Little Kingshill vs Ley Hill, 15th June 2003

Will Holman

The most successful sportsmen of our time would be nothing without the players around them. David Beckham fed off the skill and commitment of his Manchester United team-mates; Real Madrid are a collection of stars, and when they fail to gel together, the team struggles. The Australian cricket team can lose any player and still convincingly beat any side in the world.

Paul Green's Sunday side are nothing like Manchester United, Real Madrid or Australia. Indeed, only four players made any contribution of note at Little Kingshill, yet Ley Hill still managed to come out on top, and by a decent margin as well. Opening with Keith Strickland, Jon Lown quickly found himself back in the pavilion, ran out by his partner who clearly feared a tortuous partnership awaited him. Strickland went on to build a valuable 61-run partnership with Az Shakoor, before the latter swiped across the line in his trademark sub-continental style. With Az gone, the only other batsman to make a contribution was the bombastic Kevin Phillips, slashing an unbeaten 56 - including 47 put on with last man Paul Green.

Taking to the field, Kingshill quickly found themselves two down with only six runs on the board. Although Barrie and Sheriton put on 73 together, other quickly fell everso cheaply, and Green's soldiers could soon smell the fear seeping from the home batsmen's every pore. They could certainly smell the alcohol on Phillips's breath, but the man himself was clearly immune, taking a crucial 4 for 27. He clean-bowled the final two victims to seal a clinical victory for the marauding visitors.

Ley Hill: 178 all out (Phillips 56*, Strickland 41)
Little Kingshill: 152 all out (Phillips 4 for 27, Lown 3 for 30)
Ley Hill win by 26 runs

Man of the Match: Kevin Phillips defies physiology with a highly effective performance despite the alcohol coursing through his veins

Players' Favourite: Uncle Tanver - a Ley Hill legend is born

Click here for the scorecard