A delightful venue beside the Thames, close to Hampton Court, was the scene as Wells emabarked upon another CCC Cup Competition. The toss was won by new skipper Evert Bekker, and his first move was to ask the home batsmen to take first knock. A confusion on the home website as to start times did not help, but play was underway at the appointed time.

   One of the openers was run out for 0 in the third over, Fred Florry being alert to the situation, but initially Kieran Burge led the way in the home innings after a marvellous opening burst from Chris Lawrence and Chris Rainger that restricted the score to 29-1 from 13 overs. Bekker himself next put in a very useful spell, snapping up 3-32, but Burge (74 with 10 fours) kept Molesey on the move. The score dipped to 123-6 from 38 overs, Florry taking a miserly 2-30 from 54 balls, and only a late flourish featuring Greg Brown (27*) dragged the score up to 176-9 after Burge had been removed by Alex Williams at 113. Bekker ensured that no further recovery occurred, and the target was set at 177 from the 45 overs.

   The chase was also afflicted by an early run-out, and a recovery was attempted but two unfortunate LBWs had Wells tumbling to 61-4 after 17 overs. The skipper was now joined by Brough Cooper, and a match-winning partnership was forged that blasted 109 from the next 25 overs and settled the issue as a contest despite Cooper holing out in the deepfield for a dazzling 69 (8 fours) taking just 87 balls. The seven remaining runs were added without mishap, Bekker coming off with an undefeated 41 after Simon Routh had hit the winning runs. 

   The next Round of the Competition is to be played Away on May 29.

   The Nevill was pleasantly warm as Eastbourne won the toss and asked the home side to bat, looking to chase the ensuing total on a good batting surface, but their attack had a long forty-five overs in the field as Wells built up a commanding total.

   Alex Williams and Mark Alexander set the scene with a 27-over first partnership of 148, during which an ascendancy was established that was never relinquished. Alexander played relatively quietly on his way to a princely 45 (4 fours and one six) before falling to a run-out and injuring his leg, thus taking no further part in the game while a substitute was allowed to take his place. Williams was in imperious touch at the same time and raced to a 46-ball 50, reaching 84 when the first wicket fell. Evert Bekker joined him in a fearsome stand of 52 for the second wicket, during which Williams coasted past three figures, at length offering a catch on 114 and coming away to prolonged applause. His 115-ball effort had included fourteen fours and spanned 37 overs, and went far towards clinching the eventual result. Bekker now took over the assault on the bowlers, rampaging to, and beyond, his own fifty in partnership with Richard Cutts (24*) as 78 runs were crashed in the closing eight overs, and Eastbourne were left to make 279 to progress in the Competition. Bekker came off the field undefeated on 73, which contained four fours and two massive sixes.

   The chase floundered early on, with Chris Lawrence and Chris Rainger quickly snapping up a wicket apiece, and only briefly threatened to attain the required runrate. Alex Pollard (50) ensured respectability for the visitors, but wickets fell with a regularity that denied the possibilty of recovery. Lawrence went on to bag 3-52, Michael Churchill grabbed 3-33 to conclude matters, and the attack overall proved too much for the Eastbourne batsmen as success greeted each bowler in turn. The innings reached a high point at 90-4, but the slide to defeat occupied a further sixteen overs, and the last wicket fell with the total on 163.

   Wells meet Preston Nomads in Round Two at an as yet unspecified venue, their 115-run win coming with more than six overs to spare.

   Wells conceded home rights owing to The Nevill being prepared for the County Games, and journeyed to the breathtaking rustic charm of Henfield where the Spen Cama Memorial Ground at Clappers Lane hosted the Group 16 Quarter-Final of the ECB Cup. If successful, Wells would become the sole Kent representative in the local Semi-Finals, Blackheath having succumbed to Roffey at the Rectory Field.

