🦆 The Duck Pond

A Chronicle of the Nought — 5th September, 1943 A single fixture was played this week, and — remarkable to relate — not one soul among either eleven was persuaded back to the pavilion without troubling the scorer. The zero club, so often busy with new subscriptions, finds its ledger unchanged this week. Whether this speaks of straight bats generally applied, or merely of the bowling having an off day, the Gazette shall not speculate. The art of not scoring, it seems, was set aside in favour of the plainer art of scoring something. We shall not pretend to mourn overlong. A quiet week for the duck's egg is no bad thing, and the exclusive zero club can certainly bear one Saturday's want of new members. Let it be recorded, for the curious, that the ducks were abroad somewhere in Kent that afternoon, merely not at Linton Park. The season's roll of dubious honour, however, stands undisturbed and worth admiring all the same: Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard — 1943 - D Sells — 10 innings, 5 ducks, 50.0% - B Westover — 12 innings, 5 ducks, 41.67% - Herbert Sunley — 14 innings, 5 ducks, 35.71% - Frank Sutton — 20 innings, 5 ducks, 25.0% - W Bunting — 14 innings, 3 ducks, 21.43% D Sells leads the field by the finest of margins, sitting at an even half of his innings surrendered for nought — a consistency of a very particular kind, and one the rest of the eleven might privately envy even as they publicly commiserate. Herbert Sunley and Frank Sutton continue their steady, patient accumulation of noughts across a long season, proof that the duck's egg is a dish best served often. W Bunting brings up the rear of this select company, though with the season yet to run its course there is time enough for him to close the gap, should fortune or the bowling favour him. The Gazette must record, too, that a quiet week is rarely a lasting one. History and the LPCC batting order both suggest the ducks are merely gathering themselves for the next appointment. Members are warmly invited to attend the following fixture, where the zero club will no doubt be pleased to welcome fresh candidates to its ranks, and where the eleven's tail — as ever — stands ready to wag or to fold as the wicket dictates.

A modest week for the eleven, but the exclusive zero club welcomed two new entries all the same, both falling to the same tormentor with the ball. 1st XI Against the Home Guard's Royal West Kent 11th Battalion, B Westover, sent in at eight, was taken by X Chambers off the bowling of X Graves for a duck's egg. It is his fifth of the season and the ninth of a career now twenty-seven innings long — a record that sees him sit fourth of all 528 names ever to have graced this dubious honours board, a position most men would sooner not hold but which he occupies with a certain grim distinction. Curiously, on this very day in 1893, one W W Tarrance strolled back to the pavilion in identical fashion against The Mote CC — the calendar, it seems, has long had a fondness for late August. One place down the order, C- Pierce followed him back, caught by Private Wilson off the same relentless X Graves — who may fairly claim the day's honours with both wickets. It is Pierce's first duck in only three innings for the club, and though his name is a newer one on the board, he is not to be mistaken for a debutant; he simply joins the great unscoring tradition rather later than some. He too shares his fate with history: the same W W Tarrance, back in 1893 against The Mote CC, once made exactly this same walk on the very same date. Week in summary One match, two ducks, and both surrendered to the same bowler — a plucky performance with the ball that the batting could not answer in kind. The tail, on this occasion, did not so much wag as fall quietly still. A sticky wicket for the eleven's lower order, and a fine reminder that the art of not scoring remains alive and well even against wartime opposition. Duck Hunting Season leaderboard 1. D Sells — 10 innings, 5 ducks, 50.00% 2. B Westover — 12 innings, 5 ducks, 41.67% 3. Herbert Sunley — 14 innings, 5 ducks, 35.71% 4. Frank Sutton — 20 innings, 5 ducks, 25.00% 5. W Bunting — 14 innings, 3 ducks, 21.43% D Sells continues to lead this season's field with a consistency of a very particular kind, and B Westover presses close behind after this week's addition. The season is far from finished, and with X Graves evidently in such fine form, further candidates for the zero club may well present themselves before the eleven next takes the field. All members are warmly invited to attend the next fixture and, should fortune desire it, to add their own name to the register.

