Clanfield Cricket Club’s women’s team – the Clanfield Kites – enjoyed a successful 2024 season in the Hampshire W10 South East Division.

Clanfield went into the 2024 season on the back of a successful 2023, in which they reached the finals of the 2023 Hampshire W10 outdoor and indoor leagues before narrowly missing out on glory in both competitions.

The Kites started their 2024 campaign with a 66-run victory at home to Locks Heath in the first of eight matches that made up the initial league phase of the competition.

Clanfield scored 334, with Lily George and Sarah Lydford contributing strongly with 24 and 23 runs respectively, before restricting Locks Heath to 268.

The return match against Locks Heath proved to be the closest of all the Kites’ 2024 league matches. The Kites, batting second, dug in after losing five wickets in nine balls midway through their innings. The Kites scored ten runs in the last over to secure a 307-302 win.

The Kites’ second league match, away to Petersfield, proved to be their biggest win of the season. Clanfield scored 374, with Sue Andrews (30) and Emma Hart (24) impressing, before restricting Petersfield to 240.

Clanfield then faced a home match against Portsmouth, and picked up a solid 317 to 255 win. Sharp bowling from Lydia Windebank (three for four) and a good all round batting performance, led by Laura King’s 20 off 11 balls, proved key.

The Kites achieved their next win away to Havant, scoring 361 against Havant’s 213. Clanfield’s decision to field first paid dividends. The Kites took 14 wickets, with Andrews, Ray Rees and Windebank all bowling their way to three-wicket hauls. Clanfield Kites’ batting equalled their strong bowling performance, with the Kites losing just one wicket. Andrews (33) and George (29) led the way with the bat.

The return away match against Portsmouth ended 343 to 297 for the Kites, with the Kites again winning the toss and electing to field. Andrea Densham and Andrews led the bowling attack, each taking three wickets out of the Kites’ overall ten-wicket haul, limiting Portsmouth to 297. Densham (14) and Andrews (18) also contributed strongly to the batting total, along with Lydford’s 16.

After a conceded fixture with Havant which secured Clanfield’s position as 2024 South East Division champions, Clanfield Kites completed the league phase of the season at home to Petersfield at South Lane Meadow.

Petersfield had achieved some strong league results since their initial match with the Kites at the start of the season, and went into the final match knowing a win against Clanfield could give them second place in the league and a chance to progress into the knockout phase.

Clanfield lost the toss and were asked to bat first. Andrews (21), Jo Creese (16), Amanda Marks (14) and Lydford (14) pushed the Kites’ total along to a very solid 349 for the loss of just two wickets. Rachel Heapy pushed Petersfield’s batting total forward, but a loss of 11 wickets meant Petersfield fell short despite a much-improved performance.

Across the eight matches played by Clanfield Kites in the Hampshire South East Division league phase of the competition, Andrews topped the batting charts with 137 runs from six matches. Lydford also achieved more than 100 runs, coming second in the batting table with 103 runs from seven matches. King ended with the highest average (55) having only been out once in her five league matches.

Windebank topped the bowling charts for Clanfield Kites, taking 13 league wickets for 69 runs off 25 overs. Andrews was second in the bowling table with ten wickets for 79 runs off 20 overs.

Lydford’s impressive wicketkeeping throughout the season put her top of the Kites’ 2024 league fielding stats, with a total of nine victims, closely followed by Windebank’s total of eight victims.

Clanfield Kites ended their season with a 48-run defeat against a strong Gosport Borough side in the league semi-finals.

Despite ending the season with defeat in the knockout phase of the competition, Clanfield could still reflect on winning the regional 2024 Hampshire W10 South East Division with an unbeaten record under Hart’s effective captaincy.

By John Windebank