Stour Provost 26/06/22

A breezy day greeted the Wanderers after they eventually found the ground at Stour Provost for the first match against our hosts.  The Wanderers elected to bat first after winning the toss in a 35 overs match.  Mike M (21) took a liking to one of the opening bowlers, clattering him away for 5 fours in his 3 overs, mainly playing the helicopter shot to anything short of a length.  It was clear that the pitch was going to offer extreme variation in bounce, especially on a good length and getting forward was going to be key.  After Mike was bowled following a bowling change, Skipper joined Ben at 27-1 in the 9th over.  After getting off the mark with a four through third man, they both settled into a rhythm in order to build an innings.  Skipper looked to be charging the bowler in an attempt to get forward to nullify the variation in bounce.  Ben (7) was bowled, playing back in his crease to a full-length delivery that evaded him bringing Raj to the crease at 60-2 from 14 overs.  Again it was important for Raj to take his time to get used to the pitch and he played a reserved game for a while, running well with Skipper and then starting to get into his attacking game.  Skipper escaped early in his innings when he offered a simple catch to point who dropped it when it looked easier to take it.  He then brought up his 50 with a six straight down the ground and then chased a wide delivery to blast it high over the trees over long-off.  A reprieve came for the Skipper when a top edged pull was caught but off a no-ball before Skipper (65) drove high to cow corner where a splendid catch was taken.  This ended a crucial 70-run partnership from 10 overs with Raj (25) brilliantly caught at close cover after having blasted the ball out of the middle of the bat soon after.  Leo (2) was run out with a calling mix-up with Shan (16) who was also caught brilliantly at short cover.  Harry (6), on debut, battled brilliantly with the variation from the pitch, taking several blows to the body and helmet before he was bowled.  Stu (4) was caught, again a class catch, and Fos (0) topped edged to gift a simple catch to the keeper.  Ali (8) was caught forcing the pace leaving James stranded without facing a ball.  174 all out with 3 balls left.

A wonderful tea was laid on by our hosts and the Rad Arrows flew over head, with a puff of red, white and blue.  Harry was still feeling the impact of the blows and took some time out.  Leo bowled well but did not get reward.  Ali, at the other end, was profiting from the variation in bounce proving to be very difficult to get away.  With no break through from the opening pair, Skipper turned to Ben and Foz, with Ben striking early with a delivery that seemed to squirm under the bat.  Foz started well but lost his line to the left-hander who took him apart.  Ben (1-38) was unfortunate when an edge flew past Foz at slip.  With Stu coming up the hill, the balanced changed again, with the left arm over bowler taking 2 wickets.  Raj came into the attack down the hill and made a huge impact on the scoring rate.  He was also threatening to take wickets on a regular basis with the ball leaping off a length, shooting at times as well as seaming in and out!  With Shan coming up the hill with some added pace, the Wanderers looked to be in the ascendency.  Harry felt well enough to re-join the team in the middle and was getting into the banter.  The game paused to allow the Red Arrows to fly past once more.  An opportunity came off Raj when the ball went high into the air, only to land in-between fielders.  Both Shan (3-9) and Raj (3-16) picked up 3 wickets a piece, all bowled, and this turned the tide in the Wanderers’ favour.  There was time for the last ball to be hit for six off Stu (2-21) to leave the victory margin of 19 runs for the Wanderers.

MOM: Skipper – a gutsy innings

Catch of the day: Foz – the only one.

Quote of the day: Skipper to Foz: “You make their 76 year old player look nimble”