Let's start with a word from our club captain…

It's my first year as club captain and it’s been a mixed bag! Personally I also started the season as 2nd XI skipper with a view to trying to develop the youth of the club. After only a few games I suffered a ruptured bicep and unfortunately was unable to play any more this year. I was absolutely gutted as even after the 3 to 4 games I managed it was really enjoyable trying to move the team into a new direction. Neil Taylor stepped in to take over and what a fantastic job he did, as a club we are lucky to have him on our side!

At the start of year the aim for the club was to develop as many youngsters into the adult teams, as we had highlighted that our own success over the last ten years could well be our downfall if we didn’t start getting the juniors through. We made good headway into achieving this, with 16 juniors playing in competitive men’s cricket, all of them proving beyond doubt they deserved their place in the teams they were selected for.

In one game the 3rd XI had five U15 players in it, a great achievement for the club but more importantly for the players involved.
We still have a long way to go as a club with the usual headaches that every club has, availability, communications with junior parents, coaches willing to give up their time, constant and rising costs of running the club and trying to ensure we play at the best level we can whilst also trying to develop the future… It’s a challenge we should all embrace and push towards success. That’s the biggest legacy anyone can leave to their club.

Availability is a major issue for me. There were very few players that were available week in week out, for those that were there for 15 plus games, thank you! We need to start believing we are a ‘big club’ and not the village team that put down these roots all those years ago. Our 1st team is playing serious cricket, only two steps away from the Premier division. Our other three Saturday league teams are constantly banging on the promotion door year on year. Be available, work hard on and off the pitch and reap the rewards - it’s a simple mindset that we must start to adhere to. The best teams take their cricket seriously and train hard.

Overall it was a very successful season with the above juniors coming through, but I know there are a lot more we can engage with. Our senior teams all finished in the top 5 of their respective leagues with all teams being in contention for promotions all the up to the end of the season. Congratulations to the 4th team who finished champions after a fantastic year! Unfortunately they were the only team to succeed in gaining promotion but don’t let that be a negative, the future of the club took a step forward this year, whilst achieving some of the goals we set for ourselves. A huge success and something to be proud of.

We go again next year with more challenges to face and goals to set ourselves. I hope you have all had a great season, and look forward to seeing you throughout the winter. To finish a few thank yous from me…

• Knoxy for his never ending work, the man is a machine!
• All the skippers of the senior teams, it’s been a long year but we got there!
• David Sutton for his work with the colts. A true stalwart of the club with an often thankless task that you keep delivering well done DCI!
• The junior coaches and volunteers, far too many to mention names!
• Jake Bacon his efforts on the pitch and showing the faith in some of the young guns, but also prepping wickets for training every week whilst he was injured.
• The committee for their tireless work. The social team have been working hard to arrange events throughout the winter, please support the events where you can.
• And as I mentioned above, Neil Taylor for stepping in as skipper and seeing the 2nd team through the season!

Up the Hill!
Ross Allen

First XI - 3rd place Division 1. Played 18. Won 9. N/R 3.

Batter: Richard Nicol
Bowler: Ian Mclean
Allrounder: Miles Richardson
Performance: Miles Richardson for his 115* in winning a chase against OD Cuaco

For a second year running we came up just short, however there was a lot to be proud of including the selection of three u16 players during the 2024 season! This has shown some real prospects for the future and it makes me confident we have some fantastic cricketers who will be representing the club in coming years. Hopefully we can push on next season and go that one step further in our quest for promotion.

Congratulations to all the other teams on a fantastic 2024 and let’s push on again as a club next season! Hope to see you all at winter nets.
Jake Bacon

Second XI - 3rd place Division 6 Hurricane. Played 16. Won 9. N/R 1.

Batter: Neil Taylor
Bowler: Hayden D’Addona
Allrounder: Werner Laubscher
Performance: Nathan Faulkes for 128* at home vs Nonington

The Saturday 2nd XI have been promoted consistently over the last 5 years and this year, I/we wanted to carry on the ethos of bringing our most senior, experienced league players and our most promising, younger players together once again to continue this rise through the divisions. We didn’t have the best start, losing two of our first three games, and three of our first five league games. We then went on a fantastic run of seven wins through the middle of the summer that hauled us up to second in the league with three or four games to play. Unfortunately, in a couple of the crunch games we came up slightly short and finished third in the division, which was very commendable.

What I personally would remark on is that we played a minimum of three and sometimes up to five players under 18 years old, in every league game we played, playing against ambitious 1st team (mainly adult) competitors. This is very encouraging for the future of the club. It’s a fantastic achievement and the learning and progression of Kings Hill’s best younger players’ skill sets has been a real joy to witness. Some of these younger players started out at the onset of junior coaching when they were 6/7/8 years old and are now forging ahead and playing adult league cricket for the 4th, 3rd and 2nd XIs as 14/15/16 year olds. And a few are now playing regular senior Kent Cricket League Division 1 cricket for our First XI. We have a fine set of younger players ready to take on the challenges of senior adult league cricket at the club and we will continue to give them the best opportunities to break through into the 1st team in the coming years.

