Not Close at Whitchurch-on-Thames

Whitchurch pitched up with a pretty decent batting side whereas we boasted 8 bowlers and a long, long tail.

A negotiated toss resulted in them scoring 241 - 3, but several costly drops, even from people who normally bag them, probably made a big difference.  Both opening bats made 50s.  Our bowling was all-round tidy with no-one taking any particular tap.  Robin, JC & of course Martin probably performed best; Paul McIntyre rolled out his seam-up fare to decent effect, first time in a few years I reckon.

Robin and Jon Porter opened, Robin eventually making a 50-odd with a lot of support from David Williams (48, retired in frustration at the difficult in scoring).  Oskar came in next, and once he'd realised the best approach was to "think hockey", did start to make some runs.  But not the rest of us, who mostly went down in flames trying to squeeze too many runs from too few overs.  We even managed to present a Whitchurch "novelty bowler" (he won't mind the term) with the rarest 4-fer.

Anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy this inaugural fixture and it looks like we'll do it again next year.  The ground is one I play at regularly and is lovely, if perhaps bijou and with an occasionally perplexing surface.  I forget to take any pictures but the one below I took in 2012 gives a taste.

Andy Heard