Firsts lose at home to Brill

On a really hot day at the brake with the temperature at around 27 degrees, Edd Willmot won the toss and chose to bat first. We were playing on the same track as last week and the whole ground was rock solid so we were hoping for a large score. We had four changes from the previous week.

Richard Walker and Sahil Kalyan opened, both hoping to set up a good platform for the rest of the batsmen to build on. They did exactly that hitting many fours as anything that went past a fielder raced to the boundary in a flash. Sahil played a few classy drives and punches off the back foot to get his boundaries and Richard went for the more aggressive approach, forcing the bowlers to constantly change their lines and lengths. Richard, when trying to up the run rate, was the first to go after hitting one high in the air to mid off, who took a good catch. He scored 30 and the partnership was worth 60 in 12 overs. The inform batsman Craig Woods was the next man in and was hoping to get his third successive 50+ score for the first time. He and Sahil put on 27 before Sahil got out bowled by Andy Wynd for 32, the score now on 87 after 20 overs. Andy Oliver joined Craig and looked to get settled by getting a few singles and rotating the strike. Unfortunately he was tempted by a fuller ball by Wynd and hit one straight to a fielder, departing for 6. Sam Rodway came in next, with Craig settled at the other end. The score reached 126 before Craig was disappointingly adjudged LBW when he had taken a large stride forward and the keeper was heading down the leg side, meaning that he could not anchor the innings with another large score, going for 44. Captain Edd came to the crease at 6, with the team in a spot of bother and requiring a good innings from him. An over after the 4th wicket, Sam creamed one straight to a fielder, which was a shame as he had hit it so well, having to leave the crease for 4 runs with the team now in trouble at 126 for 5. With 16 overs left, Kamran Ramzan joined the captain and enjoyed rotating the strike while Edd hit a few boundaries. The partnership was building nicely with the pair running between the wickets hard and punishing the loose balls. Kamran smashed a straight four off Broughton but was bowled a few balls later on 23 runs, his highest personal score for the 1st XI. This partnership was the second of the day worth 60. Chris Graham came in next and played a nice drive for four, ending up on 6 not out a the end of the innings. Edd Willmot at the other end finished up on 49 not out, sadly 1 short of what would have been a well deserved half century. We had put up 218-6 in our 45 overs, under par in terms of the conditions and what we were wanting to get.

We enjoyed a very nice tea provided by Edd's mum (apart from the sandwiches which were from legacy) including some delicious cakes, the first that we had at home this whole season so far! Wynd and Broughton opened for Brill and Kamran opened the bowling with Tony Launchbury at the other end. The bowling was fairly tight from these 2 although Broughton flicked a few to the leg side. Despite the heat and the good conditions to bat in, Ramzan really enjoyed his opening spell with the ball moving in the air and off the pitch to trouble the batsmen. Both Wynd and Broughton repeatedly played and missed the out swinging deliveries off Kamran, frustrating him as he came agonisingly close to dismissing them both on multiple occasions. Launchbury bowled well at the other end too but with the run rate not too daunting, the batsmen were relaxed at the crease and not panicking. Will Thwaites replaced Tony and bowled an fiery and aggressive spell of quick bowling, putting the batsmen under pressure. Kamran finished his quota of 7 overs without a wicket and Edd brought himself on. Will got the first wicket and removed Broughton on 24 with the ball going straight into the hands of Craig Woods, the score 82-1 in 18 overs. The new man Mansfield joined Wynd and opened his account with a lofted slog over mid off for four. They were steadily increasing the runs with the batsmen giving nothing to us making Edd shift around the bowlers, searching for a wicket. Chris Graham was brought on at Will's end and bowled 4 overs for no reward. Sahil came on for his first bowl of the season and started his leggies well, getting rid of Mansfield off a full toss in his first over which was also a wicket maiden. With them now on 137-2 in 28 overs we were desperate for more wickets but unfortunately there were no more to come. We fielded very well throughout the rest of the innings just like we had in the first 28 overs, only making a couple of mistakes through the whole innings. Jacob Oliver, playing his first game for the firsts, fielded superbly everywhere he was put, not making any mistakes and looking like a natural in the field. Launchbury, Ramzan and Graham all had a go at one end hoping for some sort of opening but nothing came. Wynd reached his century, an outstanding innings as he paced it perfectly and made it through the good spells of bowling while playing proper cricketing shots the whole way. This was definitely the best batsman we had played against so far this season. Jacob Oliver came on to bowl at Sahil's end who had an expensive third over for 16. He bowled 3 good overs for 13 runs, but then the winning runs were scored. Chanel ended up on 38 not out and 36 of them came from fours! Wynd carried his bat on 113 not out with the target being chased down in the 38th over. Our bowling was more disciplined today which is always a good thing, with only 3 wides and 1 no ball being bowled.

Congratulations to a dominant Brill side leaving us with just 1 win in our 5 home games so far, 2 in 9 overall. Hopefully we can increase our position on the points table next week away at Broughton.