Over the past two summers, the old Clark Trophy has been successfully revamped to mirror the new Hundred competition format. Known as the Sevenoaks Smash, and sponsored by Savills, the competition grew exponentially in 2022 with an additional nine teams taking part, taking the total to 41 teams.
Late last year, the organisers announced that the competition will now be open to clubs from across Kent and will be rebranded simply as the Savills Smash.
Announcing on their social media channels the Savills Smash team said: “We have some exciting news… we are delighted to announce that in 2023 we will partner with Kent Community Cricket and look to grow ‘The Smash’ into a county wide competition.
“When we first created the competition our intention was offer something different and try to get people back into cricket clubs (and the bars) during the midweek. We hope we have succeeded in doing this.”
They continued: “With the competition now becoming county wide and having grown more than we could have ever imagined the competition will now become ‘The Savills Smash’.”
In addition, 50% of all fees from clubs entering the competition this year will be split between two charities, West Kent Mind and the Air Ambulance Charity for Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
Finals day 2022 revisited
Last year’s finals day hosted at Sevenoaks Vine’s ground, saw three matches in the Bowl, Plate and Cup competitions starting in the morning with Shoreham & Otford Darenth Valiants beating Dartford Destroyers by 10 wickets. Next up was the Plate, where Sevenoaks Vine Jazzers beat Leeds & Broomfield Queens with just a few balls to spare.
Holmesdale Stallions then returned to the Vine as the reigning Cup holders, this time beating Dartford Hesketh Heat by 15 runs to retain their title from 2021.
With teams from across the whole of Kent now invited to take part, we cannot wait for this fantastic competition to get underway once again.
• Entrance for the 2023 Savills Smash will close on Monday 13th February. If your club would like to take part in this years competition, please contact the team at Savills Smash via the website at savillssmash.play-cricket.com.
