AVCC v Urchfont
Today we welcomed the mighty Urchfont to our ground in Rushall. It was a cold windy day reminding us the season is coming to an autumnal end. The pitch was damp and the skies grey.
Simon Campbell boldly put us into bat even though our recent 7 games winning streak has been based on batting second.
Jon Wolverson and Tim Gent were elected to open. Shortly after taking the field the rains started. Not a drizzle, but that wet horizontal type that soaks every crevice of the body. They set off well.
Tim had us all held in awe. Our dot ball king and record holder (43 dot balls before scoring across 2 games) actually scored on his opening ball. There were gasps from the crowd. Tim was on fire.
Not many 4s on a soaking wet pitch but they pushed the score on well at just over 5 an over until Jon was caught in the 8th over for a bright and valuable 25. Good innings. 43-1.
Shortly after, we had a 90 mins break from the rain as it turned torrential. We took tea during this time. When we resumed in a brief respite we shortened the game to 25 overs a side.
Angus Harley and Tim resumed. Tim made a season best 27 before being bowled by "Tiger". 78-2. Jeremy Richards came in and scored 5. 84-3.
Rory Plank played a nice supporting role to Angus who batted imperiously, until falling for a magnificent 47 on 120-4. Rory followed shortly for 5. 130-5. Michael Rae and Greg Caswell played nice cameos in the last 2 overs adding 25 valuable runs. Michael was unbeaten on 16 and Greg was not out on 9.
152-5 off 25 overs. A good score in damp conditions and considering the wind and rain.
Swiftly turning around, the rain stopped for Urchfont to bat and even the sun briefly appeared. As did several rainbows. We all wore every article of clothing we could get on as it was so cold in the biting winds.
Jon Wolverson opened from the Upavon end and took a fine wicket clattering the stumps in his first over; 1-1. Graham Newland opened up from the Rushall end and dismissed the other opener with his first ball, courtesy of a good catch from Jeremy Richards. Wicket maiden; 1-2. Great start!
5 overs later, Jon took his 2nd wicket (caught Greg). 19-3. Not to be outdone, Graham took his second wicket in the next over thanks to a catch by Simon Campbell. 21-4. Urchfont's much vaunted top order were back in the hutch.
Greg Caswell and Peter Williams took over. Greg took a fine lbw and Peter (in his last game of the season) coaxed a catch that Tim Gent held and the writing was on the wall. Fine containment by them both.
And Bruce Carter kept wicket excellently and for the first time did not let a single bye past. A spotless performance Bruce. Well done! Indeed all the fielding was sharp and we gave nothing away as the batsmen threatened.
Tiger took the fight to us, a few catches were dropped in the cold, but Jeremy Richards bowled him in his first over to bring the match to a premature end in 21 overs as they were short on numbers.
86 all out. So we won by 66 runs. Great win in difficult conditions.
Bowling figures: Graham Newland 2-8 (4 overs); Jon Wolverson 2-12 (4); Jeremy Richards 1-6 (1); Greg Caswell 1-9 (3); Peter Williams 1-12 (3); Michael Rae 0-11 (4); Angus Harley 0-22 (4).
So that's 8 Sunday wins on the bounce. A club Sunday record and our best homestand ever.
Well done to all involved.