SVCC Men's 2nd XI v New Beckenham 1st XI (H) - 08.06.24

The Vine welcomed the ex-bankers, New Beckenham, to the Vine on a cold and cloudy day. Winning the toss on what appeared to be flat deck, the Vine decided to bat first. Bowden in his (ooh) lovely attacking style made the opposition rue an early error, a dropped catch at second slip, and dispatched the opening bowlers to all parts of the wagon wheel. In ever typical fashion, Cyrus (21) supported John for a strong 83 run opening partnership. White fell to an audacious ramp shot whilst JB was plucked out of thin air in the covers for a classy 73.

The plotline for the 2nd XI’s middle order has not yet changed, and a flurry of six wickets fell in quick succession for a measly 35 runs. Piper looked solid for 19 and was unfortunate to be given out after appearing to miss a sharp turning ball by half a foot.

Come the hour, come the men. Krish helped steady the out-of-form batting ship, building a solid partnership of 53 with The Colonel. Krish hit the pick of the shots, plastering a sumptuous drive through extra cover. They both rotated the strike at any opportunity possible. This included a quick second run after a wayward shy at the stumps lead to a ricochet off of Karl’s bat, which resulted in a brief disagreement between Karl and the opposition; a sight which Frogbox may or may not have captured.

With niceties exchanged, a miscommunication lead to Krish falling short of his ground on a supportive 34. The Colonel (40) steered the Vine to what was hoped to be a defendable score of 229.

New Beckenham came out of the blocks incredibly quickly, hitting their first ball over the rope for 6 and repeatedly finding the middle of the bat. The probing Vine attack had to work hard to breakdown the opening partnership, this amounted to 137 until Banks squeezed one through the gates. One brought Three as Jones and Banks picked off the number three and their centurion, who was also the exemplar of perfect sportsmanship 🤥; but also played a commendable match winning innings. At 146-3, the Vine hoped to have a sniff. Krish continued his solid performance with a tough spell or 2-21 off 10, picking off their middle order batsman.

Robinson and Jones picked up a couple of late wickets which gave the Vinemen hope, but the strong opening partnership of New Beckenham placed them in too good a position, eventually winning by three wickets in the 45th over.