Questions were asked as to whether it was an accurate summary of the captain’s fielding positioning. These were soon answered as our youngest player Rouse was put at cover, despite having a healthy hangover, while Curtis was positioned at second slip.
After some ball confusion, Croft and Watts steamed in, the latter in particularly fiery mood. It was Croft who made the break through, bowling a stunning swinging delivery to take out leg stump. This was followed by a period of consolidation by Wytham, who becalmed Watts, before Speke joined the attack. He could only bowl a series of wides, which allowed Wytham to push toward 40 for just one wicket. Croft then made a further breakthrough in his 5th over, finishing on 4 for 28 after eight overs, including 2 wickets in 2 balls. His hat-trick missed thanks to a ‘jug avoiding’ leg side delivery. By this time the flood gates were open and Enstone were picking up wickets regularly, Speke picked up 2 for 13 from 8 overs, while the pace of Rouse (his head now clear) picked up 4 for 17 from 5.2 overs. Wytham were all out for 78. In sharp contrast to the fielding of last week, the catching was much improved. Forder held 2 good catches; Taylor took 4 behind the stumps. A couple of sharp drops at slip off Speke and a drop off Rouse at cover were the only blemishes on an excellent fielding performance. With tea not ready, Enstone had a testing 10 overs to negotiate beforehand. Speke and Halliwell headed to the middle after a quick turnaround. Speke perished for 3, caught and bowled. This brought Forder to the crease, who alongside Halliwell; guided Enstone to a tea break after 10 overs. This was a tea the Enstone team particularly enjoyed, partly due to the quality of the tea, but also due to the unusually confident position they found themselves in. When play resumed Enstone serenely batted to victory, with Forder (25 not out) consummately cutting and Halliwell (32 not out) pulling with power. There was even an opportunity for Stewart to hone his umpiring skills under Newton’s watchful eye, with lightening nearly striking twice as his trigger finger itched. With the game wrapped up by 5pm, Enstone headed to the White Hart for a pint, feeling confident for next week, only to realise that a three week cricketing hiatus due to cancelled fixtures will test any momentum gained. The winning streak starts here… Team: W Speke (c), N Halliwell, F. Forder, P.Curtis, K.Anthony, J.Watts, P.Newton, D.Stewart, E.Croft, J.Rouse, W.Taylor (w/k).
9 Comments
But our catching on the day let us down. Eight drops, and we were punished for it. One batsman was dropped 3 times on his way to hammering 100. Sandford ended up scoring 238. Possibly 60-80 more than they should have.
Our reply was well paced to begin with, with Will Speke scoring 62 and for a while we thought the unthinkable. But when Will lost concentration, wickets tumbled, the middle and late order couldn't keep up the pace. We ended up 9 down... which surely can't be called a loss ? |
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