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After a morning of heavy showers in the Dorking area and the promise of a few more lively ones during the afternoon our spirits were not dampened in any way as we arrived at Westcott.
The captain won the toss and decided, even though he was confident of bowling the opposition out, to insert them in case the weather closed in. As it was the few large clouds above skirted around us and the game was played in full. The Captain opened from the pavilion end and got the opener fishing first ball which he tickled to the grateful Des Jones. Daryl opened, this week, from the road end and he too had an early strike bowling a Jaffa that pitched on then straightened to clean the other opener out. At 10-4 and catches being taken, as well as good tight strike bowling, our fears were of a very early tea ! Luckily the Chairman decided to drop the second worst catch this season, after THAT one from Adam at home to Claygate recently, to prolong the innings and start a case of the dropsy's which many of us seem to catch !!! Dave Cain used every part of his bat to reach a fifty with some streaky edges together with some cracking shots it must be said but the final total of 116 was never going to be enough. The Captain returned figures of 2-28, Rob Lines suffered from the flaying bat to take 2-41 whilst the pick of the bowlers for the second week running was Daryl with 5-29 from 17 overs.
Tea
On resumption, Graham Hammond and Dave Welton started off with the new ball swinging quite some way for both opening bowlers. Dave placed the ball gently into slips hands early on bringing the chairman to the wicket. With that catch still playing on his mind he was determined to see the side home or at least take a large chunk out of the total needed. A few well timed boundaries from both batters, as well as the occasional swish in to fresh air it must be noted, brought the target down quite quickly. The Chairman rode his luck and after Wally had played around a straight one for 31, Rob Lines crashed 24 quick runs to win the game comfortably leaving the senior partner unbeaten on 54. 27 more points to the promotion total.
Chairman's note, We've been a happy bunch all pulling the same way this season so lets keep it going. Many have contributed to wins whether it be the bowlers taking 8 fors, 6 fors & 5 fors, or the batsmen getting 80's 70's & 50's or the fielders never giving up and putting their bodies on the line to save runs and take great catches. When one person has had an off day someone else has stepped up, that's what a good team does. As the old saying goes there is no i in team, we have all contributed so far to this season, so let's keep it going. Get behind the skipper and do your part to make this a memorable year for the club and for ourselves. Encourage, praise and be pro active. Let's play with skill, effort, determination and most of all - sportsmanship.
Oh and have fun doing it!
Ian