Batting and fielding flops, firsts lose again.

5 changes were brought in this week for the 1sts on a cloudy day at the Brake. We were greeted by a very good looking wicket, a definite improvement in the middle over the past couple of months which is great to see! Skipper Edd Willmot tossed up and Marcham decided to field, both the 1sts and 2nds were at home and batting.

Andy Oliver was promoted up the order to open alongside regular opener Sahil Kalyan in the absence of Richard. Both batsmen were moving along comfortably, playing some very good looking shots and the score was increasing with promising prospects. After playing 2 cracking shots in the 9th over, Sahil played another good shot but into the hands of a fielder to cut short his innings for 18. Edd stepped in and settled while Andy took charge and timed some straight shots beautifully, approching his half century. A solid start had been made and we were on 72 for only the loss of 1 wicket in the 17th over, with the potential of a large score. The partnership was broken with Andy being caught for a well made 43, giving Chalmers his first wicket of many. Sam Rodway was in next and the 2 rotated the strike nicely and guided us safely to drinks. You know the old saying "after drinks comes a wicket" well that was exactly what happened with Edd being dismissed on the first ball after the break for 22 the rest of the team a bit shifty now on the sides. The panic levels continued to rise with Jonathan Boyce and Jack Launchbury falling in the same over off Chalmers for a duck each, the score now 104-5. Jonathan Pratt and Sam tried to rebuild but luck was not with us today as JP picked out a man on the leg side boundary, for 7. Sam Rodway told the number 8 batsman, Kamran Ramzan, to not get carried away with playing a risky shot and try to bat out overs but then went against his words and got out on the next ball, Horseman now with 2 wickets and Sam 26 runs. On the last ball of the same over Christopher Graham was ready to face his first delivery and ended up receiving a very low bouncing ball which disturbed his stumps behind him. At 130-8, Will Thwaites joined Kamran and a few more runs were scored, including a powerful thump for 4 from Will. Kamran sadly got caught on the last ball of the 38th over, and only 1 more ball would be played before our innings closed. On this ball, Will hit it to a fielder and that fielder ran out Jim Blackford at the non strikers end, who had no chance of getting back when going for a run which was not there. From 72-1 we had somehow finished with 148 all out, we could still defend this though by bowling and fielding well.

Tea was outstanding, a very very good way to brighten our moods before bowling. With JP not feeling at his best, Edd took the role of keeping and to be fair, did a good job. Jim and Kamran were given the duty to start off the Marcham downfall and give us a chance. Jim got straight to action with bowling in the right areas, while Kamran took a few overs to get his rhythm. For some unknown reason there was very little swing with the new ball so instead he turned to bowling quicker instead. After a couple of big hits, Jim had the last laugh against Chalmers who went for another boundary but only top edged one into the hands of Kamran. Grady at 3 looked like he wouldn't last long and he didn't, only 2 balls before another top edge and this time to Sahil at point. With his tail now up Kamran was bowling a testing line and length. His next over brought him his second wicket, straight through the gate and Marcham were in trouble at 41-3. The big hitter Mooring came in and survived a couple of balls that nearly hit his stumps. Kamran's spell ended and Will Thwaites made an impact almost immediately, the opener Armstrong being caught. This was where we threw the game away, from 55-4 we had multiple opportunities given to us to dominate but with Mooring being dropped at least 6 times and a run out also being missed, we were not doing ourselves any favours. There wasn't a lack of chances but they just weren't taken meaning good bowling was going to waste and the runs were increasing. Mooring finally was out miss-hitting a shot to Sam Rodway who caught it! A special mention to him for his first catch in a long time! With only 36 runs required, we still needed 5 wickets. Edd and Sam swapped over the keeping gear and Edd bowled a few overs alongside Chris Graham. The sixth wicket fell on 136, a first of the day for Chris and a good catch from Jim. The last few runs slowly came with Barratt playing a sensible knock for an unbeaten 29, seeing them home and leaving our record st the Brake this year at 2 wins from 8 games.

With only 2 games left this year, the main thing is to enjoy those precious few hours left in the season and hopefully we will remain in div 3. The penultimate game of the season is in a couple of weeks at home to Bampton.