Join Bartholomew Hall with a look back at Kent's action in the T20 Blast over the weekend, plus we meet the Dover boxing club looking to make their mark on their first European venture.
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:19up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on this Monday
00:24the 24th of June. A beautiful drive around Canterbury's cricket week. Sittingbourne Speedfest,
00:36the cult classic Speedway returns to Kent. And into the knockouts, a boxing club from
00:43Dover takes on their own summer European tournament. But first, as always, a round-up of the headlines
00:51and Kent racer Jake Hill is top of the British Touring Car Championship standings after claiming
00:56his fifth win in the last nine races at Alton Park, doing so in the final lap of the weekend.
01:03The Platts Heath driver passed Mikey Doble's Vauxhall in his BMW with just seconds before
01:08the final flag fell, combining the result with a fifth place in race one and a third
01:13place in race two. The win gives Hill a four-point lead over second-place now Tom Ingram. Action
01:19in the British Touring Car Championship continues at Croft at the end of July. Maidstone gymnast
01:26James Hall has spoken out after not being selected as part of the main Team GB squad
01:31for this summer's Paris Games. The 28-year-old Pegasus gym member has found himself on the
01:36reserve list as a cover competitor. Hall, who helped Britain finish fourth in the team
01:41event at the Tokyo Olympics, has taken to Instagram to say that he's extremely proud
01:47of the effort he gave and he says that he'll still be putting 100 per cent into the build-up
01:52and to help the team with spirit and a steady hand. The summer's Olympics, of course, takes
01:58place from the 26th of July until the 11th of August.
02:02Now after Scotland crashed out of the Euros following last night's nail-biting defeat
02:07to Hungary in the Euros, it's now the turn of England to prove they have what it takes
02:12to make a mark on the competition as they take on Slovenia in their final group stage
02:16game tomorrow night. But for one fan in Canterbury, it's already come home. Martin Baker says
02:22it's written on the walls and painted on his driveway. The Three Lions superfan has covered
02:28his house in St George's flags and says he'll be supporting the country right through to
02:34the final.
02:35He's up every time there's a major competition on, either the World Cup or the Euros. This
02:41year I've come one step further. I've obviously done the drive. The neighbours love it. The
02:47whole estate, people come round, people take photos. I do this for fun because I've got
02:53English through and through. I follow England. And to be honest, all them nasty comments.
03:00I'm not on Facebook anyway. I just don't worry about things like that.
03:07Great stuff there. Well, Gillingham have today found out who they'll be facing in the Bristol
03:11Street Motors trophy group stage. Mark Bonner's new side have been placed in Group D of the
03:17competition's southern selection for the EFL trophy competition. They'll be joined by two
03:21League One sides, including current champions Peterborough and Stevenage. The Medway club
03:26is yet to find out which Premier League-backed teams will join them. The group could be completed
03:31by an under-21s team from the likes of Arsenal, Brighton or Chelsea. It comes as fixtures
03:36for the upcoming League Two season are due to be announced this Wednesday.
03:40To keep up to date with all the latest Gilles news throughout the day this week, when it
03:44does get announced, just make sure you're reading Kent Online. But as you also know,
03:47you can have your weekly digest of Gilles news sent directly to your email inbox. Just
03:52search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the website for all the latest written
03:56transfer news, match reports and interviews. And of course, if the Gilles isn't your cup
03:59of tea, you can also sign up for all the latest non-league news too.
04:05Now time to talk cricket and Kent Spitfires were looking to turn the tide on Friday night
04:09after facing four successive defeats in the T20 blast. Long-time rivals Essex made the
04:15journey to Canterbury for yet another battle of the bridge, with Matt Walker naming an
04:18unchanged 14-strong squad from their Thursday defeat to Sussex Sharks in Hove. Here's how
04:24it all went down.
