Match Report for Stoics v Forty Club
Played at South Hill Park CC, September 9th
In a close contest, Stoics won the game against the Forty Club, which was played on the South Hill Park estate on Friday 9th September. Stoics batted first and made good progress initially, but the middle order collapsed and were at one point 111 for 9. However, a good last wicket partnership between Richard Mackey (41 not out) and Simon Bridgewater (27 not out) enabled Stoics to declare at a challenging total of 168 for 9 off 55 overs.
The Forty Club made a very positive start and were in a good position at 50 for the loss of a couple of wickets. Then, they too suffered a collapse, finding themselves at 59 for 5 wickets. Stoics at this point anticipated an early victory, but complacency is a dangerous thing. The number 7 batsman, an unlikely looking young cricketer in a blue shirt, turned out to be a very fine batsman. He must have been a last minute replacement and borrowed a shirt from a football friend. This boy struck some superb straight sixes in his innings of 60 and got his side to 147 for 7. He was on the verge of knocking off the remaining 22 runs, when a good catch on the long off boundary terminated his innings and let Stoics back into the game. Three overs later with the addition of only one more run, Stoics completed the victory, dismissing the Forty Club for 148 off 47 overs, with 2 overs remaining. Simon Bridgewater finished with 4 for 38 , and was very well supported by Tom Edwards and Chris Grant who chipped in with a couple of wickets each.
This was the first time the game between the two sides had taken played at this venue. Everyone thought it was a lovely ground and agreed that we should try and play there again next year. The wicket was a little under prepared, but this was due to the bad weather in the last week or so. It was a 12.00 to 6.30 declaration game, with a tea break between innings. The total cost of the game was £150, which was shared between the two sides and worked out to be less than £7.00 each player. The Forty Club’s hospitality was great and we look forward to playing them again next year on this ground.
Ranjit Latchman
Match Manager and Captain
12th September 2011