Rye 1sts hosted Hailsham 1sts on Saturday 13 June in a match sponsored by My Sweet Etcetera. After a week of rain it was always important to win the toss and bowl first. Skipper Harry Smeed, secured the toss and invited Hailsham to bat. Enter Craig Pierce who returned the extraordinary figures of 7 overs, 6 wickets for just 15 runs, including a hat trick! He was supported by Cornel Swart 2-30 and Harry Smeed 2-2. Hailsham were dismissed for just 49, with Ethan Dawber 25, the only batter to score double figures.
Rye knocked off the target in just 7 overs, James Hamilton 23, to win by 7 wickets and the game over by 2pm. Rye 1sts travel next week to Rottingdean to maintain their second position in Division 3 East.
The early finish saw the 1st Team travel up to Iden to watch the 2nd team in action. Skipper Martin Blincow invited Iden to bat, who then got away to a steady start despite good bowling from opening pair Paul Hitchcott 0-31 and 18-year-old James Archer 2-31.
Man of the match, Mark Cook got involved in the game with a stunning catch and then a run out with one wicket to aim at, removing danger man Pete Harris. Martin Blincow then choked the run rate, with 8 overs for just 1-13, if only those 4 dropped catches had been taken.
Wickets fell at the other end to Ben Clifton 3-43. At 116 -8 Phil Shanks 42 not out led a recovery as Iden posted 176-8. Rye’s reply was led by 17-year-old Oscar Wincott-Stone with 28, then Mark Cook 54 steered Rye towards the target. Then contributions from Paul Hitchcott 24 and Will Wheeler 22 not out saw Rye home by 3 wickets to record their first win of the season. Rocky Rahman 3-45 the pick of the Iden bowlers.
Next week the 2nds host St Peters 3rds at The Salts in a match sponsored by The Mermaid Inn.
The 3rds endured a heavy defeat away to 1066 who posted 279 all out. 1066 are a new club and far too strong for the division. They then dismissed Rye for 66. High point of the afternoon was Turan Hassan with 5-48 for Rye and thus joining Craig Pierce this week on the club’s honour board in the pavilion. The 3rds host Bexhill 3rds next Saturday at Icklesham.
The nature of wide margins of victory continued in the Junior Games. Both Under 11 teams lost by large margins, the Under 11A to Tenterden A and the Under 11B lost to Boughton under 11A. Good performances recored by Raff Davis with 28 for the B team and George Carey 23 and Ollie Bateman 20 for the A team.
The next evening the Under 16s won by 139 runs, as they posted 195-5. Ollie Balcomb, Charlie Cooke and Bertie Furnival all recorded 50s and retired. The visitors Great Chart then made 56-7. All the Rye players bowled, producing a good team performance.
Next week the Under 13s travel to Boughton, the U11A host Mersham, whilst the B team travel to Mersham B. The Under 16s travel to play Ashford B.
Rye Cricket Club’s first recorded game was on 18 July 1754, against New Romney, making Rye CC one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. At that time The Mermaid Inn had been in existence for 334 years. So the support of The Mermaid Inn is a partnership of two of the oldest institutions in Rye.
Both parties seek to be part of the community, and strive to recruit from the locality. The Mermaid Inn is the sponsor of the 2nd Xl home matches, and the 2nd Xl seeks, like The Mermaid, to grow and develop young talent. For many years the players in the 2nds have grown to be part of a 1st Xl which is playing at a level beyond the size of the catchment area, echoing The Mermaid Inn, which has a draw far beyond Rye, developing an awareness that draws people from all over the world.
The Mermaid looks forward to sustaining and developing this timeless partnership.
Image Credits: Martin Blincow .