LUCKLESS, BUT BY NO MEANS DUCKLESS AT NONINGTON

Bedevilled by injuries, Gnome fell to a resounding, seven-wicket defeat at Nonington, on their first match of the two-day Kent tour.

In the 40-over format that has become the default choice, Gnome found themselves severely under-resourced in the bowling department with absences or injuries depriving us of the bowling services of, among others, Peter G, Jezza, Chris G and Fenton.

With current captain J Dunthorne hors de combat (but serving as umpire and general morale booster), the toss was won by vice captain, Tom Godfrey, who, on a blistering afternoon, and with a notionally strong batting line-up, took the opportunity to set the hosts an unreachable target.

The first-time opening pairing of Andrew Tapper and Chris Lear followed the script to the letter, putting on 94 for the first wicket, before, on 40, Andrew became the first of what would be six clean-bowled dismissals of the eight Gnome wickets to fall. (To make the manner of Gnome dismissals even more unusual, the other two were run-outs).

Promoted to number three, in compensation for his inability to bowl, Chris G joined Chris L and, when Chris L was bowled for 47, Chris and Ollie put on 41 for the third wicket, Chris justifiying his skipper’s faith with a useful 27.

So far so good, and when Ollie was eventually bowled for 25, Gnome looked odds on to establish a heartbreaking total, with the likes of Matt Cannon, John Butterworth, God, Anton and Lew Chester, still to bat.

However, the subsequent batting effort was characterised by a row of ducks that wouldn’t have looked out of place above Thora Hird’s mantelpiece.

Matt and Butters were both bowled, while Anton, ever eager to find a new twist on an established theme, was smartly run out, not facing, in the increasingly urgent attempt to move the Gnome total forward.

Compensated only by an amusing cameo which exposed the disparity in running prowess between Tom and Lew (ineluctably fated to be Gnome's second run-out victim, having made 15), the team and its devoted camp followers watched the Gnome total stutter to a less than intimidating 185 for eight with Tom not out on seven and guest Errol Gordon on three.

The damage had been done by an aggregation of tight, accurate, mainly medium bowling, which, by comparison, served only to highlight the paucity of options within the Gnome team.

Gnome spirits sagged somewhat when they had to watch skipper/keeper God being chaired off the field having agonisingly torn a calf muscle while rushing to cover the stumps.

Keeping duties were than shared between Matt and Chris L.

Of the six bowlers who tried to break down the resolute Nonington batting, Ollie, Butters and Errol were luckless, while Matt, Anton and emergency bowler Chris Lear, took a wicket apiece.

The spirit of the Nonington side was embodied in the slight but resilient form of 14-year-old George Marshall, who, batting at five, took a commanding role in both scoring and run-calling and saw his team home with admirable pugnacity.