Result: Match Drawn
After the disappointments of April and May, Stragglers were delighted to be able at last to get a full game in. Pangbourne College provided a beautiful setting, while the Weather Gods played their part with glorious sunshine all day.
Rain in the previous week, coupled with a tarpaulin cover instead of the wheeled version, left the strip green and damp for the first session, though it dried out consistently through the day. Stragglers won the toss and put Butterflies in, anticipating the prospect of early inroads with glee.
Butterflies’s batsmen treated the conditions and bowlers with respect. Disciplined bowling from Jonathan Parker and Mark “Evergreen” Hunt kept them on a tight rein for the first 12 overs or so and chipped away at the batting order, but could not rip through them. Bailey’s dismissal in the 20th over with the score on 72 brought the free-scoring Wedgwood to the wicket with surviving opener Groomes 4 short of his 50. The pair put on precisely 100 in the next 15 overs, being particularly harsh on Alex Asher and Will Russell. All the bowlers created chances though none stuck until Wedgwood finally touched one to the eternal Nino and departed for a fluent 49. Groomes completed a well-made century, then fell to Chris Brewster (for his inaugural Stragglers’s wicket) in a tangle of feet, bat, pads and bails. Croft and Lowe saw the side through to the 250 landmark before Butterflies declared when Lowe fell to Alex Asher’s second spell.
Stragglers’s innings followed a well-trodden path – alternating surges and collapses. After James Allsop succumbed to the 5th legal ball of the innings, the top- and middle-order batsmen all punched the ball with vigour and style before falling on their swords. Going into the final hour, 150 behind and with 4 wickets left, Stragglers could have achieved an improbable chase or collapsed completely (the latter being familiar territory!). Will Russell and the hapless Perry departed quickly, suggesting the latter was the likely outcome, but the erstwhile bowling partnership of Jonathan Parker and Mark Hunt, now wielding their bats, were made of sterner stuff. Parker channelled his inner Botham, while Hunt demonstrated adhesive qualities to put Araldite to shame for the next 13 overs. After Hammond finally removed Hunt, Nino Trapani arrived to continue the determined rearguard, and he and Parker – battering a fine 90 – saw off the evocatively-named Hammond and Jardine to carry the innings to the safety of the 20th over.
The wonderful sunshine continued into the evening allowing Butterflies, Stragglers and officials to relax over a convivial beer and relive the heroics of the day. The College looked after us very well and are due our thanks for providing such an excellent setting for a superb game of cricket.
Match report by Neville Cardus (Ian Perry).
Team Batting First: Butterflies
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1 | H Groomes | Bowled | Brewster | 106 |
| 2 | F McGuinness | Ct Russell | Parker | 6 |
| 3 | W Croft | Ct Perry | Parker | 16 |
| 4 | M Bailey | Ct Shales | Hunt | 4 |
| 5 | C Wedgwood + | Ct Trapani | Parker | 49 |
| 6 | H Croft | Not out | 37 | |
| 7 | W Lowe | Bowled | Asher | 29 |
| 8 | A Hammond | Did not bat | ||
| 9 | Jardine | Did not bat | ||
| 10 | Leggett | Did not bat | ||
| 11
|
J Weaving* | Did not bat | ||
| Extras: 7 | TOTAL: 254 for 7 |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Parker | 17 | 2 | 66 | 3 |
| Hunt | 16 | 0 | 68 | 1 |
| Asher | 4.4 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| Russell | 8 | 0 | 60 | 0 |
| Brewster | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1 | J Allsop | Ct Lowe | Leggett | 1 |
| 2 | C Joyner | LBW | Hammond | 29 |
| 3 | C Brewster | LBW | Jardine | 13 |
| 4 | C Brown | Ct Wedgwood | Hammond | 18 |
| 5 | M Shales* | Ct Lowe | Weaving | 13 |
| 6 | A Asher | Bowled | Weaving | 7 |
| 7 | W Russell | Ct McGuinness | Lowe | 19 |
| 8 | J Parker | Not out | 90 | |
| 9 | I Perry | LBW | Weaving | 0 |
| 10 | M Hunt | Bowled | Hammond | 3 |
| 11 | A Trapani+ | Not out | 0 | |
| Extras: 18 | TOTAL: 211 for 9 |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Leggett | 7 | 1 | 44 | 1 |
| Jardine | 7 | 0 | 32 | 1 |
| Hammond | 13 | 2 | 46 | 3 |
| Weaving | 15 | 3 | 48 | 3 |
| Lowe | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Croft | 3 | 1 | 25 | 0 |
Umpire: Terry Wilkins
Report:
After the disappointments of April and May, Stragglers were delighted to be able at last to get a full game in. Pangbourne College provided a beautiful setting, while the Weather Gods played their part with glorious sunshine all day.
Rain in the previous week, coupled with a tarpaulin cover instead of the wheeled version, left the strip green and damp for the first session, though it dried out consistently through the day. Stragglers won the toss and put Butterflies in, anticipating the prospect of early inroads with glee.
Butterflies’s batsmen treated the conditions and bowlers with respect. Disciplined bowling from Jonathan Parker and Mark “Evergreen” Hunt kept them on a tight rein for the first 12 overs or so and chipped away at the batting order, but could not rip through them. Bailey’s dismissal in the 20th over with the score on 72 brought the free-scoring Wedgwood to the wicket with surviving opener Groomes 4 short of his 50. The pair put on precisely 100 in the next 15 overs, being particularly harsh on Alex Asher and Will Russell. All the bowlers created chances though none stuck until Wedgwood finally touched one to the eternal Nino and departed for a fluent 49. Groomes completed a well-made century, then fell to Chris Brewster (for his inaugural Stragglers’s wicket) in a tangle of feet, bat, pads and bails. Croft and Lowe saw the side through to the 250 landmark before Butterflies declared when Lowe fell to Alex Asher’s second spell.
Stragglers’s innings followed a well-trodden path – alternating surges and collapses. After James Allsop succumbed to the 5th legal ball of the innings, the top- and middle-order batsmen all punched the ball with vigour and style before falling on their swords. Going into the final hour, 150 behind and with 4 wickets left, Stragglers could have achieved an improbable chase or collapsed completely (the latter being familiar territory!). Will Russell and the hapless Perry departed quickly, suggesting the latter was the likely outcome, but the erstwhile bowling partnership of Jonathan Parker and Mark Hunt, now wielding their bats, were made of sterner stuff. Parker channelled his inner Botham, while Hunt demonstrated adhesive qualities to put Araldite to shame for the next 13 overs. After Hammond finally removed Hunt, Nino Trapani arrived to continue the determined rearguard, and he and Parker – battering a fine 90 – saw off the evocatively-named Hammond and Jardine to carry the innings to the safety of the 20th over.
The wonderful sunshine continued into the evening allowing Butterflies, Stragglers and officials to relax over a convivial beer and relive the heroics of the day. The College looked after us very well and are due our thanks for providing such an excellent setting for a superb game of cricket.
Match report by Neville Cardus (Ian Perry).