A quiet week for the exclusive zero club, and no mistake. Two fixtures were played between the 21st and the 27th, and for once every man who walked to the wicket walked back again with at least one run to his name, however scratchily gathered. The ducks, it must be said, evaded capture entirely — not a single egg was laid at either ground, and the honours board rests this week undisturbed. Whether this reflects a sudden outbreak of straight bats and sound judgement, or merely that Fortune was looking the other way, the Gazette cannot say. Old hands will know better than to celebrate too heartily — the art of not scoring has a way of reasserting itself the very next Saturday, and the club's most distinguished members are rarely kept from the pavilion door for long. Duck Hunting Season leaderboard - D Sells — 10 innings, 5 ducks, 50.0% - Herbert Sunley — 14 innings, 5 ducks, 35.71% - Frank Sutton — 19 innings, 5 ducks, 26.32% - B Westover — 11 innings, 4 ducks, 36.36% - W Bunting — 13 innings, 3 ducks, 23.08% Mr Sells continues to lead the field with a truly remarkable consistency of a very particular kind, having now failed to trouble the scorers in fully half his innings this season — a standard the rest of the eleven may admire from a respectful distance. Sunley and Sutton follow close behind, each nursing five ducks of their own, while Westover and Bunting round out a top five built, one and all, on triumph through adversity. The pavilion door remains open, and the wicket, sticky or otherwise, awaits its next candidates. Members are warmly invited to the coming fixture, where the club's ledger of dubious distinction will no doubt find fresh entries to record.

A modest gathering of the exclusive zero club this week, as the eleven met RA Wing at home and yielded but two entries to the roll of dishonour. Small mercies, and no doubt Durden thought Christmas had come early. 1st XI — v RA Wing (home) - Frank Sutton, in at seven, played on to Durden for a duck's egg that scarcely troubled the scorer. His fifth duck of the summer, and the twelfth of a career now spanning six-and-forty innings, a return that plants him, with a certain grim majesty, at the very head of the club's all-time roll — first of five hundred and twenty-six names who have ever walked back for nought. A past holder of the Duck of the Year honour in 1940, he adds this latest failure to an already distinguished ledger. Curiously, on this very day in 1892, one Jack Fryer likewise fell for a duck, against the Royal Engineers, proof that the calendar has long had a fondness for this fixture. - Gordon Fenner, last man in at eleven, was trapped leg-before to the same relentless Durden without troubling the umpire's patience for long. A third duck of the season, and a third of his career in but two-and-twenty innings, he now stands thirty-sixth of five hundred and twenty-six on the club's roll — respectable ignominy for a young player, and one shared, curiously enough, with his own brother Joe, who carries an identical three career ducks of his own. As it happens, the eighth of August has form here too: Jack Fryer made a duck against the Royal Engineers on this very date back in 1892. A brief but pointed afternoon's work for Durden, who accounted for both departures, top and tail of the order alike, in a display of what one might call democratic hostility. Two ducks from a single match is no epidemic, but the club's ledger grows regardless, as it always does. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard — 1943 - D Sells — 9 innings, 5 ducks, 55.56% - Herbert Sunley — 14 innings, 5 ducks, 35.71% - Frank Sutton — 17 innings, 5 ducks, 29.41% - B Westover — 10 innings, 4 ducks, 40.00% - W Bunting — 11 innings, 3 ducks, 27.27% The season's honours board remains keenly contested, D Sells setting a fearsome pace with more than half his innings ending in nought. The eleven takes the field again before long, and the club's zero column stands ever ready to welcome new members. Bring your bat, gentlemen — and mind the third one down.

