Castle Hill CC U9s finish 3^rd in Kent Cricket 2016 Super 8s!

Castle Hill U9s travelled to a sun drenched Beckenham in September as reigning champions, and with high hopes of retaining their Super 8s title.  Whilst there was considerable disappointment amongst the ranks at not winning, to finish 3^rd was a tremendous achievement, and proves that, one again, Castle Hill can punch above its weight.  And for the first time, Castle Hill had a second team qualify for the finals day and they finished 12^th out of 24, another fine achievement to finish in the top half.

The first team won their group stage comfortably seeing off 5 other teams including 2015’s runners up Plaxtol, who were to end up runners up again this year. The highlight was a spectacular catch by Rafe Rayment, back-peddaling at long leg.   In the quarter finals, they beat Beckenham.  The semi-final was against a very strong Bromley team who restricted Castle Hill to 228, the sort of score which they have defended on a number of occasions in recent years.  Unlike many teams at this age, Bromley did not panic when going about the chase, and as a result crept over the line in the final over.  One wicket would have made all the difference (minus 5 runs) but, sadly for the boys, it did not materialise.

As losing semi-finalists, Castle Hill had a 3^rd place play-off against local rivals Tunbridge Wells.  What was most encouraging was how they put the disappointment of the semi-final loss behind them, picked themselves up, and put in a fine display to win the game with balls to space.  The win confirmed Castle Hill’s position as the premier cricket club in this area of Kent at U9 level.

All the boys played their part: Bear Ashley, Harry Kirsop, Ted Paice, Henry Parton, Raif Rayment and Alec Stephen were the stronger batsmen but showed they could bowl as well. Samuel Bromley, Ewan Campbell, Tom Hobbs and William McCarthy were all good athletic bowlers and excellent fielders.

The 2nd team had a very mixed day out in the sunshine, some good performances and fine cricket undone by some rather kamikaze batting and inconsistency in the field.  Having suffered a heavy defeat in the opening match it took the team a little while to get in to their stride and the recovery was led by some great bowling from Finn Lawrence, Ben Anderson and Artie Paice which helped erase the pain of the first defeat.  Over the next few matches there were some notable performance with the bat from Elliot Freeborough, Callum Cox and Ryan Young who helped put some substantial targets on the board.  There were great all round performances with bat and ball from Charlotte Ward, Austin Venes and Ollie Paler which ensured the team kept up the wins through the late morning.

The afternoon however brought some tiredness in to the team and despite a heroic first over double wicket maiden by super sub John Campbell the team were just not able to build on the earlier success, one dazzling hit by Ben Perry which brought out an absolutely astonishing catch in one game seemed to sum up our luck.

Overall this was a fine performance to finish 12th by a relatively young team and good experience that will stand them in good stead next year.

A Kent Cricket video of the event can be found at the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwKyESrBmX4

Earlier in the summer, for the first time Castle Hill had entered 3 teams into the qualifying stages.  Unfortunately, one club withdrew, which meant only one other club to play, Linton Park.  The tone was set in the very first game by Tom Hobbs clean bowling the first three Linton Park batsmen.  After that, the first team won all their games comfortably, as did the second team, with the exception of one game against the third team when they squeezed home by just 2 runs.  This was due to a fine bowling performance by Lucas Best, taking 2 wickets in the final over.  The third team justified the decision to enter the competition by beating Linton Park and would have benefitted greatly from the experience.

In addition to those mentioned above, the following also represented Castle Hill in the Super 8s in 2016:  Alex Alfageme, Oscar Anderson, Hugo Bromley, William Bromley, Joe Brown, Theo Cruttenden,  William Donald, Hugo Firmin, Jack Hamblett, Robert Henderson-Pratt, JJ Jackson, Luca Kent , James Parr,  Aadi Sharma, William Skoll, Harry Steddon, Kit Symonds, Max Wakeham.  

Well done to all and we look forward to seeing you all back in 2017.

