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Sport

Canterbury Cricket Club captain Jarryd Taig and St Lawrence & Highland Court CC skipper Matt Hammond look ahead to Kent Cricket League Premier Division derby game

By: Thomas Reeves treeves@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 05:00, 17 May 2024

Updated: 10:00, 17 May 2024

It will be derby day in Canterbury on Saturday.

Newly-promoted Canterbury will play their first Kent League Premier Division home game against rivals St Lawrence & Highland Court at Polo Farm.

Darren Stevens - got St Lawrence & Highland Court off to a winning Kent League Premier Division start at the weekend against Bickley Park with an unbeaten ton and three wickets. Picture: Phillipa Hilton

After Saturday’s home victory against Bickley Park, St Lawrence & Highland Court captain Matt Hammond said: “It’s a massive game, a massive rivalry.

“Hopefully, we will turn up on the day and get another result.

“It doesn’t really get bigger than that for us.

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“It’s nice to have them back in the Premier Division on the one hand because it’s a nice and local game but, also if you cannot get up for that as a Shrimps boy, there’s not much you can get up for!

“They’re a good bunch of lads and it’ll be nice to have a beer with them after.”

St Lawrence & Highland Court captain Matt Hammond. Picture: Phillipa Hilton

Canterbury skipper Jarryd Taig is hoping to be fit to play and said: “Playing against them early, it will be good to see where we’re at against a newer team in the Premier Division.

“We’ll just see how we get on against them and how they have improved.”

Canterbury were triumphant at Tunbridge Wells last weekend. They skittled the hosts for just 78, as Italian overseas all-rounder Anthony Mosca (3-10) impressed.

Taig said: “Our bowlers were pretty spot-on with how they bowled, just drying it up as much as possible.

“Owen Griffiths bowled well. He’s one that has come on in the last couple of years.

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“He has picked up pace and has become more consistent and I think that showed on Saturday, as well as Cam Wilshaw.

“He’s only 16 or 17 and he’s performing really well after going through the Kent set-ups in the last couple of years.

“It was just a good all-round bowling performance.”

Canterbury then had to work hard but an unbeaten 25 by Mosca saw them to 79-4.

For St Lawrence & Highland Court, veteran former Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens’ unbeaten century guided them to a four-wicket win.

Chasing 211, the 48-year-old finished 114 not out after he had earlier picked up 3-30.

“He’s still just so talented,” said Hammond. “People possibly might have been thinking he would fade away a little bit.

“But he’s hitting the ball better now than he did when he played for us while playing for Kent. The consistency is incredible.

“He’s a proper clubman. But, when he turns up and crosses the white line, he wants to bowl 10 overs.

“Before the game, he was talking about bowling five or six overs - but trying to get the ball off him after his eighth was pretty impossible!

“I just hope we can kind of learn from him a little bit in those situations, with getting over the line.”

Taig knows the Shrimps are not a one-man team, despite Stevens looking to make it three straight tons against Canterbury this weekend.

He said: “Will Hilton has had his time against us, Matt Hammond has done well and they have a pretty well-balanced team, especially with their bowling.

“They have got really good spinners.”

St Lawrence & Highland Court lost by 78 runs at home against Minster in the ECB National Club Championship on Sunday.

Jamie Hemphrey (3-39) - who helped recruit Australian overseas all-rounder Jason Sangha - restricted Minster to 211 all out. But, despite Cameron Monteith top scoring with 34, they fell well short.

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