04:28As a bumper crowd hacked into the Spitfire grounds, Canterbury watched on with fingers
04:32crossed for a change in fate for Kent, needing a win over Essex to avoid five successive
04:38defeats in the T20 blast. Forced to bat first, the county opener Zach Crawley stepped up
04:44to get things off the mark, hoping to turn over what has been a less-than-optimal run
04:48of form for himself recently. Racking up a score of runs after saying goodbye to partner
04:53Daniel Beldrumman for ten, the homegrown batsman was sent walking when Essex's Ben Allison
04:58narrowly prevented a six with a quick-thinking flick into the air. T20 captain Sam Billings
05:04was Kent's top scorer, stepping up to the crease to replace Tawundu Mwaye. After getting
05:09into gear fairly quickly, just two weeks after scoring his own premier century, brought the
05:14hosts up to a ton in the twelfth over, shortly before his partner Joey Everson went for seven
05:20off a Paul Walter delivery. As Harry Finch and Xavier Bartlett wrapped things up for
05:25Kent with their own partnership of 30 runs, Kent's innings ended 156 for seven wickets.
05:32Essex's reply was just eight balls out when play was halted for the positioning of the
05:36sun being in the batsman's eyes. When play quickly got back underway, the Spitfires made
05:42the breakthrough with Adam Rossington slapping Bartlett to Nathan Gilchrist at mid-off for
05:47four in the second over.
05:50Unfortunately as the innings went on, it seemed the target set just wasn't high enough to
05:55claim a win. Michael Pepper scored the visitors' highest, reaching 76 off 42 balls, before
06:02finding himself dismissed with just five runs needed for an Essex win in the 14th over.
06:08Those remaining runs came without a reply from Kent as the battle of the bridge was
06:12won by those who had to take the victory back over it. Essex won by six wickets.
06:18Yeah, just not enough. No one, including myself, going on to get a 70-plus score. And then
06:23other guys, you know, we've just got to be better. We're finding ways to get out, which
06:28happens when you're in kind of a rut. But yeah, just little signs but without a big contribution.
06:36The result leaves Kent Spitfires second from the bottom in the South Table, with a seemingly
06:40welcome return to four-day cricket this week. As for the T20 blast, well, play will resume
06:46on the 5th of July, away to Gloucestershire.
06:52Well, it's the end of day two in Kent's county championship match with Lancashire, and joining
06:55me now with an update on today's events is our reporter Jack Darkin. Jack, what can you tell us?
07:01Well, it's a must-win game for Kent today. It hasn't gone their way at all. It's, again,
07:06like I said earlier, part of the 172nd Canterbury Cricket Week. So they started off promising
07:10yesterday with Kent posting 244 all out, taking the very early wicket of opening batsmen and
07:15captain Keaton Jennings from Lancashire. However, today has been an entirely different story
07:19for Kent. First session of the day completely belonged to Lancashire, as Kent were unable
07:24to take any wickets throughout the morning session. Moving into the afternoon session,
07:27Lancashire surpassed Kent's total of 244 very, very quickly, and with ease as well, with
07:33both Bohannon and Wells scoring centuries for the Red Roses. Still no wickets for Kent
07:37in the second half of the day either, with Lancashire ending that session on 305 for
07:41one. A tiny bit of success for Kent in the evening, however, they have managed to pick
07:45up four wickets, with Charlie Stovo and Arroydon taking some wickets there. But Bohannon still
07:52remains at the crease with an unbeaten 172. Well, we'll keep an eye on it. Hopefully things
07:57do turn around for Kent. It's not been the best opening to the season, but still some
08:01exciting times, and still the cricket is here, and that's what we like to see. Thank you
08:04very much, Jack. Moving on to some motorsport now. Speedway, it's not for the faint-hearted.
08:09With the brakeless bikes that are just a frame and an engine, it's as injury-prone as it
08:15is fun to watch. In the 15 heats across a single meeting, racers can get up to top speeds
08:21of 50mph, but the Kent Kings have left their throne, going from the National Development
08:26League to the No Brakes League. Finn McDermott has more.
08:30Speed is something valued in nearly every sport, including football, rugby, cricket,
08:35hockey and essentially Formula One. But how far would you be willing to go for just a
08:40bit more pace? Speedway riders man bikes that are stripped to their bare essentials in search
08:46of a lighter load and a higher top speed. It's 15 dead heats between two teams, and
08:52while some can reach up to 50mph, none of them have brakes. No brakes, no gears, no
08:58hesitation. This is Speedway. To pick up points, the racers must cross the finish line first,
09:05second or third. The single racer in fourth gets nothing. With no brakes or linear gears
09:10to slow themselves down, a lot of bodyweight is used to turn corners, keep balance and
09:15stay on the bike itself, according to former GB youth champion Reece Naylor.
