| Match Report
Londesborough Park’s impressive start to the season
came to an abrupt halt in dramatic circumstances against Clifton
Alliance, one of the stronger teams in Division 2, in a game reduced to
40 overs per side.
With
half the wicket affected by water which had found its way under the
covers, skipper Charlie Rook had no hesitation in inviting Alliance to
bat first. 38 overs later the Britcom International sponsored Park boys
were enjoying their butties following a ‘job well done’ as Rich Foster
blew the opposition apart with 7 for 35, ably supported by the Ginger
One, Rob Sawyer and Mike Davies who cleaned up the tail with 2 for 25.
The fielders once again supported their bowlers well and Blaster Barlow,
recovering from too many Friday night sherbets and having dropped a
sitter, then took two catches and claimed a stumping behind the sticks.
The Alliance was indebted to captain Jonathan Stevens whose unbeaten 50
added some credibility to their final total of 113. The Park chipped in
with 18 extras to become the second highest scorer!
In
reply the Park’s batsmen found survival, let alone run scoring, equally
as difficult as the Alliance whose opening attack of Carroll and
Thornton made light work of the top and middle order. Carroll in
particular bowled with great pace and utilised the two paced track to
his advantage. Only nominal resistance came from the skipper with 15 as
the Park were looking down the barrel at 57 for 8. The gods then
intervened with a heavy ‘get out of jail’ shower but thoughts of packing
the bag and heading for the bar were premature as the rain abated and
Blaster and Rich Foster reappeared in an attempt to salvage the
situation. Both batsmen showed great spirit and edged the Park towards
an unlikely victory, Blaster adopting his usual edge of the seat shot
selection and Fossy utilising all his experience. Unfortunately
Blaster’s excellent knock of 35 was curtailed by a run out courtesy of a
direct hit but with leg spinner Motteshead bowling at one end and 4
required for victory one good smote to the boundary was always on the
cards. Alas it was not to be as another direct hit saw the demise of
Robbie Sawyer and the Alliance celebrating a fortunate victory, Fossy
being left standed on 15 not out.
Far
from being downhearted skipper Charlie Rook took comfort from the fact
that his troops showed they can compete with the strong teams and will
be looking to take their fighting spirit into this week’s home fixture
against Carlton Towers.
Perhaps the batsmen require a little more ‘beef’ as supplied by match
ball sponsor Hagstons Butchers!
Clifton Alliance II 113 (J Stevens 50 n o, R Foster 7-35) Londesborough
Park 110 (C Barlow 35, R Carroll 4-40, J Thornton 4-50)
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