31st July – 2nd August, 1943 Three fixtures, five ducks laid down for the record — the honours board grows heavier by the week. 1st XI At home to the RAF on the 31st, Herbert Rayner played on to Jerman for nought, his second duck of the season and the fourth of a career now stretching to forty-six innings, the twenty-first most prolific egg-layer among our five hundred and twenty-five. On this very day in 1895, Ernest Cruttenden was likewise trudging back against Headcorn CC, proof that late July has always had a taste for feathers. Down at number ten in that same innings, B Westover fell to the same bowler for the same reward, his fourth duck of the summer and eighth of a career now standing fourth in the club's entire history, a distinction few would covet and fewer still could match. Cruttenden's shade of 1895 walked beside him to the pavilion once more. Against the 53rd Divisional Signals on the 1st, opener W Bunting was caught behind off Skilton without troubling the scorers, his third duck of the season and his career total besides, the forty-fourth name on the roll. The Reverend F A Leveson-Gower kept him company across the decades, having done precisely the same against Maidstone Conservative Club in 1910. At the other end of that innings, D Sells was bowled by Skilton for his fifth duck of the season, and remarkably his fifth in only eight innings played, a rate of failure so pure it already carries him to this season's Duck of the Year, with the Ducks in a Row now standing at four in succession. Eleventh of all who have ever turned out for the club, and young yet in his cricketing life. The good Reverend's 1910 shade attended this dismissal too. Completing the week's misfortune, against H Murray's XI on the 2nd, Bert Pierce was bowled by Moore for his very first duck, entering the list at ninety-eighth of all comers. He joins, on the honours board if not yet in practice, the ranks of the Retirement Duck club, a distinction earned by others' farewells, and no cause yet to fear for Bert's continued service with the bat. On this day in 1882, W H Fryer suffered similarly against Boxley CC. The Week in Brief Five ducks across three matches, and the tail seemed rather fonder of the pavilion steps than the crease — three of the week's five fell at number ten or below. The Signals match alone furnished two, Skilton claiming both with commendable economy. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard 1. D Sells — 8 innings, 5 ducks, 62.5% 2. Herbert Sunley — 13 innings, 5 ducks, 38.46% 3. B Westover — 10 innings, 4 ducks, 40.0% 4. Frank Sutton — 16 innings, 4 ducks, 25.0% 5. W Bunting — 11 innings, 3 ducks, 27.27% The eleven takes the field again before long, and the Gazette has little doubt the list above will want updating. Members are cordially invited to the next fixture, if only to see who joins it.

🦆 A wet ball and a straighter one from the Home Guard bowlers, and the exclusive zero club welcomes four new subscriptions this week. The tail did not so much wag as fall clean off, and the honours board creaks under fresh dubious distinction. 1st XI Saturday against Tovil brought Dennis Smith to the crease at number eight, only to depart bowled by Alexander for his 1st duck of the season, the 3rd of an accomplished career now standing 32nd of 525 all-time. A paid-up member of the Retirement Duck club from some past and presumably premature farewell — though nobody is suggesting he is bowing out now. Curiously, on this very day in 1909 one Charles Wycherley also trudged home for nought, against Barming Asylum CC of all opponents — some dates simply attract the duck's egg. Sunday's fixture against Home Guard D Company was a sticky wicket indeed, claiming three wickets for nothing at all. Gordon Fenner, caught by Sergeant Smith off X Elwell, notched his 2nd duck of the season and his 2nd of the career — 55th of 525 on the all-time roll, and a chip off a duck-shaped block, his sibling Joe Fenner carrying three career noughts of his own. Frank Sutton followed, bowled by L Wynn, for his 4th duck of the season — a plucky sequence of failure that brings his career total to 11, good enough (or bad enough) for 2nd of 525 all-time, and a returning name on the Duck of the Year 1940 board. And D Sells completed the rout, lbw to Wynn, for his 4th duck of the season and, remarkably, his 4th career duck from a mere seven innings — 17th of 525 all-time, freshly minted onto both the Duck of the Year 1943 board and the rare Ducks in a Row (4 consecutive) honour, a run of futility so unbroken it deserves its own regimental colours. All three Sunday duckers share their on-this-day cousin in the 1925 vintage, when W Turner also fell without scoring against Bearsted CC. The week in summary Four ducks in two matches — a quiet week by the standards of a club that treasures its failures, but a concentrated one, with three of the four falling in a single innings against the Home Guard. The art of not scoring was practised with particular conviction on Sunday. Duck Hunting Season leaderboard - Herbert Sunley — 13 innings, 5 ducks, 38.46% - D Sells — 7 innings, 4 ducks, 57.14% - Frank Sutton — 14 innings, 4 ducks, 28.57% - B Westover — 7 innings, 3 ducks, 42.86% - L Ricketts — 9 innings, 2 ducks, 22.22% The season's straight bats and stickier wickets await next weekend's fixtures, and with them, no doubt, further candidates for the zero club. Members are warmly invited along to witness — or contribute to — the next instalment of triumph through adversity.

