Kennet Valley [H] Match Report
Sunday Funday this week as we took to the field against the spritely and ever Sunday-vibed Kennet Valley. A classic Sunday style fixture, filled with thrills and spills was up for grabs.
The opposition turned out with a series of father-son-duos and we also welcomed are own pairing with James and Zach joining us in the middle this week, welcome both, great to have you along.
As events unfolded it was potentially the coldest game so far this season, even a few jumpers were worn until the end of the first over on a mild 20°C summers day. As the jumpers came off, so did the gloves and flashes of willow, occasionally connected with red leather, as the opposition looked to score runs quickly. Myself and Zach opened the bowling and tried to make an early breakthrough. Not to be... until The Ripper Renwick took hold of the ball.
Thanks to some fortunate footmarks from Saturday's game, turn was there to be found from our trusty leggy. A first wicket of the season for Will was made somewhat more joyful as the umpire handed him his first ever lbw decision. A moment to savour for a man who pitches it comfortably down leg... shame for the facing batsman that he was a leftie.
Will's sterling bowling continued with two further wickets, including the catch of the day as Dobbo fished one out at square leg and made it look easy in the process. One of many inspiring fielding moment from the man who makes a big difference in our fielding pursuits... even if he does need a clubhouse kip afterwards. Will finished 3-38 of 6 overs (his other wicket being a very lovely caught-bowled), with many other chances in-between. Solid!
Meanwhile at the other end Laurence 'Mr Kipling' Mitchell continued his recent good form with the ball to tie down their remaining opener and reduce his scoring options. A healthy spell which deserved more reward for sure.
Sam, welcome to you too buddy, took the ball from The Bell end and caused some frustration to the batters too, a great series of overs, littered with dot balls, near misses and 'oooosss' from onlookers. We look forward to seeing more of you!
Zach and I closed out proceedings and tried to tie them down as the batsman increasingly tried to smash boundaries at the death. Prior to bowling the penultimate ball, their umpire (previously noted above as Will lbw victim), who also had some rather flamboyant and inventive signalling happened to mention that he'd yet to signal out. I decided to make his day on the next delivery and finally hit the spot I was looking for to clean bowl a batsman approaching his 50.
With a fast outfield (in parts) and some very decent batsman at the crease they hit 213-4 of 30 overs. No small chase, but another week of bodies on the line, chasing everything (and I mean everything) down really stopped this total from being much higher. I don't think anyone had a bad day in the field, but Alex most certainly had the best moment, sliding on the boundary line to get a foot to the ball and not only stop a 4 but to hold them to a single was special, nice work!
The break brought about tea, and thanks to Si and Will for helping myself with the final prep and to everyone for eating so much of it (including supporters) that I had very little to clear up afterwards.
Our batting pursuits were not what we desired losing 3 early wickets, including Alex's unfortunate leg stump leave. Then James arrived at the crease, scoring a very solid 52* whilst hobbling between the stumps... unfortunately this meant he ran Zach out... not sure Zach (who was in great form) will forgive his Dad for that anytime soon.
Unfortunately our run rate wasn't there today... and if there was a key area for improvement it's likely this. We probably need to practise quick singles and testing how fast we can get between the stumps without overly risking run outs. We had a lot of run outs a year or two ago chasing everything... we probably need to be somewhere in-between.
We finished 140-8 off 30. Not to be, but another enjoyable day down at the rec.
We go again next week away at Inkpen... a game we very nearly won last time we played there (losing by just 4 runs) and the home to Dobbo's famous 54*
Please RSVP (either way) on Spond asap.
Cheers.