Cricket: Blackheath suffer home loss to Beckenham

Blackheath’s early struggles in the Kent Premier Division continued with a seven-wicket loss at home to Beckenham.

Blackheath are the reigning champions and hosted the club which finished top of the pile in 2017.

The home team were asked to bat on a green deck which would prove to be lively, especially when sprinkled with some early rain.

George Wells once again set the pace but mistimed one straight to point just when he looked to be getting on top of the opening bowlers.

A rain break further changed the momentum of the game being swiftly followed by a flurry of wickets which took the batting side from 33-1 to 58-5. Some hard graft was required and Richard Fleming stepped up, batting for 98 balls to make his 33 alongside an important contribution from Jahid Ahmed (33). The team finished with 171 on the board, short of a good score but competitive nonetheless.

Blackheath needed early wickets and the seamers delivered, reducing Beckenham to 49-3 with one apiece for Tanweer Sikander, Jahid Ahmed and Mehdi Abbas.

The game was evenly poised as pressure was piled on both William MacVicar and Johan Malcolm by Dipayan Paul and Abbas.

Both batsman showed temperament, mixed with some good fortune, to get through that sticky patch unscathed.

A double-header this weekend provides Blackheath with an opportunity to get back on track.

Pics by Keith Gillard