   Winning the toss on a wicket that was friendly to spin bowling, Wells asked the home XI to take first knock, and the early exchanges were evenly contested as the score rose unsteadily to 62-2 from fourteen overs after a rapid start. Matt Green and Chris Rainger went to the fence fairly often although each took a wicket, Green striking in his third over. Jeremy Green (41) and Robert Wakeford, leading local runscorers, now accelerated in a 54-run third partnership, but the introduction of Michael Churchill, supported by Fred Florry, applied the brakes, and Churchill (5-45) began a vital and destructive spell that broke the back of the innings after Wakeford had led off with a 78-ball 64. Sixth out at 180, Wakeford had provided a sound platform, but Churchill scotched any ensuing progress, the last five wickets going down for a paltry eleven runs, Chris Williams chipping in with 2-3 in twelve balls. Churchill might indeed have had a sixth wicket, but the batsman was judged to have prevented Simon Routh from completing a close-in catch and dismissed 'obstructing the field' in a most unusual occurrence.

   The reply was somewhat fitful as Wells fell to 42-3 in unlucky circumstances before a magnificent partnership changed the complexion of the match. Gregor Paterson (34) was joined by skipper Evert Bekker to post a fighting fourth partnership of 122 which occupied 115 balls and took the chase beyond the halfway mark. Bekker, not out 64 when Paterson departed, was doggedly committed to seeing his side home yet perished at 169 for a remarkable 99-ball 77 (nine fours) which was marked by deep concentration, but now his late order had work to do. Six wickets were down, 27 balls remained, and 23 runs were still needed. Churchill saw the score to 187 after a flourish from Routh, but fell at that score, and Fred Florry was joined by Rainger with five needed from the last over, bowled by skipper Kashif Ibrahim. Three balls were knocked for singles, when, suddenly Rainger sent the ball behind square leg for a boundary and the game was won.

   The excitement was kept at fever pitch to the very end, but Wells, versed in such drama of late, persevered and will now meet Horsham CC at The Nevill on 19 June in what will be a local semi-final after which a Final is played before the National stages come into play. No praise could be too high for the work of Bekker in securing the result, but Wells collectively did enough to just get over the line, and they become the sole flag-carrier for Kentish sides now in this Competition.

   Wells journeyed to Richmond for this tie in the Conference Cup, and inserted the home batsmen after winning the toss. A poor start from the visiting bowlers allowed the home openers to profit, and a welter of boundaries set the scene as 126 runs were plundered from the initial twenty overs.

   De la Rey Terblanche (62) crashed six fours and two sixes while Nick Alexander maintained the tempo, each player having reached a half-century when at length the first wicket was taken. The onslaught was temporarily interrupted as Wells grabbed four wickets for 61 in twelve overs, whereupon Alexander was joined by Nisarg Patel (38) to resume the runfest with 70 coming from ten overs for the fifth partnership during which phase Alexander reached a pathfinding and committed century that included ten fours. Chris Wiliams' second spell netted him 2-24, Bekker removed the centurion, and the anticipated late flurry was kept to manageable proportions, with a target of 280 set for victory, which had, at several stages, looked to have been a far greater requirement.

   The innings was set on course by Alex Wiliams (46) who saw the score to 94-3 after 16 overs. Despite the cheap loss of the captain, the best batting of the chase came from Richard Cutts and C.Williams who added a bustling, boundary-studded 66 for the fifth partnership from nine overs, and while these two were at the wicket, anything seemed possible. At 170, however, Steve Stacey removed both in the space of two balls, and the innings lost momentum and fell away to end some 50 runs short with three overs unused. Cutts topscored with a vibrant, combative 57 from just 64 balls that included 8 fours, giving the innings both respectability and substance, but the support was sporadic and the Cup run came to a slightly disappointing end a little sooner than had been the case in 2010.

   The rains of Saturday were largely a memory as a bright day saw Wells win the toss and ask Horsham to take first knock on a slowish track. In fact, there was a suggestion of light rainfall at the outset, but this soon dissipated, and no interruption was to occur throughout the playing hours, although again the tea interval was marked by a sharp, swift downpour.

