Southgate 1st XI 242-6d
WCC 114-7
Match drawn.
Weekenders took the field with nine bowlers gagging for a piece of early-season action. Sackville and PJ Harvey got the nod and produced testing spells against a rusty top order. Southgate lost three wickets but quickly regained the initiative as the home side’s number four smashed 48 runs in a matter of minutes. At which point the number of eager bowlers decreased noticeably.
Douglas got a right slapping and Webster laid down an early marker for the season’s most expensive over (.64644) before becoming the only ‘Enders bowler to hit timber.
Douglas took a steepling c&b lying down, surrounded by four alert Weekenders poised to snaffle the rebound off the stalwart seamer’s stomach.
Hargroves arrived much earlier than expected, but the visitors kept their concentration as the disco doc slotted effortlessly into a luckless offside field. Luckless that is until a stunning run-out from Mike Harvey persuaded Southgate to run up the white flag and scuttle back to the dressing-room at 242-6 off 38 overs.
The vibrant social mix at this loveliest of grounds was highlighted when a fight broke out between fathers watching a kids’ football game near the pavilion. The mothers got stuck in with the verbals resulting in by far the closest contest of the afternoon.
Pride was restored with an opening stand of 51 between Maloney and Hogben batting in the helmets specially purchased for the game. Hogben was eventually bowled by Southgate’s South African pro who had an otherwise disappointing first outing against the Weekenders.
Steady knocks from Hargroves and Franks were garnished with a lustrous cover drive from Sackville. Mike Harvey’s innings was blossoming into ripe maturity when he responded fatally late to his Aussie partner’s call of ‘Run you f****r!’
Franks then went into his shell and helped PJ Harvey to play out time with only the slenderest of 128-run margins shielding the Southgate First XI from ignominy. Bring on the Madhatters.
STATS:
Southgate 242-6d (38
overs)
Sackville 8-0-26-2, P. Harvey
7-0-40-0, Webster 7-0-40-2, Douglas 8-0-61-1,
Franks 4-0-23-0, Freeman 4-0-33-0
Catches: P. Harvey, Hogben, Douglas
Run out: M.Harvey
WCC 114-7 (44 overs): Maloney 25, Hogben 19,
M.Harvey 26, Hargroves 9,
Webster 5, Franks 4*, Sackville 9,
Douglas 0, P.Harvey 2*.
Freeman, d'Inverno dnb
MAN OF THE MATCH: Flat Pete, for getting eleven players on the field and umpiring in both innings.
TIP OF THE WEEK
When defecating inside a chemical suit, trainee war reporter Owen Franks
recommends you use plenty of Fuller’s
Earth which can be purchased from selected chemists.