🧢 Captain's Log

Sat 29 Jun 1907 🧢 1st XIv Town Malling CC · AwayformLLDLW

Beaten by 41 runs at Town Malling, but a good day's cricket for all that.

Losing the toss and being asked to chase is never the tonic one wants before elevenses, but the lads took the ball with purpose. Town Malling built their innings around R J B Leney's fine 57, with H G Roberts (26) and X Hodge (21) chipping in usefully around him. Credit to the bowling, mind — Ernest Cruttenden led the way with 3-0, well supported by H G Smith and the Reverend F A Leveson-Gower, both also 3-0. Poor F G Busbridge, meanwhile, was sent back without troubling the scorers, which I daresay he'll want to forget in a hurry.

Our reply never quite got within hailing distance. H G Smith batted beautifully for 68 — a knock that, we're reliably informed, carries him past Jack Fryer into third on the club's all-time run-scoring list, which is no small thing on an afternoon otherwise short on cheer. The Reverend chipped in again with 22, and Major Southey stood firm unbeaten on 20, but with Cruttenden and F E Wallis both departing for ducks, the required rate simply got away from us.

So, 41 runs the wrong side of the ledger, and a reminder that cricket has a way of humbling even a side with history-makers in its ranks. The Reverend continues to lead our season's run charts with 91, and A Eltham the wickets with 7 — proof there's plenty to build on. We'll dust ourselves down, raise a glass to H G Smith's milestone, and be better for it next week.

Sat 25 May 1907 🧢 1st XIv Town Malling CC · HomeformLLLDL

Saturday last, and the sun was kind enough to let us host Town Malling CC – though it lost us the toss, and we were asked to bowl. No matter; there's a certain honest pleasure in having first use of the ball, and the lads made the most of it.

Town Malling's innings never quite found its feet. H Leney (23) and G H Adam (23) put up the only real resistance, but around them wickets tumbled steadily – R J B Leney, E Pearce and P Kelvie all departed without so much as a run to their names. The chief architect of the collapse was R W Mitchell, spinning a web through the middle order for a magnificent 6-0, with Ernest Cruttenden lending sterling support at 3-0. A thoroughly professional morning's work.

With the bat, R W Mitchell continued his fine day with 29 to anchor the reply, and we duly got over the line by nine wickets – emphatic stuff. Only Allan Peach's blob rather spoiled the ledger, the walk of shame taken in good humour, as these things must be.

Two footnotes for the club historians: the Reverend F A Leveson-Gower's 69 sees him leapfrog C Murdoch into 7th on our all-time run-scoring list, while Mitchell's six-for hoists him past E C Streatfield into 8th among the wicket-takers – both gentlemen now atop the 1907 season charts besides. A splendid day all round, and one the tea urn will be talking about for weeks.