Tuesday 19 July 2016 Stragglers of Asia vs South Oxfordshire Amateurs at Ascott Park, Wing
Result: Lost by 129 runs
Match Report:
Straggler of the match was undoubtedly Phil McDuell (2 for 25 and 77) who gave us something to cheer about while coming second by 130 runs to South Oxfordshire Amateurs at Ascott Park. Other notable contributions were made by guest Dave Conway (3 for 70) and the sun (34 degrees). But perhaps the most special was Mark Hunt’s miserly opening spell (1 for 23 runs from 10) in a game he claimed before the toss to be his last. Ever.
On the hottest day of the year, skipper Tom Vila lost the toss and Stragglers were duly asked to bowl on a used pitch which resembled poured concrete. Five bowlers were used in total and struggled for economy, except for Hunt who demonstrated the merits of control and pace off the ball. Finding some swing, breakthrough came when he encouraged a well set opener to leave one which tailed in late to hit off stump. McDuell, replacing the captain at the other end, picked up two in quick succession, trapping number three LBW and then encouraging a prod to Hunt at short midwicket. When Conway struck early in his spell the guests found themselves four down at lunch, though some powerful pre-break stroke play from the burly visiting South African, Andrew Dyer, was a taste of things to come. After lunch the fireworks really started and we lost control of the game during a rapid partnership of 80, dominated by lustful hitting from Dyer who eventually holed out at long on for a 53 ball 112. Bearing the brunt of the onslaught were Pollock-Hill, Conway and Vila. With a solid platform, the tail enders had license to play some shots and declared their innings closed on a better than run a ball 290-9.
The Stragglers would end up with 39 overs to chase the target, 7 fewer than the visitors allowed themselves. Unperturbed by this mountain to climb, anchorman Joe Cavanagh and free scoring Matt Shales looked positive until disaster struck and we lost 4 for10 to head into tea with just 38 on the board. We would need all of the depth in the batting line up to compile a credible response and when Phil McDuell came to the crease he and Matt Cavanagh set about rebuilding against some inviting ‘play your shots’ bowling with the field up. It looked like it might be an early finish when Cavanagh fell to this trap, but Vila joined McDuell to combine for a seventh wicket partnership of 91. However, both fell to the returning opening bowler, that man Dyer again, and the rest of the tail offered little resistance to leave us all out for 160 with 6 overs of the game remaining.
The result was described by the Straggler of the day as an honourable loss, which might be apposite considering the difference between the two sides was an overseas player who hit a hundred and took 5 wickets. The captain extended his gratitude to the Straggling fielders and bowlers who toiled in searing heat and to Barbara Eggleston for volunteering her time to score.
Finally, to wish Mark Hunt well in his retirement, thought it was noted he might have declared a touch early, judging by his opening spell, close in catch and remaining unbeaten with the bat.
Team Batting First: South Oxfordshire Amateurs
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1 | M Lake | Bowled | Hunt | 27 |
| 2 | T Scrase | Caught Hunt | Ph McDuell | 22 |
| 3 | N Doggett | LBW | Ph McDuell | 1 |
| 4 | R Buchanan | LBW | Conway | 17 |
| 5 | A Dyer | Caught Shales | Pollock-Hill | 112 |
| 6 | A Wildman (+) | LBW | Conway | 38 |
| 7 | C Foster | Bowled | Conway | 6 |
| 8 | S Oberoi | Bowled | Vila | 15 |
| 9 | C Hutton* | NOT | OUT | 19 |
| 10 | L Anning | LBW | Vila | 21 |
| 11
|
D Simpson | NOT | OUT | 1 |
| Extras: 9 | TOTAL: 290 for 9 dec |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| M Hunt | 10 | 3 | 23 | 1 |
| T Vila | 12 | 0 | 85 | 2 |
| Ph McDuell | 6 | 1 | 25 | 2 |
| D Conway | 10 | 1 | 70 | 3 |
| R Pollock-Hill | 8 | 1 | 83 | 1 |
Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1 | Joe Cavanagh | LBW | Simpson | 14 |
| 2 | Matt Shales | Caught Wildman | Dyer | 13 |
| 3 | Matt Suckling(+) | Caught Wildman | Dyer | 4 |
| 4 | Ian Perry | Bowled | Simpson | 0 |
| 5 | Matt Cavanagh | Caught Lake | Doggett | 16 |
| 6 | David Vila (g) | Caught Oberoi | Anning | 2 |
| 7 | Phil McDuell | Caught Anning | Dyer | 77 |
| 8 | Tom Vila* | Caught & bowled | Dyer | 24 |
| 9 | Dave Conway(g) | Caught Lake | Simpson | 0 |
| 10 | Mark Hunt | NOT | OUT | 0 |
| 11 | Robert Pollock-Hill | Bowled | Dyer | 0 |
| Extras: 11 | TOTAL: 161 all out |
Scorer: Barbara Egglesfield