Played 9 won 9, CHCC U11 Kent Border league South WINNERS

Played 9 won 9, CHCC U11 Kent Border league South WINNERS, 

From what seemed a daunting prospect at the start of the 2016 season with a relatively small and young squad,  the CHCC U11 team have won the Kent border league south.  

A determined and fine performance from all the bowlers and batsmen secured victory last night over T.Wells. 

The team won all their 9 matches. Under the guidance of William Howgill as captain they truly flourished and have played all their games in the spirit of cricket. Many many congratulations to all.

Castle Hill U9 Festival June 2016

Red is the colour!

A remarkable display of
skill and technical wizardry saw Paul Bromley use his personal weather radar
service to accurately predict an unlikely afternoon of colourful cricket at our
very own CHCC. The annual CHCC U9 festival took place between black clouds,
short showers and then golden sunshine. The event was well supported with no
less than four teams from CHCC and guests from Capel (A and B), Robertsbridge
and Cranbrook.






The grey skies and
early showers failed to dampen the collective mood no doubt partly due to a
splendid feast of cake and sandwiches which made for a rainbow colourful
spread.





Our teams and players
all played well.





The Blues coach
marvelled at his players fabulous team spirit and bonding. Edward said he used
all his wily coaching tricks to help the team, but in truth they were very
self motivated. 





He reflected that the
team played with bright spirit. Alex, Bo, James, Theo, Robert and William were
top team players. Whilst Alec excelled with both ball and bat -
bashing flamboyant boundaries with the bat in all directions. Austin
bowled with great consistency and accuracy. Ben also bowled well with some
good hitting off the front foot.





For the Yellow team Duncan the
coach said it was a story of what might have been. 





Despite a comfortable victory
over the ultimate winners in the pool stage, a low scoring loss to
Robertsbridge in the first game cost the Yellows an appearance in the Final.
Everyone had some great performances. Charlotte and Callum bowled well
throughout, while Ben Anderson bowled one of the sparkling overs of the season
taking two wickets in three balls. Felix showed how much his bowling has
improved while Jack and Sam played some lovely leg side shots. A real highlight
was the final game partnership between the Campbells - elegant John and fierce
hitting Ewan - with sunny cheers roaring the boys on from the boundary!





The Yellow's coach was left to
muse on the somewhat mellow Yellow team running that led to the loss of wickets
and defeat to Robertsbridge .





Meantime the Green team
fought hard - joint top in their group they missed out on a place in the final
by a few runs difference.





Bear was the team star
turn - batting with ferocity and bowling fast and tightly. Oscar kept a
mean line and length taking several wickets. Our two boys carrying injuries, Henry
and Ryan also bowled really well.

Charlie, Hugo and JJ
batted with energy and enthusiasm; whilst William took a sensational catch
which brought the crowd to their feet.





In a tense play off
game the Greens came close ultimately coming up short but doing themselves
proud.

Castle Hill Reds had an
excellent afternoon with bat, ball and crucially in the field. There
was passion and fire with some great catches, noticeably by Cameron. Proof
again that catches win matches! 





The team bowled with
accuracy: Joe, Finn and Will M doing excellently with both line and
length. The big hitting was done by Cameron, Elliot and Hugo who found
boundaries a plenty to keep the scoreboard ticking over.





The final was an
emotionally intense affair, Lucas saved his best bowling for this
match and Will C did a fine job of fending off some fierce bowling at the
death.




Jim, the Reds highly
motivated coach said it lovely to see the more experienced boys partnering the
younger ones and really supporting them throughout the whole tournament, never
a crossed word said between team members.






Well done the Reds!

Pitch dried out - ready to go

Hurray!

See you at the Hill this weekend - remember our bar is open Fri eves from 6pm till after 8pm

CHCC Under9's feature in Kent County's Super 8's promo video!

Yes - our county champions are TV stars

Follow the Link below to have a look - they are in the blue shirts and their winning photo is right at the end!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mawWTEKTtM

Car Parking

Whilst we don't have full use of the car park, if you need to park on the broad, please ensure you don't block driveways or damage verges outside our neighbours houses.