The First Eleven Against the Royal Army Service Corps at home on the 17th, two of the Eleven found the scorebook thoroughly unaccommodating. Herbert Sunley, sent in at number six, was taken by C- Shepherd off the bowling of Sergeant Malyan for his fourth duck of the summer — the fourth, too, of a career now standing at eleven innings, which keeps him a steady 11th in the club's roll of five hundred and twenty-five. By curious coincidence, on this very day in 1867 one T Gandy suffered precisely the same indignity against Leeds Park CC, proving that a duck's egg travels well across the generations. Close behind him came W Bunting at seven, removed by the identical pairing of Shepherd and Malyan — his second duck of the season and his second in an eleven-innings career, which leaves him 78th of the five hundred and twenty-five. He too keeps company with the shade of T Gandy on this date in 1867. The Home Guard's 11th Maidstone Battalion showed no more mercy on the 18th. Herbert Sunley, promoted to five, was caught by L Wynn off Private Wilson for his fifth duck of the season — and with it a grim pair for the week, out without scoring in both fixtures, a feat the club notes plainly and without undue sympathy. His career figures now read five ducks in eleven innings, still 11th of the full roll. At number nine, D Sells was bowled by Private Wilson without so much as a single run to show for his labours — his third duck of the season and his third in a career of only six innings, sufficient to hold him at 31st of 525. Sells arrives already decorated: a standing holder of the Duck of the Year honour for 1943, and no stranger besides to the Ducks in a Row distinction, four failures in unbroken succession once entered in the book. Both he and Sunley, on the 18th, kept company with one J Danells, who managed the very same trick in 1883 against the Maidstone Junior Liberal Association. The Week in Summary Two matches, four ducks, and Herbert Sunley generous enough to supply half the total himself, a pair spread neatly across successive afternoons. Neither the Corps nor the Home Guard troubled themselves unduly, and the tail, such as there was of it, wagged only feebly against both. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard - Herbert Sunley — 11 innings, 5 ducks, 45.45% - D Sells — 6 innings, 3 ducks, 50.00% - B Westover — 7 innings, 3 ducks, 42.86% - Frank Sutton — 12 innings, 3 ducks, 25.00% - W Bunting — 7 innings, 2 ducks, 28.57% The Eleven takes the field again before long, and the honours board stands ready, pen in hand, for whoever next walks back to the pavilion with nothing to show the scorer. All members are warmly invited to attend, and, should fortune so incline, to add their own name to the list.

A Report on the Week's Additions to the Exclusive Zero Club The Royal Artillery Wing paid a visit to the ground on Sunday, and while the eleven acquitted themselves with the usual mixture of pluck and misfortune, four of the home side's number found the art of not scoring rather too easy for comfort. A grave day for the scorebook, and a fine one for the Club. 1st XI Opening the innings and, alas, opening the Club's account for the day, Stan Wratten was taken by Steel off the bowling of Tiplady without so much as troubling the scorers 🍩. His second duck's egg of the season and the second of his career in a dozen visits to the crease — he now stands 77th of 525 in the club's long and dishonourable roll, and remains, by virtue of past company, a paid-up member of Quacking Together with John Ames. He joins the venerable Arthur Ash, of the 1934–41 vintage, in sitting on exactly two career ducks apiece — kindred spirits level on noughts, though separated by the better part of a decade. At number two, George Winter was run out in circumstances the scorer records only as "Unsure" — a fitting epitaph for a first career duck, his maiden entry into the Club after five innings of otherwise blameless service. He arrives at position 135 of 525 all-time, and finds instant company with the newly-minted "- Mill", also on a solitary duck this very season. Down at number nine, W Bunting played on to Tiplady via a catch to Phillips 0️⃣, his first career duck in ten innings — a long and patient wait for infamy, now rewarded, and he takes his place at 194th of 525. And last man in, Gordon Larking, went the way of so many number elevens before him — trapped leg-before to Tiplady for his first career duck in only three innings 🏏. He joins the same crowded ledger as Winter and Bunting on one apiece, and enters the all-time list at 137th of 525. Tiplady, it must be said, had rather a field day — three of the four ducks bear his name in the wicket column, a spell the Club salutes with considerably more enthusiasm than the batting side will muster. Week in Summary Four ducks from a single fixture is a solid week's work by the Club's standards — none of them golden, all falling to a straight ball, a sharp bit of fielding, or the umpire's raised finger. No pairs, no king pairs, and no family affairs to report this time; simply four honest men undone by four honest deliveries. A sticky wicket, by the look of it, for anyone batting first wicket down through to last. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard — 1943 - B Westover — 6 innings, 3 ducks, 50.0% - Herbert Sunley — 9 innings, 3 ducks, 33.33% - Frank Sutton — 10 innings, 3 ducks, 30.0% - D Sells — 5 innings, 2 ducks, 40.0% - L Ricketts — 6 innings, 2 ducks, 33.33% The Club extends its compliments to all four gentlemen above, and looks forward, with its usual mixture of dread and delight, to whatever the next fixture may add to the honours board. Members are reminded that the crease waits for no man, and neither does ignominy.

