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Last updated 23-Jun-2009.
Match Report
After three defeats and considerable soul searching, the 4ths travelled to Sholing
to face league leaders Vospers. Batting first, we lost Captain Mark in the 4th over
but Stuart Raddon and Richard Azar made the most of a fast outfield, even if the odd
ball was stopping or popping. Richard hit six fours before being caught at midwicket
for 25 with the score on 47. Tom Hopkins flicked a couple of nice shots to leg but
Stuart was caught behind for 20. Last week's collapse to 92 all out suddenly came
more into focus as Vospers prospered with three more quick wickets to leave us at
76-6. It was fair to say there was not a great mountain of optimism at this point
but Will Jacobs joined Graham Saunders at the wicket to add 62 in 13 overs, Will
punishing some loose balls that appeared among some otherwise pretty decent bowling.
Will was bizarrely bowled playing no shot to a sharp leg spinner for a well
constructed 20, a score then matched by Martin Lander as we suddenly threatened to
gain an unlikely maximum haul of batting points. Graham, who had mixed patient
blocks with some swishes and misses and some swishes and hits, reached his fifty in
the 41st over and celebrated by promptly clubbing two more fours. With 11 needed
from the last over for 200, we could only manage a scrambled single to Jake Scott
before Graham was bowled, and while you would never say it was a sexy innings, there
was plenty of four-play with 10 boundaries and two big sixes that comprised 52 of
his 61 runs. But a total of 190-9 was one that gave our guys plenty to bowl
with.
After an interval during which Dr Mike confessed his teenage obsession with porn, I
mean pawns (he was a very keen chess player), he and Jake Scott opened with a gambit
that had the home side three pieces down for just 25 runs within 8 overs. Jake's
first wicket came via his slower leg spinner that turned a foot to bowl the opener
round his legs and a further wicket each really had Vospers feeling like they were
on the Titanic. Far from shuffling the deckchairs though, the batsmen eventually
found their sea legs and a 4th wicket stand of 59 was only broken by a sharp catch
by cool-as-an-iceberg Will Jacobs in Richard Azar's second over, after two sixes had
come from his first. Martin Lander looked a bit stiff and tentative in his first
over, but he warmed to his task and snapped up the 5th wicket as he induced a
mis-hit slog for Jake Scott to take a fine catch on the square leg boundary. Half
the wickets were gone with still over a ton needed and Vospers appeared to be holed
below the surface. It was then that the number 7 batsman really chanced his arm and
thrashed 53 in just less than half an hour. Mike Brogan was hit for two sixes in one
over and three in his next but bought his wicket as Will Jacobs took a fine yet
nervy juggling catch a yard inside the extra cover boundary. The home side were
steering toward victory now with only 33 needed with the number of overs now
irrelevant, but when Dr Mike returned to take his 2nd wicket of the game and his
20th of the season, the score on 169-7, the rabbits were starting to appear out of
the hutch. It is a matter for the 'home' umpire's conscience that some very
confident lbw shouts were turned down, but the feeling of our boys was that there
were more plums than in an East End fruit stall, Richard Azar seemingly particularly
hard done by. We made them struggle thanks to a much improved fielding performance
today, but Vospers did eventually scramble home by 3 wickets.
My view is that I would have been surprised to hear that our opponents were
unbeaten. We were the better side from the time that Will came to the crease, apart
from some mayhem in the middle of the home side's reply. No-one could accuse us
today of lack of fight but we did concede 24 wides, more than most would consider
acceptable. However it was a fine match that was in doubt almost to the end.
