Defending champions Hartley recorded a fifth consecutive win in the Kent Premier League on Saturday with a 10 wicket demolition of Blackheath.

Hartley’s captain Shane Deitz won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl on what was a slightly wet pitch.

The decision was soon justified as Daniel Redwood picked up early wickets to put Blackheath in a dire position at 3-3.

Tanveer Sikandar (23) and Warren Lee (23) offered brief resilience, but with no other batsman reaching double figures, Hartley were always in control.

A mark of the ineptness of the Blackheath batting line-up was that the third highest scorer was extras (11) as they were dismissed for just 84.

Redwood, Jack Laraman (2-17), Sam Weller (2-21) and James Hockley (2-13) all picked up a pair of wickets apiece in what was an exceptional performance from Hartley.

Hockley averaged 57.25 in his last four outings and continued his fine form with a blistering 62 not out which came off just 26 balls and included 15 boundaries.

The ever-reliable Dan Stickels (21no) supported well and ensured the 2013 champions completed the most convincing of victories in 8.3 overs.

Hartley overtake Blackheath in second place behind Sevenoaks Vine, who extended their unbeaten run with a 66 run home triumph over Beckenham.

In the reduced 30-over fixture, Beckenham exploited the bowler-friendly conditions and had the league leaders in deep trouble at 69-7.

However, a determined innings from Lorne Burns (43no) steadied the ship and got the hosts up to a competitive score of 144-8.

The Vine’s quality and varied bowling attack once again shone as four of Beckenham’s top six were dismissed for ducks.

Only Chris Isles (32) was able to make a significant score as the visitors were skittled out for 78.
A century from Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian led Bromley (219-8) to victory over Bickley Park (81) to remain in the title hunt.

Christian (104) and Nicholas Bluett (39) shared an 88 run partnership that dug the visitors out of a hole at 46-5 and fired them past 200.

A lethal spell of bowling from Robert McNeill (4-30) inspired a collapse that the hosts were unable to recover from.

Gordon Darroch (35) made useful runs, but Bickley fell 138 runs short and remain bottom of the table.

Bexley (251-8) registered their first league win since May against Sandwich Town (215).

Adeel Malik (81no) smashed his third half-century in four games, and received useful support from Matthew Stiddard (36) and Robert Sehmi (30).

The league’s leading run-scorer, Marnus Labuschagne (66), looked to be guiding the hosts to victory, but his dismissal sparked a clutter of wickets that saw Sandwich collapse from 153-2 to 196-8.

Bexley remain in the relegation zone, but the victory closed the gap to just six points with eight fixtures remaining.

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

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