We hope things will dry out a little this week so we can get more cars in and so we can get the overhanging tree taken down

Thank you

The Chairman

Clean up day postponed by a week

Due to the very waterlogged pitch & car park, we have postponed the clean up & sign up day by a week - it will now be the Saturday the 16th of April at 930am - see you there

Senior Match Managers rota published

If you want to see/contact a match manager about an upcoming match, visit the senior squad page to see the list.

Youth Section Newsletter

The 2016 Spring publication can be downloaded here

2016 membership forms available

There can be downloaded from the left hand side of this page.

Thanks

2016 Fixtures - Provision Outline available

Yes, always a good sign the summer is on its way -  please visit our fixtures page for details.

Its 2016 - date for Clean Up & Sign up day set

Hello Cricket Fans

Yes the 2016 season is just around the corner - so at the AGM, the day of the clean up has been set for:- 

Saturday 9th April

10am start - usual ground clean up of cutting brambles, clearing fences, cutting grass, weeding etc etc - more hands will make the work lighter!

And of course you can sign up for this season's coaching and youth teams.

See you there!

U9 Indoor Winter Cricket Practices

U9 winter practices have been arranged on the following Sundays at Putlands Leisure Centre, Paddock Wood:

 - 14 February 2016 to 10 April 2016 inclusive, excluding 27 March (Easter Sunday).

 - 4.30pm to 6.00pm

More details to follow in the new year!

CHCC U9's are KENT COUNTY CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Castle Hill are the Under 9 Kent Cricket Board Super 8 Champions 2015!

Angus Hall, Harry Leach, Robert Vizard, Noah Flannagan, Archie Steddon, Henry Parton, Alec Stephen, Rafe Rayment, Aston Burford and Tom Hobbs collected the trophy and their winners medals late in the afternoon today after a full day of 8 beautiful and undefeated games.

The boys beat: Tunbridge Wells, Blackheath, Beckenham, Hollingbourne, Chestfield (League); then Marden (QF), Sevenoaks (SF) and Plaxtol (Final).

The full squad of 10 each played their part in a really high quality tournament where every opposition team had come through qualifying to reach this finals day.

A remarkable 80 Kent teams entered the competition at the start of the season so to emerge as Champions is a real achievement of which the boys should be very proud.

Hopefully the memory of lifting the trophy will stay with each of the boys. Certainly there were many fine individual "champagne moments":

• Angus Hall sparkled as he led the team in all possible ways taking catch after catch in the field and repeatedly delivering as our top scoring batsman
• Harry Leach kept wicket beautifully taking a stunning catch, saving many extras and then bubbling over with real batting power
• Robert Vizard bowled with real fizzing pace and scored crucial runs on the final game
• Noah Flannagan batted with aggression and took a stinging catch that was so spectacular spectators from another game came across to say cheers to him
• Archie Steddon caught well and ran with a super zest between the wickets
• Henry Parton resolute when fending off some real zingy opening and closing bowlers, then he hit out
• Alec Stephen used his sprightly running to great effect in the field and between the wickets
• Rafe Rayment took a rare and lovely rounded hatrick!!
• Aston Burford bowled with pace and he was effervescent in cheering on the team
• Tom Hobbs took an extraordinary corker of a catch which drew gasps from the crowd and bowled with super rhythm

The team spirit was irrepressible today. The boys played with exuberance and sparkled with a frothing brilliance. They should all be very proud.

After all, CHCC U9s are The KCB Super 8 Champions 2015!

U9 finish third at big Tunbridge Wells Tournament

Boom!

Our team were the top run scoring side in todays Tunbridge Wells festival.

The Castle Hill Under 9s played like true Champions today at a sun drenched Nevill Ground as they competed hard to repeat their previous years tournament win.

