2025 Season

Over an 18 week season, the League table generally paints an accurate picture of the relative strengths of the participating teams. Examples of good and unlucky fortune will usually even out in a long campaign and there is every reason to state that TW deserved their first success in the highest Division for 37 years. Add  a triumph in the Kent League T20 Finals Day and it was a “Double” to remember for years to come.

Let us examine briefly the pre-League season matches for any clues. With two defeats and one victory there was no conclusive evidence of the success to follow. Perhaps three slight pointers for the impending League matches were an innings of 76 by Virat Bhatia against Preston Nomads and a couple of useful thirties from newcomer, Drew Beazleigh.  Otherwise, in these matches, the future was indeterminate. 

In the first five League games three victories had to be set against two defeats at the hands of Hayes and Lordswood. The opening match was encouraging and exciting as skipper, Michael Waller, made an unbeaten 50 to snatch a one wicket victory against Sandwich on the final ball of the match. Earlier Drew Beazleigh had recorded a half century in his League debut for TW to help set up the chase for a target of 200. In these early matches Chris Williams had made a powerful statement with a rapid innings of 93 against Hayes whilst the experienced Will Stickler made his mark with 97 in an excellent victory over Bexley, always formidable opponents. In this contest, Ollie Morgan featured with 87 whilst another newcomer, Matthew Luksich claimed 5 for 27.

Whilst these early League matches may not have provided clear signals on the final outcome, there were some early clues which became important throughout the season. In some prior years the batting had sometimes depended heavily on Chris and Alex Williams. They remained extremely important to the team but other players were now stepping up to the plate on occasions to make huge contributions with bat and ball. It was this strong team ethic which was possibly the key to the ultimate success of the First Eleven.

Let me take you on their journey to demonstrate my point…………

Blackheath were to endure a difficult season after winning the League at the last gasp in 2024. They have significant talent in their ranks and a strong attack which would have been confident of defending a total of 248. A strong performance from TW saw the total chased down with nearly four overs to spare. Virat opened with 94 whilst Drew (62) and Chris (40) played strong supporting roles.

The success against Blackheath set in motion a run of six consecutive victories which sent a clear message both to opposing teams and our own players who now saw flickering promise transformed into measurable success and dominance.

Bromley, returning to the top flight where they had enjoyed so much historical success, were defeated by a margin of 35 runs ( 69 for Ollie and 42 for Chris). Holmesdale may have struggled in the Premier Division but have some good players. They only succumbed by 15 runs as James Poulsom claimed five wickets against his former Club. Earlier, sufficient runs had been made thanks to forties from Virat and Drew.

In the middle of the season two dramatic victories made all Clubs take serious notice of TW as strong contenders. In consecutive weeks, St Lawrence and Highland Court were bowled out in 18 overs for just 68 before Sandwich were rolled over in 17 overs for just 64 the following week. In the first of these games, Danru Ferns and Ari Karvelas shared eight wickets before joining forces in the Sandwich fixture with nine wickets between them. Arguably, you have to go back to the days of Bill Tucker and Bert Roebuck to see this level of dominance in a TW side!

But wait…… the team ethic was evident in even these two victories. Batting first against St Lawrence, TW had slumped to 88 for 7 before a stand of 93 between Danru and James turned the match. James may have had a disappointing season with the bat but his contribution here was vital to the final outcome.  In the Sandwich game Michael made the second of his half centuries against these opponents in 2025, assisted by Ari in a stand of 64 for the sixth wicket.

The skipper generally had a strong core of regular players but, like all captains, was grateful for occasional cameos. In the last of the six consecutive victories, TW had to chase a challenging 220 against Minster. Marcus O’Riordan had a difficult season with an ongoing serious shoulder injury which affected his County and Club cricket. In this game, however, he made an invaluable 60 whilst Sam Smith ( now a resident of Australia) made a half century in his one appearance of the season. The target was achieved comfortably.

And so, to the business end of the League season. The winning streak of six weeks was halted in agonizingly close fashion with a five run defeat at the hands of closest rivals, Hayes. The difference between losing and winning was effectively a 29 point swing. In the first part of the match, James Poulsom made another key contribution with his four wickets leaving TW with a target of 186 to win. Although four players made thirties it just needed one of these to go on and a late order collapse saw us fall short in the final over.

Fortunately, the Team’s character shone through in the next two weeks after this setback .A half century from Will Stickler and a 40 by Drew Beazleigh against Bexley gave the bowlers something to defend. On this occasion it was the two Matthews, Barker and Luksich who shared seven wickets to lead the team to an important victory by 23 runs. 

The home game against Lordswood was notable for a good size crowd on Vice Presidents’ Day. The visitors recovered from 112 for 9 with a last wicket stand of 61 in which the number 11 made just one run!  A superb unbeaten innings of 84 by the Lordswood skipper, Calum McLeod, ensured the contest would not finish early. Matthew Luksich took 4 wickets after Matt Barker and Danru Ferns had taken three very early wickets with the new ball. Two excellent slip catches by Chris Williams helped the bowlers considerably. Virat and Chris launched the response with a rapid partnership of 72 before Drew acted as “finisher” with an unbeaten half century. Everyone then crowded round the screen in the Clubhouse showing live stream coverage at Bromley where the home side narrowly defeated Hayes….a vital outcome for TW which opened the points gap in the table.

In the return fixture against Blackheath, the home side dominated despite four wickets for Matt Barker.  Only Alex Williams with 34 shaped with the bat and the team had to move on knowing that every good team will suffer a bad day in a long season.

Week 16 proved emphatic in the outcome of the League. Electing to bat first, TW had five players reaching 25 but none made more than 30. The outcome was a target of 180 for Bromley to win. An excellent innings of 83 by Freddie Wilson kept them very much in the hunt but four wickets for Danru led a strong team performance in the field with four other bowlers sharing five wickets. Hats off to James Poulsom for holding his nerve when defending just seven runs in the final over to clinch success by just two runs. He also dismissed Wilson in this dramatic last over.

Week 17 and the title was acquired in very positive style against Holmesdale who had pushed us so hard in the first fixture. Ari Karvelas led the attack with three victims but, once again, all the bowlers had success with the other seven wickets being shared between five bowlers….the team ethic at work,  not for the first time. With the possibility of rain in the afternoon, Virat and Chris hammered the opening bowlers with a partnership of 73 at 10 an over.  The target of 143 was chased down in just 15 overs to avoid any possibility of “water points”.

The final week always contained the possibility of anticlimax in the glow of the League triumph. To their credit, three players ensured that St Lawrence would have to bat well to avenge their defeat earlier in the season. A typically aggressive 69 from Chris Williams, 40 from brother Alex and a half century for the skipper set a challenging target of 217. The contest was decided by a splendid century made by Kent Academy player, Ollie Curtiss, leading the home team to a four wicket victory in the penultimate over.