[Marco4]

Got the go ahead for my next official poem for Kent so got to publish some of the more throwaway stuff from last week.

See the link in my signature is probably easiest.

[Marco4]

A scorching day at Radlett which is, as you might expect, one of those grounds where the posh people (not the 'little bit posh' who look down on you, but the 'fully posh' who see nobody as any kind of threat to them) make it a village event for the year.



A charming, white picket fence, of a ground, then. Middlesex batted, and started well, Stirling eventually working his way into three figures. Once the second wicket had gone down, things slowed up a fair bit and while Captain Morgan got a fifty (including some monster sixes) there wasn't a huge amount to shout about. The guys next to me, at 40 overs, were predicting 350, after 45, 300. They ended with 313. Chaseable on a small square.



Bell-Drummond and Crawley started well, Kent were 60 odd off six. Once Crawley was out, it was all downhill. Bell-Drummond is like blossom. While in bloom he is everything, vibrant, colourful and wild, and then a change of the wind he is gone, taking all that with him, and with no warning and no goodbye. Of the many things I've come to love about Kent, it is his brittle perfection I cherish the most.

First published poem covers the end of the Kent story


Heino Kuhn did the South African thing, and was all stubborn for ages, but it wasn't enough, Kent are dreck and I got burnt to the neck.

[Marco4]

Booked in for this week, we're at a Kent Village game at Bearsted. Proper Darling Buds of May stuff.

[Marco4]

It was, admittedly, more about a fish restaurant than cricket yesterday but Bearsted was resplendent in the late May sunshine.



Quite a posh village, Bearsted.



You'll notice the oasthouses in the background - they're a regular feature of the local area.

[themaclad]

Ace pictures, yesterday played at Lancaster Royal Grammar School with the a view over Morecambe Bay didn't take a camara so no shots on used a mobile on my Instagram account apmacfy5

[Marco4]

Looks gorgeous. I'm a big fan of sports grounds with the sea in the background - the North West is good for that kind of thing.

[themaclad]

[img][/img]

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Lancaster RGS

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Ah, that view brings back memories! Great photo!

[themaclad]

[img][/img]


The lad swinging the willow went on to get 218 before retiring in a total of 318-2 dec




Here's my first team celebrating a wicket they lost, both games played at Tarleton near Southport.

[Marco4]

It was Kent v Gloucestershire at Beckenham on Sunday, so I packed up my notepad and a new Sepia pen and made my way there. It was a hot day and a lot longer walk from the station than I anticipated, but they've done the ground up lovely.



Glos set off like a train, and were approaching their record opening wicket stand against Kent when Darren Stevens (who else?) struck. From then it all got a little cagey, as though now stung once, they realised it might not be as easy as thru thought. Still got up to 322, though I'd say Kent did well to keep them so low, Denly and Qayyum chipping in with Stevens to keep the rate down.



I could write for a thousand years and never do justice to some of Daniel Bell-Drummond's shots, and true to form he played some gorgeous strokes for his 40, whereafter Denly and Heino Kuhn took over and, rather preposterously, guided Kent home - 323 looking rather easy in the end for a fifth win in a row. Super Kent indeed.



Debating whether to go to Middlesex v The Australians at Lord's on Saturday. I was planning on Eton v Harrow there in a couple of weeks, but that would be Day 4 of Kent at Tunbridge Wells. I was going to have the Wednesday off work to be sure of seeing them there, but somebody else booked it off
Hmmm.