A modest gathering for the exclusive zero club this week: three names added to the ledger, all in the same afternoon's play against Mr Ashby's XI, and all delivered by the same hand. 1st XI - Herbert Sunley, at four, was bowled by J. Jerman for his third duck of the summer, and his third in nine innings for the career — a steady enough return that keeps him at 34th on the club's all-time roll of the ignominious. Fittingly, this very day in 1899 saw Ernest Cruttenden, second on that same list with ten career ducks and a Duck of the Year laurel from 1895, walk back for nought himself. - T- Everitt, in at five, met the identical fate from the identical bowler, and did so in his very first innings for the club — a duck to mark the arrival, and no finer welcome to the fellowship could be devised. He joins the roll at 189 of 524, with the whole of his career still before him. He too keeps historic company, for it was on this same date in 1899 that Ernest Cruttenden made his own duck. - D Sells, batting at nine, completed the afternoon's set with a duck of his own, the second of his season and the second in five innings of his career, and sits 48th on the board. He already carries this season's own Duck of the Year 1943 distinction, and a standing place among those who have strung Ducks in a Row, four in succession, no small feat of consistency of a very particular kind. And once more the shade of Ernest Cruttenden was abroad on this date in 1899, departing for nought just as he had for the others. The week in brief Two matches were played across the period and yielded three ducks between them, every one at home to Mr Ashby's XI, and every one the work of a single bowler, J. Jerman, who found the middle order and the tail equally unwelcoming this week. A plucky knock was in decidedly short supply. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard - B Westover — 5 innings, 3 ducks, 60.0 per cent - Herbert Sunley — 9 innings, 3 ducks, 33.3 per cent - Frank Sutton — 10 innings, 3 ducks, 30.0 per cent - D Sells — 5 innings, 2 ducks, 40.0 per cent - L Ricketts — 6 innings, 2 ducks, 33.3 per cent The season's honours board remains keenly contested, and the eleven takes the field again next week with every prospect of further additions to the roll. Members are warmly invited to attend, and to bat with all due caution.

A quiet week for the willow at Linton Park, yet the eleven contrived three fresh entries for the book of ducks' eggs, all laid by the 1st XI across two fixtures. The bowlers had their say; the batting had rather less. 1st XI - Herbert Rayner, first innings against Maidstone Borough Police on the 26th, came in at first wicket down and departed lbw to Lee without troubling the scorer — a plucky effort undone by a straight one. His season's first duck, and the third of a career now thirty-six innings deep, sets him thirty-third of 522 in the club's long and dubious ledger. By happy coincidence, on this very day in 1872 one E Skinner — himself crowned Duck of the Year that season — likewise walked back scoreless against Sutton Valence CC. Seventy-one years apart, the same sticky wicket of misfortune. - L Ricketts, opening the innings on the 27th against the Air Training Corps of RAF Maidstone, was bowled by X Tubb before he could trouble the bowling figures. His second duck of the summer draws his career level at two from a mere six innings, placing him sixty-sixth of 522. On this same date in 1936, one E Godden made an identical journey back to the pavilion against Bearsted CC. - Jimmy Jameson, in the same match at number six, was smartly taken by Tubb off O'Brien's bowling — Master Tubb evidently having a fine afternoon in the field as well as with the ball. A second duck of the season, level with his second in a career of twelve innings, and sixty-second of 522 on the all-time roll. He shares Ricketts' curious anniversary, the same E Godden having made his own duck on this date back in 1936. The week in brief Three ducks, two matches, and the Air Training Corps fixture alone accounted for a pair of them — young Tubb inserting himself into both dismissals with a bowled and a catch, a fine advertisement for keeping one's eye on the ball. No golden ducks to report this week; each man at least troubled the crease before his downfall, small mercies in a summer of small mercies. Duck Hunting Season leaderboard - B Westover — 5 innings, 3 ducks, 60% - Frank Sutton — 9 innings, 3 ducks, 33.33% - L Ricketts — 6 innings, 2 ducks, 33.33% - Herbert Sunley — 8 innings, 2 ducks, 25% - Jimmy Jameson — 9 innings, 2 ducks, 22.22% The exclusive zero club shows no sign of closing its doors. Members are warmly invited to the next fixture, where fresh candidates for the honours board will no doubt present themselves in the fullness of time.