09:20Yeah, there's a lot of bodyweight usage on a bike. Obviously for some people looking
09:26in, you just get on the bike and ride it, but there's a lot of usage in your upper body,
09:30your legs, that body of movement whilst you're going round the corner, whilst you're going
09:34down the straight also. So it's not just as simple as get on the bike and off you go.
09:39Last Sunday, the Kent Kings went up against the Ryehouse Rockets in a friendly to keep
09:43their senses sharp against competition. Throughout the heats, which last a minute each, several
09:48racers were thrown from their bikes and were mostly unharmed. Thankfully, paramedics were
09:52on the scene for one rider who hurt his ankle. Injuries are a constant risk for Speedway
09:58racers, some of whom are as young as 15, while the oldest on the track, last friendly, was
10:03aged 60. The dirt track of the Eyewade Speedway is tucked in marshland just north of the village
10:09of Eyewade, which has hosted Speedway races since the sports prime in the 1970s. The Kings
10:15pulled out from the National Development League, entering the No Brakes Racing League earlier
10:19this year, changing their name back from Kent Royals.
10:23Yes, we're not in the league this year because the chap that was running it last year, Si
10:28Kello, had to pull out through health reasons. He's got a bad heart and we wish him well.
10:33I took over late in the day once all the league structures had been finalised, so we're running
10:39a series of non-league challenge matches this year in preparation for another crack at it
10:44next season. The season runs from March to October. Down here in Eyewade, we don't predominantly
10:51use marsh because it's very wet and the name of this place is Marsh Bank Farm and the clue
10:56is marsh, so it gets very wet and very boggy.
10:59While some might look at Speedway and think it's just a bunch of leather-clad bikers,
11:03the sport is enjoyed by the elderly and families of all ages. July 7th, fans can see the Kings
11:09face off against the Isle of Wight Warriors, who are tipped to be a strong squad.
11:13Finn McDermott for KMTV.
11:15Well, we've reached half time now, which means it's time for a very quick break, but coming
11:20up we'll be looking at skateboarding. Is it the newest way for youngsters to stay fit
11:25this summer? Well, in Swale, they're being offered free lessons to try out the sport
11:30and maybe pick up something new. We'll also be meeting the Boxing Club from Dover, who
11:35are preparing to take on their own summer of European fun as they head to France for
11:40a youth tournament. All that and plenty more sport coming up right after the break, including
11:45a brand new segment of the favourite Action Replay. See you in just a few moments.
14:56Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV. Now, ditching the football, forgetting
15:16rugby and leaving hockey in the past, youngsters in Swanley are being offered the chance to
15:21take on one of the newest Olympic sports for free, skateboarding. Sevenoaks District
15:26Council says the sessions are open to all children aged seven to 16 years old, with
15:31all the equipment provided for them. The idea is to encourage a new way to keep young people
15:36staying active throughout the summer. Our reporter Charlotte Bourne went down to visit.
