Sevenoaks Vine were left wondering what could have been at the Rectory Field on Saturday as their top of the table clash with Blackheath was cut short due to rain.

Leaders Blackheath could only post 151-9 from their 55 overs, but heavy showers ensured Sevenoaks never had an opportunity to chase the total.

Blackheath’s captain Chris Willetts won the toss and given the overcast conditions surprisingly elected to bat.

The gentle but deftly accurate bowling of Luke Blackaby (3-13) inspired a middle-order collapse which saw Blackheath lose four wickets for just 11 runs to put Sevenoaks firmly on top.

All-rounder Calum Haggett came to the crease on the back of a half-century for Kent’s second XI against Somerset last week and demonstrated his quality with a patient and responsible innings, which guided his side to a respectable total.

Haggett (47) was backed up well by wicket-keeper Joe Kerridge (25), who was eventually caught brilliantly by his counterpart after attempting a premeditated paddle sweep.

The rain arrived as the first innings drew to a close, resulting in an incomplete match.

Hartley (146-2) closed the gap on the league leaders to 16 points with an emphatic eight wicket victory over Lordswood (142).

Jack Laraman (3-36) and James Hockley (2-11) produced the goods with the ball as disciplined bowling from the Hartley attack continuously pegged Lordswood back.

They made light work of the chase as James Hockley (39) played a characteristically powerful and fluent cameo and Dan Stickels (67no) anchored the innings well to reach the target within 27 overs.

Bromley (217-5) collected a winning home draw against Sandwich Town (158-6).

Contributions from Richard Selvey-Clinton (37), Freddie Wilson (61no) and Dominic Reed (46) pushed the hosts upwards of 200.

In reply, Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian picked up the prize wicket of Marnus Labuschagne (20), who is comfortably the league’s leading scorer with almost 600 runs at an average of 99.16.

As Sandwich stuttered to 70-5, Bromley sniffed an opportunity to take full points, something they were only denied by a gritty innings from Stuart Smith (44no).

Beckenham (301-6) also enjoyed a winning draw in a high-scoring encounter at Canterbury (229-6).

A monster partnership of more than 150 runs from Kent’s Alex Blake (90) and William MacVicar (58), combined with some hard hitting by Raza Ali Dar (63no), fired the visitors past 300.

James Lilly (78) and Max Campbell (57no) set to the task of chasing the mammoth score well, but as wickets continued to fall the task transformed from one of scoring runs to preserving wickets.

Beckenham’s winning draw was another step towards certain safety.

Bexley (190) suffered a fourth defeat in five games in their bottom of the table tussle at Bickley Park (196-7).

Inconsistent batting once again put Bexley in deep trouble and at 9-4 it looked like the match could be heading for an extremely early finish.

However, a special knock from Adeel Malik (96), brother of Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik, stabilised the innings and looked to have given the visitors the edge at the halfway stage.

Bottom of the table Bickley were in desperate need of a victory and a patient and resolute innings from Jos Siddall (89no) saw his side over the line with three wickets to spare.

Saturday’s fixtures (12pm start): Bickley v Bromley, Hartley v Blackheath, Sandwich v Bexley, Sevenoaks v Beckenham.

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