chevening way of approaching a low total is to do everything in their power to "make it interesting", but assured batting from David Franklin (56*) and an explosive maiden fifty from Aleks Wrobel (52*) who hit the winning four with a crashing cover drive - saw the team home comfortably.

26/7/08: Chevening (152-8, 1 pt) lost to Knockholt (153-2, 13 pts) by 8 wickets
Chevening lost convincingly to Knockholt as their below-par score of 152-8 was knocked off with some ease. Full report on the play-cricket site.

20/7/08: Chevening (133-9) beat North Downs (69) by 64 runs
Another clinical display with the ball, this time from the Sunday side, capped off a great weekend for Chevening. After winning the toss and batting first, Chevening were in trouble at 27-5, but David Franklin (48) and Rob Allen (28) steadied the innings. When Franklin was caught and bowled, Will Fry came in to bat and scored a disciplined 12* to guide Chevening to the close without being bowled out. In reply, Chevening's bowling was excellent, with Rob Allen (2-30) and Aleks Wrobel (0-19) getting some pace early on. Will Fry bowled very well to take 3-14, but the star of the show was (not for the first time in his Chevening career) skipper Roy Smithers, who ended up with astonishing figures of 6.3-3-3-4. A mention also for Chris Barrett, who took two excellent catches, and James Denman, who got a run-out with a deadly-accurate throw from the deep.

19/7/08: Chevening (82-9, 14 pts) beat Speldhurst (78, 2 pts) by 1 wicket
Chevening somehow scraped home in an unbelievable match on Saturday against Speldhurst. After winning the toss and choosing to field, Chevening opened the attack with Rob McAllister and Paul Blake, who bowled brilliantly to share seven wickets between them and leaving the opposition on the brink of humiliation at 37-7. A mini-revival followed as the eighth-wicket pair put on 38, but when that partnership was broken thanks to an excellently-judged catch from Andy Black, Chevening were able to mop up the tail quickly to secure the maximum four bowling points. Their bowlers were backed up by a near-perfect display of fielding, with Mark Burkitt, Rob Hadlow, Mark Challis and David Franklin also holding on to some great catches.

However, the game was only half-done. The players went out again before tea and five Chevening batsmen returned before the interval, as a hostile spell of bowling from both the Speldhurst openers left Chevening in trouble at 39-5 at tea. There was pace and bounce from one end and late swing (both ways) from the other, and the good bowling did not stop once they'd finished their nine overs each. Mark Challis steadied the innings in typical fashion but then overbalanced and was stumped for 18; an excellent piece of wicket-keeping. Rob McAllister batted like a man possessed, determined to see the game through. When Paul Blake was bowled to leave Chevening eight down with 15 to win, Speldhurst were favourites.

Enter Chris Hadlow, who hit two fours in two balls to reduce the deficit (one of them a sumptuous cover drive which was widely considered the "shot of the day"). Another boundary levelled the scores and Chevening were ecstatic. Then one slipped through Chris's defences: 78-9, with the senior pro Johnny Martin striding to the crease at no.11. One to win. Dot ball first up. The next one was full on leg stump; Johnny tried to nudge it into the leg-side but could only get the thinnest of inside-edges -- which narrowly missed the stumps and went all the way across the quick outfield down to the fine-leg boundary for four. Chevening had won by 1 wicket in a bizarre but brilliant game of cricket.

13/7/08: Chevening drew with Ash
Chevening ended up batting out for the draw on Sunday against Ash, with Mike Franklin scoring 20, his highest score for the club, and Pete Rushbrook scoring a match-saving 37. Full match report to follow.

12/7/08: Chevening (140-9, 1 pt) lost to Shoreham (144-4, 13 pts)
A bad day at the office for Chevening, despite a well-made 63 from Mark Burkitt. You can view the full match report on the play-cricket site.

06/7/08: Chevening vs St Mary's cancelled due to rain.

05/7/08: Chevening (226-4, 14 pts) beat Bidborough II (225-6, 3 pts) by 6 wickets
A superb run-chase from Chevening gave them victory over a spirited Bidborough side on Saturday. Bidborough batted first, and took advantage of the small boundary to rack up a century opening partnership between Eames (80) and Hollins (48). However, Chevening kept their heads up and got back into the game, with Simon Baldwin taking 3-58 to restrict Bidborough to 225-6 after it had looked like a score of 250+ might be on the cards. In reply, everyone chipped in for Chevening, with Mark Challis leading the way again with 56*. David Franklin scored a quickfire 40 from no.5, and Simon Baldwin (41), Simon Smithers (33*), Andy Black (19) and Mark Burkitt (17) were all in the runs. An excellent performance from Chevening and a great game of cricket. Thanks go to the away side for the mountain of chips in the pub afterwards! View report on play-cricket site.

