So with Sunday's final game on 18 September against Warlingham the curtain falls on another year at Horton Way. Overall it has been a fantastic year for the club on and off the field for so many. Firstly many thanks to the committee and all the other volunteers who have put in time, love and effort into the club to make it a great year.

1st Team

If there was one word to sum up the first team season and indeed the second team season, it would be... Availability! Ultimately this is what hit the team's success after a blistering start which saw a good run of results including a win against Limpsfield Chart (eventual league winners) and sitting pretty at the top of the league.

Notable early season contributions saw a special ton from Adam Linnell against Shipbourne following an opening century stand from Thwaites and Evans Snr. Tim Cotton picked up a very useful 5-24 v Locksbottom. Thwaites and Evans also clocked up a century opening stand against Leigh away the former picking up 64 in a very nicely controlled chase and comfortable win. Matt Freedman scored a match winning 68 at home v Horton Kirby and Thwaites picked up another half century along with Shafiq in the loss to eventual runners up Four Elms.

A series of lacklustre team performances midseason saw a number of avoidable losses. This resulted in the chasing pack catching up and eventually overtaking us. We never really dropped below third but the gap to the top two grew larger as they continued to pick up wins. Neal Pitman picked up 5-64 in the away loss v Limpsfield as the side lost by 80 runs in a heavy defeat. A nail biter of a loss against Leigh saw us lose by one wicket in a game that we so nearly pinched, OB taking 6-35 trying to defend 134. Cracking 50s from Evans and Clarke opening up saw us win a great chase to do the double over HK. The next week saw the performance of the season from Thwaites, scoring a brilliant 121 as we tried our very best to lose from an almost unassailable position, winning by 2 runs in the final over in a last ditch effort to win promotion against our immediate rivals. We were then on the other end of another defeat against Penshurst in a valiant effort to chase down 250 at home, Thwaites scoring 50 again! We then finished the season with another nail biter, again losing by 1 wicket trying to defend a lowly 136 with only 10 men in the field.

The 1s eventually finished 3rd (for the umpteenth) time left looking back on missed opportunities. Some fine individual performances along the way but too often the team didn’t turn up with either bat or ball as a collective. Some fine seasons as follows:

R.Thwaites - 561 runs with 5 fifties and 1 century @ 31
S,Evans - 435 runs with 3 fifties @ 27
A.Linnell 415 runs with 2 fifties and 1 century @ 38

R.Gibbons - 25 wickets @ 24.5
N.Pittman - 21 wickets @ 23.9
O.Butler - 16 wickets @ 23.7
T.Cotton - 16 wickets @ 25.7

2nd Team

A year of missed opportunities for the 2nd team who will probably think that they were unlucky all round. In a year containing the former Kent Premier League Champions Hartley Country Club, who were run away winners, ultimately only leaving one spot open. A really solid start though saw them only lose 2 (against the two promoted teams) from the first 8 and then winning 3 of the next 5. One of these losses being a concession as we were unable to field a side against Four Elms due to the season long issue of availability. It was also a funny year not helped by the splitting of division 6 into 2 leagues with lots of bonus point games in largely meaningless games.

Tom Francis scored 62 in the opening loss to Bearsted. Shafiq scored a match winning 51 in the win v Stonehouse and then 52 the week after v Sissinghurst. A great century then followed from Richard Pleydell picking up a fine 111 in a big win v Speldhurst. 50s from Francis and Rose in a big win v Luddesdowne. A mention also to Toby Evans who took 4-22 in defending a big score.

The real high for us as a club and plus point for the future is the inclusion of a number of u15 players turning out for the seconds over the year. Toby Evans, Tom Cherry and Harry Soper turned out regularly and not only held their own but in a good handful of games they were the stand out performers in the game.

Adam Linnell then scored a quick-fire 58 in the win at home v Bearsted. Followed perhaps by the second team knock of the season as the returning Brad Deamer scored 100* from 63 balls in a solid win v Stonehouse as the team looked to press on. John Rose took 4 for 10 in the squeaky 1 wicket victory away at Sissinghurst chasing 95. August and the major availability issues really hurt the season as they failed to win a regular season game and lost 2 v the bottom teams. We only really managed to scrape teams together, calling in favours and a few dads turning out. The season finished on high in a solid win v local rivals Eynsford who turned out a strong looking side. Harry Low the pick of the performers scoring 59.
The 2s eventually finished 4th just 2 points behind Eynsford in 3rd. The leagues will be re-jigged next year and we await the results of this. Top performers:

R.Pleydell - 332 runs 1 fifty and 1 hundred @ 55.3
S.Khan - 233 runs 3 fifties @ 38.8
T.Francis – 213 runs 2 fifties @ 21.3

J.Rose – 17 wickets @ 18.41
D.Ward 13 wickets @16.62
P.Jackaman – 12 wickets @ 18.33

Women’s Team

Another really positive year in the progression of female cricket at FCC lead by Jess Ward. Jess has done a great job in building the section and the foundations of something special for years to come.