   The visiting innings was launched with an unreal severity by Craig Gallagher and John Burroughs, who hammered four fours and two sixes as 39 came up in thirtyone balls, but Chris Wiliams removed them both, by way of smart catches, and the strong-arm vitality of the previous round was neutralised as swiftly as it had arisen. Thereafter, the home attack was always in command, notwithstanding a fighting 29 from Sam Attfield, supported by Tom Johnson with 26, but no partnerships were allowed to form, and the scoreline rose in fits and bursts, punctuated by wickets falling, until the overs ran out. 'Keeper Sam Bell squeezed a last flourish from the tail, and, at the closure, Wells were left to make 184 to reach the Regional Final for the first time in many a year. Williams (C) finished with 3-51, and successful contributions down the list added to the performance.

   The Horsham attack was vibrant and aggressive, possibly a little too sharp, as the somewhat overdone short-pitched assault was despatched unmercifully by two young opening batsmen well-versed in the hook stroke. Alex Williams and Gregor Paterson had started with a steady 50 from 43 balls, but the onset of head-high rising deliveries was greeted with eyeline smashes to the fence that sent the scoring rate soaring. The opening partnership reached 91 from 73 balls with fifteen fours when Paterson was deceived for a crisp 40, but Williams went on merrily as he first posted his fifty and then moved towards three figures. A second wicket fell at 102, but Will Stickler joined Williams (A) to post 67 for the third wicket and assure his side of the spoils on the day. At length Williams holed out for a marvellously free-scoring 92 (14 fours), made from just 94 balls in 28 overs, and the winning runs followed almost at once as Wells cruised past the target with fourteen overs in hand, such was the rattling tempo with which the win was accomplished. Stickler came away with an undefeated 32 (4 fours) and several bruises, graciously allowing his skipper Evert Bekker to glance the winning run from the 30th over to propel the team into the next round. The entire innings took just 113 minutes, and the victory was achieved with seven wickets in hand.

   The memory of the previous day's events was justly overwritten with this overwhelming success, and a lengthy Cup run was still a happy possibility given the relish that the team had displayed throughout the afternoon. This squad provides a pleasant and gifted XI, fortunate in its back-up players, and a joy to watch in full flow, but deceptively capable of battling resilience.

   The backdrop of a beautiful day provided the perfect setting for the Regional Final of the 2011 ECB Cup, and the Nevill looked immaculate in the noonday sun. The toss was won by Ashtead, who asked the home batsmen to take first innings, no doubt in the hope of a second dig ambush, but the start that Alex Williams and Gregor Paterson provided exceeded all expectations.

   The opening nine overs saw the prolific Wells top two blaze a sparkling 81 with eleven fours and one six as the visiting speedsters went to all parts. Gregor Paterson was particularly severe on any short stuff as he went towards his half-century, but first to depart was Williams, just after the Ashtead skipper had varied the attack with spin at one end. Soon the pace was off the ball at both ends, with Jarred Pitout, Tom Deighton and latterly Josh Pickering successfully curbing the tempo. Jamie Baldwin tried to break loose but the runrate nosedived, and the score rose by just 27 to 108 from the next ten overs for the loss of Paterson, adjudged lbw for 50. The home batsmen struggled a while longer before a fierce resurgence was started by Will Stickler, soon to be partnered by skipper Evert Bekker as Baldwin was bowled at 150 in the 28th over. Bekker smote a raking 43-ball 61 (six fours and one six) that compelled changes to the attack while 93 runs were crashed with Stickler in thirteen hard-hit overs that took the score well beyond 200. Bekker was caught in the deep at 243, whereupon Stickler raised a further 36 runs from the final four overs and became the third half-centurion in the innings, cracking the last two balls each for four to notch up 279-4 at the closure. Again, little did anyone suspect just how vital those two boundaries were to prove at the death.

