Belhus 2nd XI got their first win in the Shepherd Neame Essex league on Saturday with a hard fought win over a resiliant Stanford-le-Hope side on Saturday. After winning the toss and inviting Stanford to bat, Belhus started off well with the ball thanks to some tight bowling from Dale Kenyon (0/15 off 9 overs). However, it was Chris Baker who stole the show with the ball as he ripped through the Stanford top order and ending up with figures of 5/63.However, a middle order recovery from Stanford thanks to Ian Rudder and Josh Reid (who scored 79 and 43 respectively) helped Stanford post a very respectable score of 236/9 off their 52 overs.
The Belhus reply did not get off to a good start after being reduced to 61 for 3. It was left to a fantastic unbeaten partnership of 176 between opener Gavin Jefferies and Nick Marns to see the game through for Belhus. Both were equally as excellent with the bat and their contribution swung the game from one end of the spectrum to another. Jefferies finished off with 103 and Marns was just short of his century on 93. Both were equally as excellent with the bat and their contribution swung the game from one end of the spectrum to another.
