Ashford beat Ansty by 11 runs

Ashford 73 (Becky Halls 20, Natasha Sole 3-2-4-2)
Ansty 62 (Megan Janman 18, Hannah Merchant 6.5-3-16-4)

Cold, grey skies, drizzle in the air, wet grass – yes, the cricket season’s here! Ashford’s first match was a trip to the country to play top Sussex side, Ansty, and may well prove to be one of the most exciting games of the year. Put in to bat, Ashford’s openers Gill Bonham and Becky Halls had to face an onslaught, and both picked up a crop of bruises seeing off the new ball. The Ansty attack was led by Ellen Burt, who managed to get the ball spitting off the pitch despite the damp conditions, but it was not until the ninth over that she got her reward. Bonham was bowled, misjudging the movement of the ball, then the next delivery was a brute which Katie Butler managed to fend off, only to see it loop into the air off her glove, and into the hands of the Ansty ‘keeper. It was Jenny Tippell who had to face the hat trick ball, but a beautiful cover drive dispatched it to the boundary. She and Halls had begun to pick up the pace when an unlucky edge rolled the ball onto her stumps, just dislodging a bail. Halls was the only Ashford bat to reach double figures, her 20 runs the reward for dogged concentration, but after she was out, the remaining bats struggled, and Ansty took the last wicket in the 33rd over with the Ashford score on only 73.

Ashford knew that to defend such a low score they couldn’t make any mistakes in the field, and were already missing one fielder, having only ten players. Jenny Tippell got them off to a great start with a wicket in her second over and Katie Butler took a good catch behind the stumps to give her another in her next. At the other end, Hannah Merchant bowled without reward, and the Ansty bats found it impossible to score off her first three overs. Megan Janman began to play some attacking shots, and when she was joined by Ellen Burt, the pair looked a real threat. Every chance had to be taken by Ashford, and one of the game’s key moments came in Merchant’s 5th over, when a top edge from Burt sent the ball skyward. Sarah Taylor held her nerve to take a superb catch, and Ansty were 26-3. Merchant’s next over brought exactly the same result, Taylor holding another catch, this time to remove Janman. A change of bowling kept the pressure on Ansty, as Elize Brown and Katie Brown got in on the act with a wicket each, then Tippell was back for her second spell – three maidens and another wicket. Ansty had only three wickets left now, but only needed 17 runs. Katie Brown continued to bowl a beautiful spell, increasing the pressure as the batsmen couldn’t score off her, and finished off with another, well deserved, wicket, well caught by Tippell. The Ansty tail was now exposed, and Ashford were determined to finish off an unlikely victory. Merchant came back into the attack, and soon had the ninth wicket with the Ansty score on 61. A bizarre incident followed, when a dog (with an Ansty spectator!) stopped a ball which seemed to be on its way over the boundary, and the umpires were happy to allow just the single run scored. It was not to make a significant difference, as Merchant needed only one more delivery to take the final wicket, and seal the match by, in the end, the comfortable margin of 11 runs.

One of Ashford’s finest wins, showing real belief in their ability, and a performance to give them enormous confidence for the season to come.

Alison McCreedy