Game 12 against Kent at Maidstone

29 July and the drive was from Sunbury on Thames to Maidstone in Kent. Just before arriving at Maidstone we drove over an overpass where lines of trucks were queued up to go to France - they were 20 miles from the coast.

The Mote Cricket Club was established in 1859. One of the prime movers in the establishment of the ground was Lord Bearsted who oversaw the levelling of the ground early in the twentieth century. The club rooms were also built at this time though they have since been added to and had restoration work since then.

Lord Bearsted also had built his private pavilion known as The Tabernacle.

The players inspected the ground on arrival.

The weather was overcast and cool but the forecast was for a fine day. However some of the Wags found a good place to watch the game from inside the building.

Robin was playing his first game since injuring his leg during the first match of the Victorian over 60s tour.

Victoria batted first and made 196 in their 40 overs. Bill Wigmore retired at 40 and then returned later in the match to add another 14 runs to the score.

Kent could only manage to make 129 runs in their 40 overs. Greg Watsford took 3 wickets, Graeme Cook and Gordon Cowling each took 2 wickets while Lindsay Fisher and Robin took one wicket each. (Robin bowled 8 overs, 1 maiden and took 1 wicket for 28 runs.) It was a great team effort.

At the end of the game the Kent players formed a guard of honour with cricket bats for the victorious Victorian team - just one example of the good spirit in which the game was played.

During the match Robin made a new friend.

I also went for a walk exploring some of the nearby streets of Maidstone.