Sunday 30th September 2012
Stoke D’Abernon 163 all out (35.2 overs)
The Min CC 136 all out (39.2 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon won by 27 runs
Stoke’s Sunday XI ended the season on a high with a 27 run win over The Min CC – unusual club name, interesting web-site, but shared belief on commitment to extend the season by another week. The week started with Stoke short on numbers; advert placed for anyone keen on a short-sided game; e-mails received…and in the end both sides ended up with an XI, a number of the opposition travelling a long way to take part.
Despite the midweek rain, JV-D got a pitch prepared, one for the bowlers, but one where runs could be scored with application. Having had a couple of weak oppositions arrive at the Rec in recent weeks, word was put out at the toss that Stoke’s batting line up was deep, the lost toss still resulted in the desired outcome and the returning Adam Cooke walked out with an unlikely opening partner in Alex Bond.
Both were back in the pavilion with 13 runs on the board, bowled by openers Masterson and Wigg for 5 and 1 respectively.
Jase Earl and Andy Page toughed it out, but fell to Masterton for 15 and 4; necessitating a re-build with the scoreboard showing 40-4. Masterton bowled his eight-over allocation in one spell, returning figures of 8-0-36-3.
Debutant Piers Adamson and Will Thomson added 55 in a little under seven overs thanks to some generous change bowling; Adamson finding the fence three times, and having another all-run four courtesy of some overthrows, in compiling 31 from 36 balls faced. His knock ended when he was bowled by spinner R.Earney.
Thomson crashed five fours and a six and faced just 26 balls for his 34, but was seventh out, (Dad departing for a single minutes earlier), with the score on 116. Alastair Curran was also bowled trying to up the scoring rate; leaving the tail with the best part of seventeen overs’ batting.
Common sense was needed, and came in the form of Jeremy Ward and Rowland Prytherch who added 36 for the ninth wicket. Prytherch scored 10 before falling to a good running catch at third man; unfortunate in the context of some of the chances that went down during the innings.
Ward nursed another eleven runs out of the last wicket, left stranded on 26 from 51 balls faced before Ralph Coleman hit visiting captain R.Beswick, (3.2-0-14-3), to mid-off to close the innings on 163.
Another mega tea from Jo energised the bowlers and fielders who showed good standards throughout.
R.Earney showed early intent by hitting Prytherch for two fours and a six; but was taken out by Earl when a ball was dragged on to his stumps. Earl struck again when No.3 A.Beswick dollied up a return catch, leaving the popular Aussie with figures of 4-3-1-2 at one point.
Prytherch bowled tidily, a boundary an over denting his figures, but he found turn to account for No.4 Damaze. He bowled better than his final analyses of 8-1-39-1 suggested.
This brought Gupta to the crease and this was going to be the key partnership as R.Beswick had clearly set a plan to bat through and let the runs come at the other end.
Gupta looked for a boundary an over, and whilst he was initially successful, hitting four fours and a six; he was pegged back by accurate change bowling; initially from Curran, then Coleman and Bond, the latter two sharing twelve overs at a personal cost of just 26 either side of the drinks break.
As the pressure mounted, Bond removed them both leg before. Gupta matched Will Thomson as the match’s highest scorer with 34 from 62 balls faced; R.Beswick made 22, but took 104 balls to score his runs, a measure of the bowling and fielding performance.
With the scoring rate edging towards eights, opportunities were given to other bowlers and most were successful. Page, who had enjoyed some friendly banter with the umpire over the apparent introduction of the leg-side wide rule mid-way through his spell, tried a ball on the off-side instead and found Calvert’s edge. 106 for 6.
Earl returned and castled Ingham for 13 to complete his season with impressive figures of 8-4-13-3; then Cooke, (2-0-10-1), and Rod Thomson, (1-0-2-1), found obliging tail-enders. The innings, and the season, closed in the final over when last man H.Earney was run out; in contrast to the game management by Ward, The Min’s tail did not wag and the last six wickets fell for just 30 runs.
Our thanks to The Min CC who were gracious in defeat and played the game the right way. For Stoke, weather, opposition cry-offs and player availability issues played havoc with the 2012 Sunday XI fixture card; but talk in the bar afterwards suggests 2013 will be better. Bring it on!
Scorecard Link : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/scoreboard/scorecard.asp?id=11600430