29/6/08: Chevening (187-8) drew with Linton Park II (153-7)
Chevening ended up with another winning draw on Sunday against Linton Park II. Batting first, Rob Allen (33) was quickest out of the blocks, and he and David Franklin (35) put on 53 for the first wicket. Chevening then lost wickets at regular intervals to slip to 107-7, but a record 8th-wicket partnership for Chevening of 80 between John Recaldin (32) and the evergreen Roy Smithers (42*) propelled the home side to 187-8. In reply, the two youngsters Rory High (43) and Laurie Probert (60) batted with great discipline for Linton Park, accelerating towards the end to give the away side a chance of victory. However, once High was out, bowled by George FIsk, Linton Park's batting faded, and it became a question of whether Chevening could get the wickets. In the end they got seven of them but couldn't finish off the tail. George Fisk, Rob Allen and Will Fry all took two wickets.

28/6/08: Chevening (195-4, 15 pts) beat Sissinghurst II (134) by 61 runs
Another clinical performance from the league side on Saturday as a depleted Sissinghurst team were unable to get close to the target of 195 set by the Chevening batsmen. The key was an excellent partnership of 119 between Simon Baldwin (80), who punished anything short outside off stump, and Mark Challis (73*), who started off playing second-fiddle but expanded as the innings neared its end. Simon Smithers also hit a quick-fire 20*. In reply, only Kelly (74) could get the Chevening bowlers away, and when Mark Burkitt (3-20) removed him, Sissinghurst's hopes of winning the game were gone. Paul Blake and Simon Baldwin took two wickets apiece. View report on play-cricket site.

22/6/08: Chevening (157-7) drew with Ash (126-7)
Chevening managed another winning draw against Ash this year, once again batting first. David Burrowes (34) and Andy Black (27) are the batsmen in form and they gave Chevening a good base on which to build an innings; John Smith then batted very well for his 40* from 61 balls. In reply, David Burrowes then did the job with the ball, taking 3-24 from 8 overs and also getting a run-out. Debutant William Fry also bowled economically, conceding 27 runs from his 10 overs, and David Usher, Errol Fuller and Jonny Recaldin all took wickets.

21/6/08: Chevening (210-4, 16 pts) beat Halstead (104, 0 pts) by 106 runs
Chevening got their league campaign back on track in style on Saturday with a thumping win at home to Halstead. Given a great start by excellent half-centuries from openers Andy Black (55) and Mark Burkitt (52), Chevening were able to pace their innings well enough to propel them to 210-4 after 40 overs, with Simon Baldwin (30), Mark Challis and Harry Evans (both 28) also scoring runs. In reply, Rob McAllister (4-36) bowled incisively to take his four wickets and Paul Blake took 2-22 from his nine overs. A hugely encouraging display from the Chevening side and one that should end up turning their season around.

15/6/08: Chevening (222-5) beat Wrotham St George's (84) by 138 runs
A superb, career-best 98 from David Burrowes was the highlight of an excellent performance from Chevening against Wrotham on Sunday. He hit nine fours and two sixes before being caught just two runs short of a maiden hundred. He and Simon Boulton (39) put on a 97-run opening stand, and Chris Barrett and Pete Rushbrook both scored 19 while George Fisk scored 26* from 18 balls to bolster the score to 222-5 from 41 overs. In reply, Wrotham could only manage 84 with Harvey (27) top-scoring from number 8. Master spinners Chris Barrett and Pete Rushbrook took 3-20 and 2-11 respectively, and James Clayton bowled well to take 2-8 at the top of the innings.

14/6/08: Chevening (166, 4 pts) lost to Weald (227-9, 16 pts) by 61 runs
Despite the loss this was an encouraging performance from the Saturday side, for whom Rob McAllister (4-24) bowled excellently to reduce the home side to 65-5. Rob Hadlow took 3-33 at the end of the innings. A counter-attacking partnership of 112 rescued Weald, though, with Greg Blackman scoring 91 batting at seven. Chevening started solidly in reply, reaching 109-1 thanks to a half-century from Andy Black (59) as well as contributions from Mark Challis (24) and Rob McAllister (20). Chevening lost five quick wickets before Simon Smithers counter-attacked with 36, but they fell 61 runs short in the end, with Dave Stringer taking 4-23.

08/6/08: Chevening (108-7) beat North Downs (107-9) by 3 wickets
An excellent bowling performance by Chevening after losing the toss restricted the visitors to 107-9. Paul Blake (3-22) and debutant Rob Allen (3-9) did the bulk of the damage, though there were wickets too for Chris Barrett (1-18) and Roy Smithers (1-8). James Clayton, Rob Hadlow and Derek Fisk also bowled economically. The batting reply was a little nervy, perhaps after the performances of the past few weeks, but a solid 46 from Andy Black anchored the innings, with James Clayton hitting 22* to seal victory for the Amblers inside 35 overs. A much-needed win for Chevening, and one which will give them some confidence going into the next round of games.

07/6/08: Chevening (133, 2 pts) lost to Kilndown (134-7, 14 pts) by 3 wickets
After another good half-century from Mark Burkitt (57), Chevening's batting collapsed again on Saturday, albeit not as dramatically as last week. From 84-2 they were bowled out for 133, with only Andy Lane (12) and John Smith (12*) providing resistance. In reply Chevening bowled well, with all six of their bowlers taking wickets, and Simon Martin effected a run-out. However, 60 from Kilndown's no.3 Gary Tapp meant it was going to be an uphill struggle for Chevening, and in the end the visitors reached the target of 134 with three wickets and four overs to spare.