I’d like to mention our overseas from Queensland this year, Hayden D’Adonna. Hayden was a huge positive for the 2s this year, along with every team he played for at the club. A highly skilled cricketer with infectious energy and experience, which he brought to every game he played in. An excellent teammate and coach for our younger group to learn from. Hayden came runner up in our division for his bowling, and also scored a 100 in a friendly game late in the season. Hayden is now resident in the UK and we look forward to seeing him back playing next year for Kings Hill!
Neil Taylor

Third XI - 3rd place Division 8 Knott. Played 18. Won 10. N/R 3.

Batter: Graham Hutchins
Bowler: Faraz Qureshi
Allrounder: Bilal Afzal
Performance: Ashley Ulph / Ollie Sutton for 86* and 56* respectively in a ten-wicket win away at Cobham.

2024 was another great season for the club and all the senior teams. Although we fell just short of promotion, the 3rd XI completed the season with many great team and individual performances along the way. These included:

• Matt Ellis’s maiden 5fer for the club
• A great 10 wicket victory at Cobham
• Seeing the ‘older’ juniors begin to dominate - such as Ollie Sutton with the bat and Alex Gethin with the ball.
• The introduction of many more juniors into adult cricket and seeing them deliver excellent performances on the field.
• Coming out victorious in some extremely tight games

It was a fantastic season and leaves us with a very positive outlook for 2025.
Richard Clarke

Fourth XI - 1st place Division 12 Knott. Played 15. Won 10. N/R 2.

Batter: Neil Thompstone
Bowler: Noah Thompstone
Allrounder: Paul Rothwell
Performance: Will Challis for consistent performances and wickets at key moments
Young Player in Senior Cricket: Noah Thompstone

It has been a fantastic season for the 4th XI this year, being crowned as league champions with a game to spare!

As a newly promoted side we knew there would be a step up in opponents this season and after losing two of the first three games the challenge was set. However, despite losing the games, the margins were narrow, and we always competed till the end. We knew we had the skills and talent to win the matches and soon showed this, winning the next nine straight games. Again, although the margins were tight in several games, the passion, commitment, and teamwork brought home the victory.

There were 2 standout games for me this year, against Minster and against Rainham. In the match against Minster, lack of availability in the higher teams meant we only had 10 players on the morning of the game but managed to get a full side as the game began. Batting first, we put some small partnerships together but were eventually bowled out for 90 on a tough Leybourne wicket. The opposition were delighted with their performance and had their tails up, eyeing an early finish. However, we knew it was far from over and with a strong bowling lineup, early wickets would be crucial. We started strongly, with two wickets in the first over sending the opposition scrambling and taking back the momentum. We continued our energy and drive and eventually bowled them out for 49 in just over 15 overs. This game really set the bar for the ethos that then ran through our team all season. Never say die, with every player fully committed and supporting every other player on the pitch.

This attitude again ran true with our victory over Rainham who were second in the league at the time and had never lost at home. Batting first we set a score of 162/9 from our 40 overs and again our opponents felt they had the upper hand. With some early decisions going against us we certainly had our backs against the wall. The opposition had some solid partnerships and looked to be cruising to victory on 145/6 with 10 overs left, however, we didn’t lose our energy in the field and with two quick wickets we were right back in the game. The final two wickets fell just seven runs later and we walked away with a 10-run victory.

It has been an absolute pleasure to captain the 4th XI on the field this year. The teamwork and ethos that developed over the season was incredible. Everyone played their hearts out and supported every other player on the pitch. With a core of 6-7 players, we supported and developed a number of the junior players moving up to the higher teams in the club and brought players back into the sport after a long spell away. Throughout the season there have been some notable and standout performances, however these have only been possible due to the support and energy from the others on the field. Every player contributed to the victories, and the winning season this year. I am very proud to have been part of it.
Nick Cranmer

Sunday KVL XI - 7th place League One. Played 10. Won 3. N/R 2.

Batter: Jack Doyle
Bowler: Owen Harrison
Allrounder: Ian Mclean
Performance: Jack Doyle

Twenty20 Team

Batter: Jack Doyle
Bowler: Rhys Morgan
Allrounder: Hayden D’Addona
Performance: Charlie Barnard for 98 in the final of the KHCC mini tournament

There was another trophy for the T20 side this year, winning the Bowl division of the Smash. We also hosted a mini tournament at the Kings Hill Oval, which we’ll look to build on over the coming years.

Friendly XI - Played 26. Won 15.

Batter: Quintin Joubert
Bowler: Mick Boreham
Allrounder: Habib Ur Rehman
Performance: Mick Boreham for his 5/30 against Luddesdowne

2024 was a successful year of Friendly XI cricket. We suffered more from rain offs than previous years so we played slightly less games. However, with a win ratio of 60%, including playing against many clubs we have developed strong relationships over recent times, there was lots of good, social, competitive cricket played. There was also some great tea consumed as well at some stunning venues! Well done to individuals with strong personal performances with many highest scores and best bowling figures recorded.

Best match undoubtedly was the game at Davington Priory. Going into the game it stood 2-2 between the sides over the last few years. After setting a new team record of 265 off 40 overs, little did we know we would end up winning by 1 run as the opposition fell just short.

It has been fantastic to welcome new players to the club and also to see several Friendly XI migrating to Saturday league cricket and performing exceptionally. We have had juniors get their first taste of adult cricket. Younger, 'more experienced' and players at all ages in between have helped make 2024 another really enjoyable season.
Adam Lowing