15:41After making its debut at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, skateboarding will feature again in the 2024
15:52Games in Paris. It's a good thing then that a brand new skate park has opened here in
15:57Swanley. The Town Council facilitate free classes for young people ranging from true
16:02beginners to sporting hopefuls. I caught up with Swanley's cabinet member for people
16:06and places, both of the skate coaches here and a student to find out why skateboarding
16:11is so important to this community. The old metal skate park was sort of end of life and
16:15we were faced with a tough choice of regenerating it or replacing it. We managed to get grant
16:20funding from numerous people and it cost a quarter of a million pounds in the end to
16:24develop. They've been mainly concentrating on the tennis courts because they're very
16:27beginner level. As they gain their skills week on week, they'll eventually work their
16:31way over to doing the ramp sooner rather than later. Skateboarding is a sport that's
16:36available to everyone. We've even had a young girl out here in a wheelchair last year on
16:41one of the sessions, which was absolutely fantastic. Accessibility isn't the only strength
16:46of these group classes, which are funded in equal measures by Swanley Town and Sevenoaks
16:50District Councils. The volunteer coaches here say that the sessions provide an encouraging
16:54environment in which new skaters can develop a variety of skills. We're the girls only
17:00groups that we work with. So many of the young people find that being part of an organised
17:07group gives them legitimacy to be in the skate parks and to feel safe and to be able to do
17:14what they enjoy doing. It gets them used to taking falls and not having everything down
17:19perfectly first time, so it helps them to build that personal resilience. My favourite
17:24thing is that there's room for everyone to express themselves in different ways. There's
17:28BMX bikes, there's scooters, there's inline skates as well. There's something for everyone
17:35in these sessions. The class I visited today was just one in a pilot series designed to
17:40introduce young people to the park and the sport. But given their success, I was keen
17:44to know what the future might hold for the skate park and other similar initiatives in
17:48Swanley beyond this exciting development. I'd like there to be regular access where
17:52kids could really progress and develop skills that they've started here. We're trying
17:57to expand on it as well. We do football sessions, so we've teamed up with local Sutton Athletic
18:01Football Club and we've often worked with Charlton Athletic and Millwall for running
18:05free football sessions as well. And of course, during the summer, Sevenoaks District Council
18:09run their Family Fun Days, which are free for everyone. I think it's a real example
18:14that Swanley Council and others have set to make places like this more inclusive and more
18:20accessible to so many different people. Of course, I couldn't leave without getting
18:25a review from a skater himself. I would recommend it. It's quite good if you're into sports
18:30stuff. Anyone who would like to participate in the programme as a teacher or a student
18:34should visit the Swanley Town Council website. This has been Charlotte Bourne for KMTV.
18:40Now, with the Euros well underway, Southgate's Three Lions aren't the only athletes set to
18:45compete for us on the European stage. In fact, this Friday, a team of four boxers from Fighting
18:50Fit ABC Dover will head to Algrange in France to make up their own England squad, taking
18:56on competitors from the likes of Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The group include two
19:01junior and two senior boxers for the amateur professional hybrid event. Earlier today,
19:07I spoke with head coach Wayne Morley about how the preparation is going and what it means
19:11for the club to have the backing of the nation. And Wayne joins me here virtually. Now, Wayne,
19:16thank you very much for being here. Welcome onto the programme. First of all, can you
19:20introduce me to the squad? Tell me about the fighters that you'll be taking to France this
19:24Friday.
19:26My name is Wayne Morley. Obviously, I'm the lead coach at Fighting Fit Amateur Boxing
19:31Club in Dover. This weekend, we are going as England representatives to France to box
19:39against boxers from Belgium, France and England. I'll be taking Will Gibson, Joshua King, Dominic
19:48Billions and Finlay Bryan with me.
19:52And what's the feeling like at the moment? I mean, obviously, to be representing England
19:56during a summer of sport where we're seeing England all over the place at the moment, that
20:00must be quite an important time for the club.
20:04Well, yeah, definitely, definitely. We've never gone and represented our country like
20:09this before. We've been on international events in the UK and national events. One of the
20:15boxers is a national junior champion and two of the boxers are international belt holders.
20:22They've only ever competed in-country. They've never gone external as of yet.
20:27Tell me a bit about the club then, because you say, though, that you've obviously done
20:30lots of events before, but this one being one of the biggest that you've seen. How did
20:34you yourself get into the club down at Dover and become head coach?
20:39Well, we've been going for about 10 years. I've done some competitive boxing before.
20:45I was a soldier in the French military. That's why I've made links in France.
20:51So tell me, what was the reaction then from the club and the community that you've got
20:55down there in Dover when you found out that you'd be taking the sport back?
20:58We've had a very, very big reaction. Everyone's really, really excited. The fact is that there's
21:03obviously a world title fight, an IBF world title fight on the same event, and we're undercarding
21:10that. It's quite a big thing for amateur boxing in itself, let alone the club.
21:16And we see, I mean, for youth groups, obviously in Kent, boxing is one of the largest kind
21:23of communities that we have here. I mean, if you look at the professional scene, we're
21:27seeing lots of names from Kent making it on that kind of international stage and the
21:31British stage at the moment. But it's not just kind of, I know you work with lots of
21:36young people. It's not just for kind of them pursuing a career one day as well. There's
21:40lots of benefits for boxing in the community, isn't there?