01/6/08: Chevening vs St Mary's cancelled due to rain.

31/5/08: Chevening (77, 1 pt) lost to Kemsing (130-6, 14 pts) by 53 runs
Chevening collapsed in dramatic fashion on Sunday against Kemsing, for whom Grahame Wood took a hat-trick. After Mark Burkitt (23) and Mark Challis (16) got Chevening to 40-0, they then fell to pieces and were bowled out for just 77. Simon Martin (14) was the only other batsman to make double figures; Chevening lost their last 8 wickets for just 16 runs. Earlier, Burkitt (3-36) and Johnny Martin (3-5) in particular had bowled well to restrict the hosts to 130-6 from their 40 overs - but we need to start scoring more runs if we want to compete against the stronger teams in the league. Click here for Kemsing's report on the play-cricket site.

25/5/08: Chevening vs Harvel cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.

24/5/08: Chevening (146-7, 1 pt) lost to Knockholt (149-0, 14 pts) by 10 wickets
Another bad day for the office for Chevening against Knockholt. Last year Chevening lost both the league games but won the friendly, and they were never in the game in the first league match between the sides this year. Rob McAllister made an encouraging 44 and Mark Challis scored 31, but 146-7 was unlikely to be a competitive score and the Knockholt openers knocked it off with ease. Click here for the full match report on the play-cricket site.

18/5/08: Chevening (43) lost to Brasted & Sundridge II (186-6) by 143 runs
This happens once a year to Chevening so we needn't get too down-hearted about it. In fact, it was on the third Sunday in May last year that we were bowled out for 54 against Brasted Invicta. Rob McAllister made 13 opening for Chevening, to add to his bowling figures of 3-33, and that was about as good as it got, although Chevening did manage to bat out 34.3 overs. Incidentally, the last time we were bowled out for 43 was in this infamous match in 2004 - who could forget?

17/5/08: Chevening (5 pts) vs Speldhurst (5 pts) cancelled due to rain.

11/5/08: Chevening (112-7) drew with Bells Yew Green (183-8)
Chevening batted second against Bells Yew Green on Sunday and secured a creditable draw by batting out 35 overs against a strong bowling attack. John Smith opened and held the Chevening innings together with 42, and Jon Burrowes was back in the runs with 26. Earlier, Dick Clark had taken Chevening's first five-wicket haul of the season, bowling excellently to finish with figures of 12-1-43-5, and getting himself onto the Chevening Amblers CC Hall of Fame for the first time. Jon Burrowes took the first three wickets to fall - removing both openers and the no.3 batsman after an opening stand of 92 - and James Clayton took three catches on debut.

10/5/08: Chevening (166, 4 pts) lost to Shoreham (168-8, 15 pts) by 2 wickets
Chevening's second match in the league was a close affair with Shoreham sneaking home in the final over. Mark Burkitt top-scored with 57, his third consecutive half-century for the club, and Simon Baldwin took 4-27. Click here for the full match report on the play-cricket site.

04/5/08: Chevening (112) lost to Wadhurst II (113-5) by 5 wickets
Chevening suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday against Wadhurst II. After reducing their opponents to 15-4 (with Wadhurst's batsmen 2, 3, 4 and 5 all getting ducks) it looked like Chevening's low score of 112 might be enough, but Notley scored 67* at the top of the order to ensure that would not be the case. Aleks Wrobel and George Fisk took two wickets apiece for Chevening, and there were also wickets for spinners Errol Fuller and Mike Franklin. In Chevening's innings, debutant Michael Wrobel top-scored with 42; Jon Smith supported with 24 and Aleks Wrobel scored 12 the simple way, hitting two sixes.

03/5/08: Chevening (175-6, 14 pts) beat Bidborough II (155-8, 2 pts) by 20 runs
Chevening's new league campaign got off to an encouraging start on Saturday with a win at home to Bidborough II. Batting first, Chevening's total of 175-6 from their 40 overs was built upon 65 from opener Mark Burkitt, ably supported by Simon Baldwin (36), Simon Smithers (21), Andy Black (17) and skipper Mark Challis (13*). In reply, Chevening bowled well to restrict their opponents to 155-8, with Chris Hadlow and Simon Baldwin taking two wickets apiece and Paul Blake returning economical figures of 9-5-16-1.

27/4/08: Chevening (174-7) beat Broadway (173-3) by 3 wickets
Chevening got their season off to a winning start with an excellent victory in an exciting match against Broadway on Sunday. After rain reduced the match to 30 overs per side, Broadway batted well to reach 173-3, with Aleks Wrobel, Sat Gautam and George Fisk taking wickets for Chevening. After being reduced to 24-4, Chevening looked to be struggling, but an aggressive 70 from George Fisk (9 fours, 2 sixes) took them to the brink of victory. Other contributors were Jason Draper (28), skipper Pete Rushbrook (25*) and Rob Hadlow (18). They finished the job with 21 balls to spare, and with a hugely encouraging run rate of 6.57 runs per over. Good signs for the new season!

26/4/08: Chevening vs Locksbottom cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.