The win record of 4 wins and one defeat meant that the boys finished in an outstanding third place overall in this 16 team event. The one defeat came against the eventual winners, Holmsdale - in a tense and very evenly matched contest our boys lost out by just two runs. The drama was amazing and the team effort exceptional.

Thwack!

In the earlier games against TWCC 4 and Linden Park we scored huge totals with the bat; achieving over 270 and then over 280 in each game.

And wallop!

Ferocious hitting in the final overs of the play off game against East Grinstead meant that we could take the field with a solid target  to defend.

Throughout the day the fielding was sharp and athletic, the bowling was tight and nippy whilst the batting was brisk and aggressive. 

Of course wining is always a team effort and the consistently high performances today were about the combined effort of the group. The boys played with a real commitment for each other - they were clearly determined not to let each other down.

This passion for the collective cause produced some stellar personal high spots:

• Ben Anderson was lively with the ball against TWCC 4 and energetic in the field throughout
• Sam Bromley hit the ball really hard against Linden Park
• Angus Hall scored big and gave us a total to defend by smashing the final overs against East Grinstead
• Tom Hobbs crashed the bat against Linden Park and TWCC 2
• Harry Leach closed out the tight play off game with super good wicket taking bowling against E Grinstead
• Ollie Paler delivered some ferocious pull hitting against TWCC2
• Henry Parton scored very well with the bat and hit back at the Holmsdale pace attack
• Archie Steddon weighed in with bash hitting against TWCC 2
• Alec Stephens spectacularly kept wicket with an acrobatic performance in the Holmsdale game
• Robert Vizard bowled beautifully throughout, taking a wicket in every game

The boys should be very proud of their attempt to defend the trophy - the friends and family watching certainly were. Well done team!

Super 8s Match Report 12/07

Todays round two of the Super 8s was a resounding success for teamwork in general....

The sandwiches and cakes on show in the clubhouse were a real statement: the cooks amongst the parents had performed to MasterChef levels. The abundance of delicious indulgent cakes, flapjacks and sandwiches set the bar for the day at a super high standard.  This smorgasbord of baking delights demonstrated from the get go the astonishing results that can be achieved by collective effort.

And this clubhouse commitment to team work carried on through the afternoon with various players parents and siblings putting in the full nine yards to keep everyone sated.

Meantime, on the pitch the CHCC A's played with sweet purpose.

The team managed a delicious 4 wins from 4 matches record - beating Horsmonden A, Horsmonden B, CHCC B and last weeks round 1 champions, Marden.

There were some super individual efforts to celebrate in the first 3 matches. Angus, Henry, Alec, Robert and Noah scored well across their matches. Whilst Robert, Angus, Henry, Rafe and Tom bowled consistently well with pace and accuracy. Ben and Noah did especially well as they were making their first A team run outs of the year.

In the final crunch match against unbeaten Marden the CHCC A really took the team message to heart. 

Their steely determination was clear from the start of the match. Batting first, our players showed their desire with their quick singles and super fast running between the wickets being the order of the day. The teamwork was great, Henry and Ollie seeing off some sharp bowling, whilst Angus and Alec really scampered between the wickets at pace to power our score upwards in the last two overs of the innings. Indeed across the whole team the batting pairs were very tasty partnerships.

Once in the field our players were on their toes, they chased down every ball hard, they constantly shouted encouragement to each other and above all they bowled with real purpose. They didn't give Marden a  crumb to feast upon.

The watching parents were vocal and excitable as the excellent game progressed. Wickets were taken by Rafe and Alec. And as the tension mounted in this close fought contest 3 exceptional run outs sandwiched together in the final overs dramatically helped our teams cause.  Then at the end of the Marden innings, Aston stepped up to the real challenge of bowling the final over and polished off the whole performance with a real closer's flourish.

Well done to the team: a super performance to finish joint top of the qualifying group (across the two rounds) and secure a place at the County Super 8s in Beckenham later in the summer. Angus Hall, Henry Parton, Robert Vizard, Alec Stephen, Tom Hobbs, Aston Burford, Ollie Paler, Rafe Rayment, Ben Anderson and Noah Flanaghan should all be very pleased with themselves and their team mates.