The team has seen 4 new members join and a few old faces return. We would love to build on this so please help us spread the word and invite anyone you think might be keen.
This year the team took part in the North Kent Softball League, a new initiative to provide regular cricket and fun competition. This has really helped build the game in the county and at the club. This has lead to the group growing in skill and confidence and the club will be entering a hardball side into competitive games. This is a great step forward for the group and something we hope will help build the team even further.

The club also hosted our annual softball festival in the summer. As one of the founding clubs of these events we are always delighted to host such an event which is a great advert for the team and the club.

Sunday Team

FCC Sunday XI played 16 matches this year, won 6, lost 9 and 3 had no result; (1 cancelled due to the weather, 1 no squad and 1 no opposition). With most wickets was Daniel with 16 (average 18.4) and best bowling Colin 3 wkts for 9 runs. Highest score Richard P 89 and most runs Daniel with 389 (average 48.6). A three-match series was played against the BBC Bushmen which FCC won (2-1) and two matches against Lamorbey Park (1-1). Top fielding was Daniel with 9 outfield catches including 4 against Eynsford. Three half centuries from Daniel and Graham and one each from Toby, Dave L, Steve S, Naseer, Shafiq, Finn, Harry L and Adam. Highest recorded partnerships was against Nuxley at 131 with Daniel 61* and Toby 54*.

Big shout out this year to new boys Shafi, Nas and James Watson and the colts Toby, James I, Zach, Tom, Harry S, my neighbour, and Daniel’s school friends who all helped get a squad out when it looked very difficult!

Junior Cricket

It has been a superb year for junior cricket at FCC with a huge amount of effort put in by Richard Pleydell and his coaching team and volunteers. They have made large strides this year and it has paid off on the pitch too.

In 2023 we are desperate for volunteers to help with coaching for an hour or two on a Thursday and also for junior team managers to help on match days. If you are interested in helping out then please contact Richard.

The u11 in their first year playing hard ball cricket put on some stellar displays, sometimes winning games with 9 or 10 players. In a tough league containing lots of big Kent League clubs they did the club proud. With a few cancelled games they missed out on the opportunity pick up some late season wins and finished in 5 place.

The u13 were the standout performers they won their league, losing on one game all season to beat the likes of Bromley, Bexleyheath and Sidcup to be crowned champions. A really exciting group of players, some of whom move up to u15 next year for a bigger test. Some of the boys made senior appearances on a Saturday and a Sunday and we are keen to continue this progression. Big congratulations to all involved.

The u15, fresh off of their u13 league win the year before made the step up. Most of the kids fall into the bottom end of the u15 age bracket and were therefore competing against bigger and more experienced children. The team was also competing in Division 3 and this was a step up in quality of opposition, again facing all of the big clubs in the Kent League. In a league of 12 the team finished a very creditable 4 place. It is very exciting to see Toby Evans, Tom Cherry, Zach Pleydell, Harry Soper, James Spooner, James Izod and Stanley Munt all making the step up to play senior cricket with some of them being regular and valuable members of the team.

Off the Pitch

Off the pitch there has been some great developments for the club. The committee has worked hard to look to provide the best facilities possible and increase the profile of the club. Over the course of 2022 we have invested in the pitch and outfield with new equipment and products. A new roller has been purchased at the end of the season so this will start to be used in the New Year and will ensure better reliability and a newer roller for Gibbo to use.

We also purchased a new electronic scoreboard which has been used throughout the club and is a great new addition, replacing the old and tired numbers in the pavilion. We hope to erect a permanent stand to house this as a feature on the ground.

At the end of the season we have invested in replacing the old, battered fence on Horton Way. The large unruly bushes have been removed as well and these really smartens up this side of the ground. It will hopefully be a lot safer and ensure balls can be retrieved nice and easily.

The exciting addition of FrogBox hallway through the season has meant that we can live stream our home games on YouTube. This has received an amazing response and allows us to connect with the wider Farningham family. It also helps us to showcase the club and boost revenue via advertising both on screen and on the ground as we can boost our audience and visibility.

At the end of 2021 season we invested in ensuring our fire safety compliance, replacing all the fire doors with new and repairing the fire exit.

We have had a few issues, mainly around a number of sizeable water leaks from the bar. With the pavilion being empty for periods of time these types of problems are exacerbated. This has resulted in large damage to the away changing room, ceilings and the shower areas.

In some more exciting news, we are very thankful to Paul Jackaman for helping to secure an ECB to renovate and replace the patio area of the pavilion. The old one is in poor condition and dangerous in parts. This is a highly used area in the summer and especially on junior nights so this will be a big boost to improving the club and its aesthetics.

As a club we a hugely grateful to Debbie Bensley as club secretary for her amazing work in securing the club’s financial position. This has enabled us to invest in the club. This also shows the value in everyone paying their memberships and match tax so that we can improve your club. Both senior and junior membership have increased in number and this has therefore increased income. Paul Bensley has done a superb job in running the bar during the season and on a number of club events, including cricket week to ensure the success of another key income stream. The committee overall has worked hard to secure the long term future and success of the club and we thank them all for their hard work on and off the pitch.

Hopefully availability can improve next year and all teams can push on in 2023. If you know anyone who might be keen to join, either as a new player or a returning player then please encourage them to come along and join us. News of winter nets to follow in the New Year.