Result: won by 6 wkts

Match Report: This was written by David Lawrence to save the Match Manager’s blushes.

This high-scoring match [57.7 runs per wicket] was won by the Stragglers in the last over. The home team batted first. Their scoring was initially slow due to tight bowling by the Stragglers: Jonathan Parker’s opening eight-over spell cost only 10 runs. Gradual acceleration in scoring meant that they reached the formidable total of 200 for 3 declared after 44 overs, leaving the Stragglers 37 overs to get the runs.

After a useful opening stand of 39 by Simon Prodger and Chris Joyner, Tony Hooper came to the wicket. The target looked well beyond the Stragglers but acceleration by Tony in the last hour – with Hans Cools ensuring that there was not one of those Stragglers collapses at the other end – brought victory with four balls to spare. If ever there was a captain’s innings this was it. Tony scored a magnificent 120 not out off 97 balls with 13 fours and one six.

This alternative narrative was written by Tony Hooper, as the Match Manager’s ‘cut’.

The Stragglers took the field after losing the toss, and on a decent surface JP bowled beautifully without luck, while the batsman were happy to block him out. After this slow start, Middleton Stoney pressed the accelerator and a Stragglers team originally full of bowlers were destroyed by injury (Hooper, Joyner, Prodger) and mechanical failure (Middleton) leaving Collins to show the bowlers how to do with a wicket off his first ball in his ‘impact’ spell. After the usual splendid cakes for tea, we set about the total of 200. A slow start saw the required rate rise to 8 runs per over but when the opposition blooded their two young seamers (12 years old s bowling with a full-size ball and on a full-length pitch for the first time) Hooper exploited the situation in un-Corinthian style with some bullying slogs and an unnerving ability to count to 6, leaving Cools running up and down in the team’s cause in the best partnership of the day. A couple of wickets fell near the death and the son of the opposition’s death bowler, filling in for the Stragglers, showed disregard for family loyalty allowing Stragglers to sneak home in the last over as the climax to a superb run chase.

Team Batting First: Middleton Stoney

Inits Name How Out Fielder Bowler Score
1 T House LBW Parker

5

2 N Moorman Bowled Collins

72

3 M Ford Langstaff caught Allsop Parker

38

4 J Springer Not out

46

5 M Simpson Not out

24

6 S Moorman
7 R Moore
8 P Wordsworth
9 J Cranton
10 R Morris
11 I Sowi
Extras: 15
Total for 3 wickets: 200

 

FOW: 1:10 2:124 3:131 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10:

Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
J Parker

13

4

32

2

J Allsop

10

0

44

0

R Pollock-Hill

14

0

72

0

S Prodger

4

0

16

0

S Collins

3

0

25

1

 

Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia

Inits Name How Out Fielder Bowler Score
1 S Prodger Bowled Sowi

22

2 C Joyner Bowled Moore

11

3 A Hooper not out

120

4 H Cools Bowled Cranston

19

5 S Collins run out

6

6 D Simpson not out

7

7 J Parker
8 J Allsop
9 R Pollock-Hill
10
11
Extras: 19
Total for 4 wickets: 204

 

FOW: 1:39 2:50 3:171 4:183 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10:

Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets
I Sowi

5

1

24

1

T Cranston

10.2

1

45

1

R Moore

5

0

20

1

J Moorman

5

0

44

0

P Wordsworth

5

0

35

0

M Simpson

6

0

29

0