TRINITY MID-WHITGIFTIAN 172 S Sales 54

ASHFORD 94

Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian won by 78 runs.

Mark Roberts and Ali Abbas collected four wickets apiece as Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian marked their return to Division Two with an emphatic win over Ashford on Saturday, writes Robert Keenan.

Mids’ preparations for the new campaign have been severely hampered by the exceptionally wet weather which obliterated their entire pre-season programme and left their Lime Meadow base waterlogged.

However, any concerns about a lack of match sharpness were quickly laid to rest as the top order batsmen laid the foundations for the win with a solid showing after Mids lost the toss and were asked to bat first.

They lost skipper Nowell in the fifth over to a delivery from Babu Veettil that cut back sharply but fellow opener Seb Miles timed the ball well, scoring 23 before he was bowled by the experienced Richard Mansfield.

The dependable combination of Richard Piggin and Stewart Sales then put together the game’s crucial partnership, adding a patient 66 for the third wicket in 20 overs to put Mids in a strong position as they entered the second half of their innings.

Mids suffered a momentary wobble when Piggin was caught behind off the bowling of Veettil who then unleashed a superb delivery to dismiss Abbas first ball.

However, Sales steadied the innings and grafted his way to a deserved half-century before he was stumped off the bowling of Tippell for 54.

The innings fizzled out somewhat thereafter with Tippell and Veettil taking four wickets each but Mids’ final score of 172 nonetheless represented a competitive total on a slow, stopping pitch.

After the interval, Mids promptly lost one of their strike bowlers as Matt Winter was withdrawn from the attack by the umpires in only his second over after sending down two beamers.

However, Roberts compensated with a magnificent spell of bowling as he tore through the Ashford top order taking 4 for 8 in his first five overs to help reduce the hosts to 30 for 5 and was only denied a hat-trick when Abbas dropped a teasing high catch at short extra cover.

Trevor Langworth and Gareth Evans restored order with a stand of 30 but never genuinely looked capable of wresting back Mids’ grip on the game.

New signing Abbas, who had endured a tough afternoon up until that point, then showed the quality that he will bring to the TMW side with the ball, taking 4 for 18 in seven overs with his off-spin to polish off the tail.

Evans was left unbeaten on 36 as Ashford were bowled out in just 28 overs and consigned to a second consecutive defeat.

The result leaves Mids in excellent spirits as they prepare for a tough trip to Leatherhead on Saturday.