A modest week for connoisseurs of the naught: two ducks laid across three fixtures in the period, each a small masterpiece of anticlimax in its own right. The First Eleven - Herbert Sunley, sent in at four against the Home Guard's Maidstone 11th Battalion on the 13th, was bowled by L Wynn for a duck's egg that arrived and departed with equal haste. It is his second duck of the season and the second of a career now standing at seven innings, which lodges him 56th of 521 in the club's long roll of the dismissed. On this very day in 1925, one C Crundwell trudged back for nought against Bearsted CC and was crowned Duck of the Year for his trouble — Sunley may take some comfort, or none at all, in such distant fellowship. - Frank Sutton, batting at seven against the 1st Innings George Fenner XI on the 14th, contrived to be stumped by F Day off the bowling of F Daniels — a fate requiring a certain evangelical commitment to getting out. This is his third duck of the season and the tenth of a long and storied career of thirty-seven innings, which keeps him a fixture near the summit, third of 521 all time, and a long-established member of the Duck of the Year 1940 board. Sixty-one years to the day, in 1882, one C Gibbs likewise departed for nought against 1st Innings Boxley CC — the calendar, it seems, has its favourites. In Summary Three matches, two ducks, and a becoming modesty about it all — the eleven kept mostly to business this week, though when the naught did come calling it came with some style: one clean bowled, one stumped attempting rather too much. No pairs, no family affairs, and no king ducks to report — a quiet week by the club's usual standards of ignominy. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard 1. B Westover — 5 innings, 3 ducks (60%) 2. Frank Sutton — 8 innings, 3 ducks (37.5%) 3. Herbert Sunley — 7 innings, 2 ducks (28.57%) 4. - Mill — 1 innings, 1 duck (100%) 5. K- Symonds — 1 innings, 1 duck (100%) The season is young yet and the wicket has plenty more to give. Members are warmly invited to the next fixture, where no doubt further additions to this list of distinction await.

