Grays & Chadwell Sunday 1st 222-6 Sidcup Sun 1st 165-6 AFTER the quick hop across the river and quick drive to Sidcup, Grays found the pleasant setting as pleasing as the manner and ease of their victory in this 40 over friendly.

Grays batted first and at once found themselves making good progress in the early overs. Rhys Hymas attacked from the off, smiting some drives over the infield, while Mitra was content to play conservatively and wait for the short deliveries he could dispatch, of which there were several.

Hymas fell for 16 after slapping a drive into covers hands, but O’Neill was at his imperious best.

Leg side, off side, back foot, front foot; he tore into the Sidcup change bowling with classy flicks of his willow.

Mitra Brought out the broom and swept the spinners regularly and with much success, bringing his fifty in decent time. Mitra fell for 60 shortly after raising his bat and O’Neill followed in the same manner, passing 50 and picking out a fielder in quick succession, but his 55 had put Grays firmly on the front foot.

Wayne Simmons attempted to keep the score flowing with some lusty hitting off Sidcup’s slow bowling attack, and his cameo 26 took little time.

With the overs dwindling Matt Hills had time to slap a quick 29 not out and see Grays past 200 before tea was taken.

Sidcup really had themselves to blame for getting themselves into such difficulties early on. Cohen threw down the stumps in just the third over from cover after a suicidal single.

Hole smashed some long hops through cover then mistimed one and Fullbrook took a smart one handed catch from his own bowling. This pattern was recreated when Walker picked out a leaping Greg Cohen to snag the ball out of the air from over his head.

Fullbrook then claimed his third with brave spin bowling, floating up another delivery after being whacked twice to the boundary by Krishnamurthy and this time Rhys Hymas gobbled up the chance at mid on.

Fulbrooks 3-35 from his 8 overs had Grays in the driving seat, and the game stagnated dramatically as Grays tightened the screws and Sidcup became more circumspect as they tried to rebuild. Indeed the score barely moved until in the final few overs of Clark Wren’s 8 over spell.

A quite brilliant catch from Andrew Hills, snagging a leg glance, low and one handed at short leg, broke the deadlock and Wren struck again on his way to 2-14. But Neil Bastin entered the fray, realised the chances of Sidcup victory were slim, and went berserk anyway.

Given a succession of lives, early on the Sidcup skipper launched into Grays spinners. He smashed boundary after boundary and in just a handful of overs had brought respectability to the iducup total and himself a rapid half century. It was never going to be enough, however, to bring about an unlikely Sidcup victory and Grays went home deserved winners.