The CHCC Bs were also making the club proud at this home round of the Super 8s.

The results didn't go as the team wished but this was not because of a lack of appetite or team endeavour. Our players charged about the pitch with enthusiasm and energy; and they played the matches with hunger and in the right spirit.

The big hitting was really decorative and delivered with a sous chefs panache by Charlotte, Jago, Max and Elliot. Whilst the pace bowling of William McCarthy and Elliot was really fruity and of the highest order.

Even in the difficult matches our players supported each other and tried hard for their team in spite of light showers and some tough opposition. Clearly the top quality cakes and team spirit helped them enjoy the event!

Well done team: Oscar Anderson, Callum Cox, Elliot Freeborough, Robert Henderson Pratt, William Horsford, William McCarthy, Jago Ongley Dellar, Max Wakeham and Charlotte Ward.

Super 8's - round 1 - 5th July 2015

The fast draining outfield at the glorious Horsmonden CC meant that the U9s Super 8s qualifying round 1 took place in surprising sunshine this afternoon after a miserable morning of persistent rain.

The opening match of today's league was the big one, with the mighty Marden taking on our very own Castle Hill A team. This clash of the titans proved to be a bruising encounter for our boys.

The Marden bowlers came out of the blocks at pace - skidding the ball down the still damp wicket with precision and guile. Their rapid attack caused our slightly sluggish batters a good deal of trouble as the ball regularly found the gap between bat and leg repeatedly knocking over the plastic wickets.

Unfortunately, the CHCC bowlers did not manage to hit the same disciplined line and length as Marden had achieved and so in spite of sharp, effectively frugal fielding, the CHCC boys went down in a close match. Indeed, the CHCC five lost wickets proving the difference between the teams.

From this game on the CHCC A team raised their spirits and performance levels winning all three of their remaining matches. Angus Hall was ferocious with mighty swings of his bat; Robert Vizard bowled with pace and bounce from a new angled run up, whilst Harry Leach batted aggressively and took some exceptional reflex catches behind the stumps. A special shout out to Henry Parton for some remarkable play - as usual he batted well and bowled sharply; stand out today was his fielding - specifically a famous one handed caught and bowled plus a remarkable stretching diving catch both of which brought gasps from the crowd.

Well done to the full team of Angus Hall, Henry Parton, Harry Leach, Robert Vizard, Tom Hobbs, Aston Burford, Rafe Rayment and Archie Steddon.

Meantime the CHCC B team was competing hard in their own matches and came away from the day with a creditable won 2 lost 2 score line from their four matches. After a difficult time against Marden and CHCC A team, the boys set about taking the other two (Horsmonden) teams apart.  The Horsmonden B team were comfortably dispatched; the highlight of the team's day was a tense 4 run win over their A team in a tight encounter.  The star of the show was Oscar Anderson taking a wicket in the final over to seal the win.

Debutant Noah Flanagan skippered the team positively in his two games as leader, as did Robert Henderson-Pratt and Ben Anderson in their games.   The energy, commitment and determination of Elliot Freeborough was notable, even being commented on by opposition coaches who were impressed by Elliot's huge desire to win and his super all round skills. Ben Anderson batted and bowled well too and he was stellar in the field taking a blinding catch of a baamethyst came at him like a tracer bullet.  Meantime Oscar Anderson continues to impress with a finely developing talent as a slow bowler.  Other highlights were Robert Henderson-Pratt's impressive catch of a skier in the deep and Noah Flanagan taking 2 wickets off consecutive balls against the mighty Marden.

Well done to all the team of Elliot Freeborough, Ben Perry, Ben Anderson, Oscar Anderson, Robert Henderson Pratt, William McCarthy, Noah Flanagan, Callum Cox and Alex Alfageme.  

