Archived Match Report

First XI vs. Birlingham - 19 May - Damp pitch , poor performance

Having lost the toss on a damp pitch , we were unsurprisingly asked to bat first . With the ball darting around , Styler (2) , Ted (22) and Forts the younger (1) were all back in the pavilion in the first ten overs with the score having reached 30 . The 16th over saw Hucks depart for 17 with Louis and Matt M following soon after as we struggled to 74 for 6 . Nell and Badger stayed together for a while before Nell was bowled for 39 , Badg soon departed for 6 and Boots the late call up glanced one to the keeper without scoring . It was left to the young duo of Lloydy and Paul to see out the innings as we crawled to an eventual total of 133 for 9 from 50 overs .
The home side took advantage of the now dry wicket and some wayward bowling to race towards the total needed , although Louis dismissed opener Jenkins thanks to a tumbling catch from Badg , looking more like an aged Jonty Rhodes than ever ! Lloydy was the only other successful bowler , Styler taking a catch to remove the other opener Drake , however by this time Birlingham had already reached 85 from 16 overs . The winning runs were hit in the 26th over as we slumped to a disappointing 8 wicket defeat .
Big improvement is needed over the next few weeks as we look to climb the table .