Harold Read Park
Hamish won the toss and decided scoreboard pressure was the order of the day – we batted first.
Persistent drizzle made the outfield quite wet and, together with the thick and (very) spongy grass, this made scoring very difficult for our openers. Sam and Jack managed to get us through the first 11 overs without losing a wicket before Jack was bowled by one that moved off the seam. Hugo was later bowled by a quick yorker, and Alex was caught at square leg attempting to pull a no ball high full toss! Thomas came in and steadied the ship with a measured
12 off 25 before being bowled whilst attempting one of his famous drives down the ground. Sam was also bowled by a good delivery. Wes and Toby then set about trying to increase the scoring rate, but Toby was run out by a smart piece of fielding whilst attempting a quick single. This bought Hamish to the crease who, together with Wes, defied the difficult conditions with some brilliant batting. This pair put together a much-needed partnership of 50 before Hamish was bowled. Atticus then kept up the intensity with a quick- fire 5 off 7 and we ended up at a very respectable 7-117.
Special mentions to Wes who scored a magnificent 34 off 54 deliveries, and Hamish who scored 24 at almost a run-a-ball……a brilliant captain’s knock just when we needed it.
We then get off to flier in the field as Hamish continued his great form by bowling their opener in the first over of the innings! Virat bowled some great stuff in his opening spell and was very unlucky not to take a wicket. Parra then dug in and got to 1-35 before Atticus took the first of his two wickets with a perfectly flighted full delivery. Charlie then took his first wicket in the very next over, and Thomas managed to snag one too with his tricky leg spin. Wes showed great awareness with a great throw to run out one Parra’s key batsmen. At this stage Parra were 6-79 with plenty of overs remaining so the game was really in the balance. Charlie came back on for his second spell and really turned the game with two wickets in his 5 th over and another in his 7 th. Charlie ended his 8 overs with brilliant figures of 8 overs, 1 maiden, 5 wickets for just 16 runs – what a performance!! The win was then sealed when Atticus took an amazing caught and bowled to end the match.
It was great to get the first official win for us. When they were nine down and needed roughly 30 runs to win we thought we had won, but it ended up being a bit tighter than we had anticipated which was a lesson learned for all of us.