🦆 A brisk pair of fixtures this week, and the wicket proved a sticky one for the eleven, who contributed no fewer than seven names to the Club's roll of honour. Let the pavilion bell ring. 1st XI Against RAF Sutton Valence on the Saturday, Stan Wratten was caught by Clarkson off Jerman, chalking up his 1st season duck and his 1st in a career of six innings — 182nd of 520 on the all-time list, and one of the Club's honourable Quacking Together pair with John Ames. He now sits level with - Mill on a career tally of one, kindred spirits in the art of not scoring. Percy Brattle followed, bowled by Jerman for his 1st duck of the season and 4th of an increasingly distinguished career across 25 innings — a lofty 21st of 520 all-time. He joins the veteran Bert Buckoke on exactly four career ducks, a fine vintage of failure spanning near two decades between them. Then came - Mill, bowled by Henly, and what a way to arrive — a genuine debut duck, first innings, first nought, now 76th of 520 in history before a single run has troubled the scorer. A plucky start of a rather different kind. Sunday's fixture against Maidstone Civil Defence proved no kinder. L Ricketts, opening the batting, was bowled by Makaula for his 1st season duck and 1st career duck from five innings, 157th of 520. On this very day back in 1903, George Champion also strolled back for nought against Town Malling CC — the calendar keeping faithful company with failure down the years. Jimmy Jameson was caught by Wynn off Sayer, his 1st duck of the season and 1st of a career now eight innings deep, 153rd of 520 — and he too shares his date with George Champion's 1903 exploits. Frank Sutton fell lbw to Finn, his 2nd duck of the season and a startling 9th of a long and storied career across 35 innings — 3rd of 520 all-time, and a paid-up holder of the Duck of the Year 1940 honour. The tail was not to be denied its say. Last man in the column, D Sells was caught by Chapman off Finn for his 1st season duck and 1st career duck from just two innings, 107th of 520 — already carrying the Duck of the Year 1943 board and, remarkably, a place among the Ducks in a Row (4 consecutive), a run of futility that will not soon be forgotten in these parts. The Week in Brief Seven ducks laid across two matches — a rich harvest by any reckoning, with the Sunday fixture against Maidstone Civil Defence alone accounting for five of them. The Club extends a solemn welcome to - Mill, whose very first innings yielded a nought, and tips its cap to Frank Sutton for adding a second egg to his season's basket inside two days. Duck Hunting Season leaderboard - B Westover — 4 innings, 3 ducks, 75.0% - Frank Sutton — 6 innings, 2 ducks, 33.33% - - Mill — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100.0% - K- Symonds — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100.0% - L- Breedon — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100.0% The eleven takes the field again next week, and the Club awaits with its usual quiet optimism that the zero club shall gain further membership. Do come along — someone must keep the honours board busy.

A brace of home fixtures at Linton Park this weekend, first against the Royal Army Service Corps 533 Division and then the Home Guard's D Company, and between the two the Eleven contrived to add three fresh entries to the club's honours board of nought. 1st XI - M Patey, sent in at four against the Royal Army Service Corps, was undone by Lance-Corporal Bilton and walked back to the pavilion with the second innings of a young career now showing rather more on the wrong side of the ledger — his maiden duck of the season, and the first of a career that stands at one from two innings, 157th on the club's roll of 516. Curiously enough, on this very day in 1937 E Hayes — three ducks to his name across a run from 1935 to 1939, and twice crowned Duck of the Year in that spell — likewise fell without troubling the scorers, against Charles Arkcoll. - Frank Sutton, promoted no higher than six against the Home Guard, was bowled by X Coomber for his first duck of the season, the eighth of a career now thirty-three innings long, a tally that plants him a mere step from the very summit at third of 516, and a long-standing holder of the Duck of the Year honour from 1940. He now sits level on career ducks with the venerable George Champion, who mustered the same figure of eight across a marathon seventy-four innings between 1886 and 1912. - B Westover, in at nine, offered a return catch to Coomber off the bowling of X Elwell for his third duck of the season already — a sequence some might call misfortune and others a settled habit — bringing his career total to seven from eighteen innings and sixth place on the all-time roll. That figure of seven sets him shoulder to shoulder with A Startup, three times Duck of the Year in the 1860s and 70s and proud holder of the "Ducks in a Row" honour for five in succession. The Week in Brief Three ducks from two matches, every one laid at the door of the visiting bowlers, who between the Royal Army Service Corps and the Home Guard enjoyed rather too fine a Whitsuntide. Mr Westover's habit of returning to the pavilion without troubling the scorebook shows, on this evidence, no sign whatever of relenting. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard 1. B Westover — 3 innings, 3 ducks, 100% 2. K- Symonds — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% 3. L- Breedon — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% 4. N- Parr — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% 5. M Patey — 2 innings, 1 duck, 50% The Eleven take the field again next week, and the club's scorers stand ready, pencils sharpened, for whatever fresh additions the willow may yield. Members are cordially reminded that the exclusive zero club welcomes new entrants freely, and asks no subscription beyond a straight bat gone regrettably astray.