21:44Oh, yeah, well, definitely. As you can see, I'm in school uniform at the moment. I work
21:49in a local secondary school. We do boxing intervention at the school at Dover Christchurch
21:54Academy. One of the boxers I'll be taking with me has just left this school, but he
21:59was part of the school. So, yeah, we're trying to integrate boxing into the schools as well
22:04to help them with discipline, be part of a structured environment. Yeah.
22:09And of course, maybe for some of the younger fighters, seeing those who are in their community
22:14going and taking on the mantle of England, it must be quite inspirational as well.
22:20Well, yeah, definitely. We've got two of the boxers that are 100 percent going to become
22:24professionals. So this is a really good platform for them to bounce off and move into the professional
22:30world as well. Two of them are seniors and the other two are junior boxers that were
22:35taken to France.
22:36Fantastic stuff. Tell me, what does preparation look like then? I know you've got an event
22:40tonight where you'll be taking some great photos of the squad. What does this week look
22:44like going into the event?
22:46Well, this week we'll be sharpening up. The past two weeks, we've been getting some other
22:51clubs in, doing some quite hard sparring. We are an amateur boxing club, so we're always
22:56combat ready. We're always fight ready just in case we get called up for other events
23:01at the weekend. But yeah, this is the back end of the amateur season. So we will, after
23:07this, be dwindling down a little bit in our training in preparation for two weeks of rest.
23:14And what will you be telling your fighters going into what will be the biggest fights
23:18of their careers so far?
23:21We'll just be getting them in the right mindset, getting them excited, getting them looking
23:26forward to enjoying the sport that they love.
23:31And just finally for me, what is it that you hope in terms of results, what are you hoping
23:35to bring back from France?
23:37Four wins, 100 percent. We're not going there to take part, we're going there to take over.
23:43Fantastic. Well, best of luck to yourself and your fighters and most of all, enjoy it.
23:49Thank you very much. Thank you for giving us the opportunity of getting it out there.
23:55Now, we've reached full time on today's episode, but there's just a few minutes of extra time
23:59to take a look at this week's action replay. It's, of course, the segment where we take
24:03a look at clips and pictures that you, the KMTV audience, have sent in of you taking
24:07part in sport with a bit of a twist on the third one today. So let's see what we've got
24:12in store on this week's action replay. Here's Alex.
24:15We start this week's action replay by paying a visit to a recent guest on the show, Zach
24:20Wells, who wanted to become Medway's rust cook by running around the outskirts of all
24:25five towns in just one afternoon. Fifty kilometres later and almost 4000 calories burned, he's
24:31done it. Having raised more than £1,100 for the British Heart Foundation, that's definitely
24:36a job well done.
24:38Next up, meet 56-year-old Dave Griss from the county, who is in training to take on
24:43a whopping 137-mile coast-to-coast cycle challenge, which includes a massive 12,000-foot elevation
24:51of hills. This year marks five years since Dave lost his 10-year-old son, Charlie, to
24:56leukaemia, and this challenge marks one of the sporting fundraisers he's put on in his
25:00memory. Joined by his friends Alex, Mike and Mark, the Tunbridge Wells IT boss says the
25:05goal is to dip his rear wheel in the Irish Sea in Whitehaven and his front wheel in the
25:09North Sea in Sunderland. And finally, this next one isn't exactly someone taking part
25:14in sport, but rather someone taking sport to a whole new level. YouTube creator Luke
25:19Pearson has recreated a scale virtual version of the Priestfield Stadium entirely in the
25:25Minecraft video game. The incredibly realistic model of the Gillingham Stadium features every
25:31part of the Medway venue, from the players' entrance to the arena mend. It even features
25:36the scaffolding holding up the away stand. The creator told us he decided to take on
25:41the challenge after visiting Priestfield all the way back in 2017 to watch a game against
25:46Bristol Rovers, and has since gone on a journey to recreate every stadium he's visited on
25:51his channel called LX. Well, that's it for this week's Action Replay. But don't forget,
25:56it could be you in next week's edition. Just send in your pictures and videos on social
26:00media or to sports at kmtv.co.uk.
26:30I'll be back next Monday with another episode, but until then, bye bye.
27:00.