THE Mote (Maidstone) skipper Lawrence Waters will return for the Shepherd Neame Kent League, division one, local derby at Holmesdale (Sevenoaks) on Saturday.

Batsman Waters missed the game at Sandwich Town last Saturday because of a muscle strain, but will be back along with the experienced former captain James Barr.

But the Maidstone side have four other players, Chris and Steve Back, Steve Fuggle and wicketkeeper Ben Gibbs unavailable. Second X1 keeper, veteran Nigel Mullarkey, will deputise for Gibbs.

An opening stand of 114 between acting captain James Hodgson (67) and Fuggle (40) gave The Mote a great start at Sandwich on a ground renowned for low scores.

Poor shot selection meant a middle order collapse to 147 for seven before a ninth wicket stand of 28 between South African Stephan Grobler (40 not out) and teenager Tom Parsons (10) ensured a total of 185.

Sandwich slumped to 43 for three after 25 overs due to the accuracy of Darren Wheeler (one for 19 off nine overs) and Parsons (one for five in his first six overs).

The consistent Glen Aukett claimed four for 38 as the home side finished 11 short of their target with nine wickets down.

James Barr hit 87 in The Mote 2nds’ exciting tie with Whitstable. Batting first, the Mote totalled 224 for six, but fell away in the last seven overs which produced only 29 runs.

Richard Coles and Howard Waters bowled well for The Mote but then the home side over-attacked and let the visitors back into the game.

They needed just six off the last three overs and three from the last ball, but could only get two

Tunbridge Wells finally got their stop-start season underway with a winning Division One draw at Holmesdale, which puts them above their opponents in the table. But there remains much hard work to do if a return to the Premier Division is to be achieved.

Against Holmesdale Mark Alexander and Gareth Williams posted a useful 72 for the opening stand. Williams played especially well, putting together a stylish, hard-hit 60, which saw the total rise to 108 for two.

Scott Allen (31) once again showed his class before falling to Andrew Cruttenden (six for 63), while Mark Smith once again set up the middle order push for points.

With young Richard Cutts, Smith added 40 (two batting points), and, despite a flurry of wickets falling, eased Wells past 200 for the full haul, before the innings subsided three balls short of completion.

Setting out to make 209, Holmesdale lost wickets regularly enough to stall progress, despite a fine 48 from Nathan Dodd, but at 95 for three they seemed to have put up a reasonable launching pad.

The introduction of spinner Peter Ford changed all this, however, and he then ran through the middle order to snap up five for 37 from 15 overs.

This left the home side tottering on 130 for eight with some 10 overs remaining, but Wells could not break up the stubborn ninth pair, and Holmesdale escaped with a losing draw, ending up some 56 runs adrift of the ask.

Tunbridge Wells 2nd played out a losing draw on a benign Nevill wicket, where the best part of 500 runs was scored in the day.

This was a heartbreak of a track for the bowlers, but much credit goes to Wells as they defied a very strong Hayes side to hold on for the draw.

They have now slipped to second place in the Division One (2nd XI) table as Broadstairs managed to win batting second at Gore Court.

Gore Court were unlucky not to record back to back Premier Division wins for the first time this season.

Two rain interruptions prevented them from completing their match against Broadstairs and gaining maximum points in the process.

Batting first, Gore Court were indebted to youngster Kevin Jones who scored a brilliant 92 for getting them to a respectable total of 222 all out from 47.3 overs.

He coped admirably with the pace of Kent’s David Stiff who remained wicket-less.

In reply Broadstairs were in all sorts of trouble at 10 for two and 95 for five before N Brennan (47), M Smith (37) and S Simmons (33) steadied the ship.

The return of Franklyn Rose (three for 59) almost sneaked a deserved victory for the visitors but the last pair managed to hang on for the remaining 22 balls and the match finished inconclusively.

The other Gore Court wicket takers were Nigel Sharp (two for 25) and Kevin Jones (two for 52).

Rain interruptions almost meant an incomplete game for Sevenoaks Vine at Whitstable. At the close The Vine needed just three runs to win with one wicket in hand.

Captain Matt Banes topscored in Vine’s 272 for nine with a whirlwind 79 off 40 balls. It included two sixes and 10 fours.