   The reply was set back to 60-2 after nine overs, with Ben Jeffrey looking ominously aggressive, and he passed his 50 out of 71 from 29 balls, despite offering, and surviving, five chances before that landmark was reached. The home groundwork floundered under the assault, and a period of Ashtead supremacy took root as Jeffrey and Stewart Cameron (90) added a pulsating 150 runs from twenty-seven overs to turn the match on its head. Jeffrey played with utter security and safety in this period, as he went past three figures out of 191 in 117 minutes. Following the drinks break at the half-way mark, the Wells work in the field rejuvenated, and the old sharpness returned, yet the momentum continued to favour the visitors' endeavours. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Bekker caught-and-bowled the centurion for 108, and the irresistible coasting to a win was at last halted. But everything still favoured the chase with 70 needed from 59 balls, although now the home boys played heroically to pull the match back from danger. Now, every catch was held, no matter how difficult, and the victory charge was gradually extinguished in an epic late rearguard led by Bekker himself. Mention must also be made of Fred Florry and Michael Churchill, whose combined 18 overs stifled the rampant runrate, and allowed the pressure to flicker back onto the Ashtead line-up, while every Wells man played his part in turning the game around. Richard Cutts, running back at point, Churchill in the deepfield, and Baldwin on the fence, held wonderful catches, Bekker added to his wickets with a run-out, and Simon Routh emulated this with a second run-out, the scoreline rocking to a staggering 259-8 after the zenith of 210-2. A final peril remained in the shape of a penalty for slow overs, which only the taking of all ten wickets could avert: Bekker's last over began, and Stickler caught Pitot from the second ball, while the last clean-bowled the final batsman with just ten runs separating the two sides. The home pacemen, Chris Lawrence and Chris Rainger, also excelled in the dramatic closing stages, as Ashtead fought to the bitter end to reach the target, such was the narrowness of the margin.

   Thus Wells emerged from a wonderfully contested Cup Final to become the only Kent XI through to the last sixteen of the 2011 ECB Cup, and to carry the flag for the County into the National section, with the next game due to take place at Brentwood on 17 July. For the faithful followers of the side, plus well-wishers from far and wide, the match provided a treasured memory that was not for the faint-hearted to behold, as yet again a TW match called for a searching test of character that was not found wanting in any member of a magnificent team.

   Wells arrived in Brentwood to face the home side on a still damp ground following the rains of the previous fortnight, and they won a useful toss, electing to field first in order to obtain the best of conditions before the sun dried out the top. An old and succinct phrase could almost speak of the outfield as "too thick to drink and too thin to plough" and this wittily portrayed something of the sense of what was encountered.

   Although the first five overs went for a cavalier thirtyfour runs, the top three strikers in a renowned and prolific batting order were all back in the pavilion by the time the score had risen to 46. The bowlers continued to enjoy some dominance despite a series of wides, gradually picking off the middle order as the innings moved up to 103-5 from thirtyone overs, and allowing no partnership to really become established. The sixth wicket held for 49 runs with the anchor man Guy Balmford (41) partnering the fearsome Max Osborne, who lashed a vital 40-ball 39 (two sixes and two fours) incidentally harming the analyses of both Evert Bekker and Chris Lawrence, while Harri Jones continued the flaying of anything full or loose as the total reached up towards the 180s. Two late wickets fell to Lawrence as 28 runs were powered from the last two overs, and Wells were set to make 189 to progress in the Competition. Interestingly, 27 of the visiting overs went for just 79 whereas the remaining 18 went for 104, clearly seeming to show where the home batsmen targetted their assaults.

   The home attack demonstrated just how good they could be on a helpful track, seaming, cutting and hooping the ball at will and leaving the visiting top order in consternation. Barely a run came from the top men aside from Jamie Baldwin, who stroked a steady 20 runs out of a desperate 39-5 after a disastrous first nineteen overs. A miracle was required now for Wells, and it was partly provided when Richard Cutts joined skipper Bekker to post a skilful and courageous 75 runs for the sixth wicket, which took the score past three figures and gave respectability to the chase, while giving the home side some anxieties. The tempo was raised from the moribund to a confident five-per-over, when at length Cutts (33) fell to Ian Belchamber at 114 but still hope flickered. Then Bekker was deceived into holing out at 140 for a priceless rearguard 46, and Simon Routh (29) took the contest to the final over before the end came. Wells had simply fallen short to a fine bowling combination, who, incidentally, also gave away numerous wides. The outstanding batting of the match arguably came from the Wells sixth pairing, but overall this was a classical Cup Game, and we wish the winners well in their further endeavours.

   Thus from more than 256 original entrants, Wells had reached the last sixteen at a National Level for the first time, and can be justly proud of their spirit, behaviour and deportment, and not least their skills, camaraderie and cohesion on an unexpectedly extended run.