Beckenham on a roll

Beckenham's charge on the lead of the Shepherd Neame Kent Cricket League continued for the third consecutive weekend with a 126-run win over Tunbridge Wells which edged them to within six points of leaders Gore Court.

Hartley, lying in second place one point behind the leaders also posted a victory while Gore Court were restricted to a winning draw against Bromley.

In their match at the picturesque Nevill ground, Beckenham set off at a blistering pace with Chris Isles punishing the Wells attack with a quick fire 59. The loss of three quick wickets did not deter the visitors , who, after a short period of consolidation, launched a savage attack on the bowling.

Richard Bedbook (64) was well supported by Leigh Walker (40) and added 105 for the 5th wicket from just 11 overs to propel Beckenham to a final imposing score of 309-7. Confident and in command, Alex Blake made two early breaks, which compounded by the run out of Mark Smith in a mix up, left Tunbridge Wells struggling on 64-4.

Beckenham chipped away at the middle order and finally bowled Tunbridge Wells out for 183 to close their gap from the top from 33 to six points over the last 3 weekends.

Gore Court missed the opportunity of opening a gap at the top of the table after being held to an exciting draw by Bromley. The Bromley total of 210 seemed below par at Plaistow Lane but Gore Court could not break the shackles against an accurate Bromley bowling attack and ended five runs short with two wickets remaining in a game that may have gone either way in the latter stages.

Former Kent man, Min Patel, 60, formed the backbone of the Hartley innings of 238-8. In reply, despite a useful 78 by Dave Hammond, Blackheath found runs hard to come by against a steady Hartley attack and ended their chase 35 runs short with four wickets in hand.

A battle is also brewing at the bottom of the table as the two bottom sides met the two above them. St Lawrence triumphed over Sandwich and Lordswood over Sevenoaks Vine to alter the placings.

On a good wicket at the Vine, skipper John Bowden led the home side's batting with a fine 121 and was well supported by Luke Blackaby and Michael Barber with 53 and 51 respectively, reaching a respectable total of 282 in the final over, Peter Stock ending with figures of 5-88. Lordswood batted well throughout with Craig Ervine (88) and Chris Thompson (73) setting the platform for Stock with 55 not out to steer Lordswood home in the penultimate over.

Champions St Lawrence recorded their first win of the season over Sandwich and surrendered the bottom spot to their visitors. On a fast scoring Highland Court pitch, Sandwich's 202 never looked enough and St Lawrence romped home with 14 overs remaining for the loss of just two wickets. Dominic Chambers (82), Charlie Hemphrey (62 not out) and Dan Stickels (51) made light work of the task.