Two fixtures, four eggs laid, and the exclusive zero club welcomes its latest subscribers with the usual mixture of ceremony and sympathy. The First Eleven At Bearsted CC on the Saturday, the last pair went in quick succession to the bowling of W E Weber, each man contributing nothing but his wicket. N- Parr, at number ten, was bowled for his very first innings in senior colours — a debut duck's egg, no less, and one that sets him down at 160th of 510 in the club's long and undistinguished roll. He joins A Barker, of the 1885 to 1904 vintage, on precisely one career duck apiece — Barker, it might be noted, once carried off the Duck of the Year honour in 1885, so N- Parr keeps distinguished if unfortunate company. B Westover followed him back to the pavilion at number eleven, bowled by the same hand — a tidy piece of bowling by Weber, and a tidier collapse by the Eleven. This was Westover's sixth career duck in seventeen innings, and his second of the season already, which places him a lofty sixth of 510 on the all-time list — level with F Danells, who managed the same feat across eighteen innings between 1881 and 1904. The Sunday brought the Royal Artillery Wing 48 to the home ground, and the home side found the art of not scoring just as readily as the visitors had. K- Symonds, first wicket down at number three, was leg-before to a Dillon delivery for nought — his maiden innings for the club, and thus a debut duck to match Parr's, good enough for 151st of 510 on the roll and the same one-duck company of A Barker. Later, at number six, Herbert Sunley was caught by Peach off the bowling of Black, his first duck in three innings for the club, ranking 136th of 510 — a paid-up member of the same one-duck fraternity, though Sunley arrives an established hand rather than a new face. The Week in Brief Four ducks from two matches is a fair week's work for the club's recruiting officer, and the Saturday's last-wicket pairing at Bearsted — both men undone by W E Weber within the same passage of play — will not be forgotten quickly by whoever keeps the Eleven's batting averages. No pairs and no family affairs to report this week, just four honest eggs laid in the ordinary course of cricket. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard - B Westover — 2 innings, 2 ducks, 100 per cent - K- Symonds — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100 per cent - L- Breedon — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100 per cent - N- Parr — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100 per cent - Gordon Fenner — 2 innings, 1 duck, 50 per cent The season stands young yet perfectly poised for further additions to this list, and the club looks forward, as ever, to welcoming whichever member the next fixture sees fit to nominate. Bats up, and may the bowling find you out.

A brief innings this week for the Zero Club's recruiting sergeant — three eggs laid across two fixtures, each a tale of its own in the ancient art of not scoring. The First Eleven Saturday's engagement against the Maidstone Fire Service saw the middle and late order do their level best to douse the innings before it caught light. Gordon Fenner, promoted to number eight, was bowled by Andrews for a duck — his first blob of the summer and the first of his career in five innings, placing him 129th of 508 in the club's long and honourable roll of failure. He is not alone in the family trade, either — his sibling Joe Fenner carries three career ducks of his own, so a certain talent for ignominy plainly runs in the blood. Gordon keeps distinguished company besides: A Barker, who turned out for the club between 1885 and 1904 and was crowned Duck of the Year in 1885, sits on precisely the same solitary career duck. One place further down the order, B Westover followed him back to the pavilion, bowled by Porter without troubling the scorers. It was the fifth duck of a career now sixteen innings deep, and it lodges him a lofty tenth of 508 on the all-time list — rarefied ground indeed. He draws level on career ducks with Allan Peach, who plied his trade for the club from 1903 to 1907 and racked up his own five in eleven innings. Sunday brought the eleven up against the Royal Army Service Corps' 533 Division, and here the honour fell to L- Breedon, stumped by Gaines off the bowling of Golder for nought. It was his maiden innings for the club — a debut duck in every sense, and a fine, if unwanted, way to announce oneself to the honours board. He joins A Barker too, on one apiece, in what is fast becoming a well-populated corner of the ledger. The Week in Summary Three ducks, two matches, and not a repeat egg among them — a clean sweep of single failures rather than any grim double this week. The Fire Service accounted for two of the three in one innings, which one imagines they considered fair exchange for whatever blaze they might otherwise have been called to attend. Breedon's arrival is the tale of the week — there can be few gentler introductions to a cricketing life than a stumping for nought on one's very first appearance. Duck Hunting Season Leaderboard The season is yet young, and the table reads accordingly level: - B Westover — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% - Gordon Fenner — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% - L- Breedon — 1 innings, 1 duck, 100% A perfect record of imperfection all round. Plenty of cricket remains in 1943 to separate these three — or, more likely, to be joined by others equally keen to make their name in the club's less celebrated ledger. The next fixture awaits, and with it, no doubt, fresh candidates for the roll of honour. Bats up, eyes down.