DESPITE losing out on promotion for a second successive year, the 2009 season will be a memorable one for Linden Park Cricket Club.

Three club records were broken by a trio of maverick cricketers, five sides were able to be fielded in the last couple of weeks of the season – for the first time in the outfit's 130-year history, and, last but not least, first team captain Stuart Clarke stepped down after three years as skipper.

Clarke, who relinquished his captaincy due to him becoming a father to a baby boy, Joshua, this week, will still play for the club and reflected on the season.

"Overall, it has been a successful season for the club and on the final day, all four sides were challenging for promotion," he said.

"As a club for us to put out four sides is a fantastic achievement, and for the first time in the club's 130 year history, we were able to put out fifth side.

"With a number of promising youngsters, the club is strong from top to bottom.

"It was a little bit disappointing not to have gone on and get the promotion we deserved, if you look at some of the players' performances.

"Abhijit Kale scored over 1,000 runs, 1,093 in 18 matches at an average of 98. This was a first team club record. South African Jaco Scholtz, who played for the second team as an overseas player, was a suprise package and was a bit of a find.

"He scored 1,124 runs for the team this season – a club record for most runs in a season (Scholtz also finished the Kent League's highest run scorer for 2009, Kale finished second).

"John Harvey took 52 wickets, beating the previous club record by three wickets. So we had three record breaking feats in one season."

The first team paid for a mid-season loss of form and missed out on promotion, finishing in fourth place. The seconds finished nine points behind second placed Upchurch in Division IV (seconds) league, a whisker away from promotion.

Clarke's fondest memory of the season was watching Mumbai run-machine Kale hit Catford Wanderers' Damion Grosscel, surely a name to remember for a pub quiz in the future, for six maximums in one over.

This kick-started Park's good run of form that nearly propelled them to promotion.

The low point was the match with Wickham Park when, as Clarke put it, "the team had one of those days at the office" to be bowled out for just 160.

Clarke hands the captaincy over to the club's director of cricket, John Harvey and looked back at his time at the helm.

"I have had some good times at the club," Clarke reflected. "When I took over, John had stepped down as captain and it was a period of change.

"I hope in the three years, I have managed to build for the future and have taken the club forward. In the first season we were fighting relegation and then in the last two seasons, we just missed out on promotion. It just needs someone to take the club to the next stage."

High on the club's list for next season is a seam bowler, to assist the impressive Dominic Lanaway, and Clarke is confident Harvey will be able to unearth any cricketing talent around the local leagues.

Could a couple of new additions see Park seal that promotion they have threatened to deliver the last two years?