 

We wish both teams well in the return matches to be held at our own idyllic ground next Sunday; at the moment CHCC A team are in second position and CHCC B team are in third position in the league table. The top two teams qualify for the regional finals, so please do cheer us on!
 

CHCC U9 Tournament - Match Report

A bumper crowd and eight feisty teams enjoyed a remarkable tournament at Castle Hill Cricket Club today. An extraordinary mix of weather which included some pretty grim showers could not dampen the fun. Or indeed spoil the appetite, as marvellous home made cakes and sandwiches made for a Sunday afternoon treat of a tea.

Certainly the tea was of the highest order but alas today our players fortunes were mixed. 

Of our two sides the Castle Hill Reds sparkled intermittently with some fine bowling by Archie Steddon, Ollie Paler and Elliot Freeborough; and super stroke play by Archie Steddon, Ben Perry and  Johan Jackson being especially noteworthy. Also there was some exceptional fielding by all with special thanks to the Ongley Dellar’s for putting their bodies on the line.

A special mention must go to the power hitting of Ollie Paler. The high energy and exciting play off game against (inevitably) Castle Hill Blues saw Ollie lash out with power and panache.  Ollie targeted the short boundary aggressively and so he sent the ball crashing through and over the boundary cones with amazing regularity. Ollie will certainly have bragging rights over his team mates for plenty of weeks to come!

The two wins and two defeats of the day meant the Reds finished with a flourish, winning their last two games and coming in Fifth in the tournament. So, well done to all the team: Robert Vizard, Archie Steddon, Ollie Paler, Elliot Freeborough, Jago Ongley Dellar, Ben Perry, Alex Alfageme, Maxim Ongley Dellar, Johna Jackson and Lucas Best.

Meantime the Castle Hill Blues scored big in each of their four games with Hugo Firmin, Aston Burford, Charlotte Ward and Alec Stephen doing well with the bat. The Blues also had their own big hitter with Henry Parton thwacking the ball over the boundary line to build some very impressive totals across his games. 

The Blues bowling was full of passion though occasionally a little wild so the wide deliveries did mount up. Nevertheless the team stuck to the task and did well in the field with Rafe Rayment bowling with pace and taking a super catch. A won one lost three record for the day seems harsh on the team who did play with spirit and commitment. 

The players did their best to very last ball: Henry Parton, Alec Stephen, Rafe Rayment, Aston Burford, Robert Henderson Pratt, Ben Anderson, Hugo Firmin, Charlotte Ward, Ethan Haggerty and Harry Bull.The Blues ended the tournament in sixth position.

u9 Festival Castle Hill 28th June

A reminder that the Castle Hill CC U9 softball festival is taking place at the club tomorrow/today from 1.30pm to 5.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to come along and see 4 matches taking place at the same time.  

Refreshments are available and the bar will be open!

Success at Robertsbridge for the U9's

The U9 team enjoyed a super successful morning winning the Robertsbridge tournament today, Sunday 14 June.

The boys played beautifully winning their league group and beating Robertsbrige in the final in front of a vocal home crowd. Captaincy rotated between Robert Vizard and Harry Leach who each led the team well.

The dull and cloudy weather conditions were in stark contrast to the power hitting and pace bowling display of our boys.

There were some stellar performances with the bat - boundaries flowed - with very high scoring partnerships in each match from Robert Vizard/Harry Leach; and Alec Stephen/Henry Parton.

Oscar Anderson, Elliot Freeborough, Robert Henderson Pratt, Tom Hobbs and Aston Burford all also played their part with the bat. They showed some strong defensive play and steely resolve to avoid losing wickets and help the team build some huge scores.
 
Also our bowling was excellent. Wickets were taken by most of the boys and the accuracy was really notable. Everyone made it difficult for the opposition to score runs with special mentions to Elliot and Tom.

The final itself was an excellent hard fought game with Robert Vizard and Henry Parton scoring big. Aston Burford then bowled with real pace to take 2 wickets, as did Henry Parton. The boys then feasted on the winners cakes with real gusto.

Well done U9s, we are all super proud!