Wembley 4s v Bessborough 3s

Bessborough won the toss and opted to bat.

With the weather set fair and on a good batting track it was an easy choice, but our opening bowlers stuck to their task with Rushi Patel in particular bowling good line & length with his left arm seam. His figures of 12-1-29-1 didn't do him justice as he continued to beat the bat time and time again. In fact all six bowlers used chipped in with wickets, but a special word here for a 15 year old colt (but looks about ten!) by the name of Yash Mohanlal. Right arm off spin; his spell of 4-0-13-3 at the end was worthy of note, (the skipper ruing the fact that he didn't bring him on earlier). His flight and consistent line & length was remarkable, and he displayed a maturity and temperament in this game far beyond his tender years!

We eventually bowled them out for 246 in the 46th over...

Our openers John Haskell & the Rev Tailor, sent out with the task of seeing off the new ball, kept to the game plan. The skipper was mindful that four of the next six batters had not played for the 4s in previous outings, so it was imperative we didn't lose early wickets. The first wicket fell with the score on 70, albeit in the 19th over. With the Rev out in the next over, the Patel brothers, Karan & Rushabh, batting at 3 & 4 respectively, continued in the same vein and only 30 runs came in the next 10 overs. At drinks, with the score on 100 after 30 but with 8 wickets in hand, the signal went out to go for broke. The brothers, aided and abetted by Mehul Thakrar, pushed on to 170, playing some expansive shots which had the oppo on the back foot temporarily, and we continued to press for an likely victory losing wickets in quick succession as a result, but mindful that we were more than capable with the late order batters to hold out for a draw if necessary. We ended the innings on 172-8 after 46 overs.

Given that we had a makeshift team we settled for the 2 points, but what was particularly satisfying is the way in which every player stuck to the game plan, even when the plan changed mid innings...