Holmesdale 2nd XI recorded their first ever Premier League win on Saturday, beating Whitstable by 1 wicket in an incredibly exciting game. Whitstable won the toss and elected to bat first, but Holmesdale got off to a dream start with Monkhouse (3-21) and Wright (4-34) tearing through the top order. At drinks Whitstable were 66-6 with Holmesdale well on top. However, Whitstable number 7, Paul Gambrill, played a gem of an innings, scoring 76. This meant that by the time Holmesdale had bowled Whitstable out, they had made 157.
Holmesdale decided to approach their innings with positive intent, but it did not get off to the greatest of starts, with openers Crawforth and McCann both departing early. When Bryant (17) had departed with the score at 33-3, there was worry, and nobody was ready for what happened next.
Up stepped Richard Holliday, who proceeded to play the innings of his life while all other Holmesdale batsmen came in and went. Holliday played some extraordinary shots on his way to his highest Kent League score, including five 6’s over deep midwicket and a glorious array of drives over extra cover. When last man, Peter Wright, came in, Holmesdale still needed 9 to win, but this was no problem for Holliday who expertly guided two 4’s to tie the game and then dispatched the winning runs via a huge maximum. Holliday finished on 87 not out and as a result Holmesdale are now one win away from being out of the relegation zone of the Premier League.
