Rayleigh 287–6 net 219
Westcliff 282–3 net 258
Result: Lost by 39 runs
We won the toss and decided to bat first. Max and Connor opened the batting they got off to a steady start with some cracking shots going for 4. Max eventually got out to a good ball. At the end of their four overs both of them had put on a score of 205 against some accurate and challenging bowling.
Next we had Chris and Matt come in. Chris played very well and was scoring some well needed runs. At the other end Matt was batting comfortably and the bowlers just couldn’t get him out. Then Chris was out to an unlucky catch behind but he kept his head up and played the rest of the innings sensibly. It was good to see when they both came out they had a smile on their face which is what the game is all about.
The third pair to come in were Mihir and Charles. Charles hit his first ball for 4 and kept that kind of attitude up until he was bowled to a ball that may have got Graham Napier out. Mihir played an extremely good innings with a good score of 5. At the end of their partnership they reached 228.
After them in came the six hitter Steven Lynch with super brave Alex. Steven took strike and played a defensive innings then he creamed one straight to the covers it was an awesome catch. Then it was Alex’s turn he was hit hard in the chest and bravely decided to carry on.
Finaly it was Josh’s and my turn, I took the strike and played defensively. Then I faced what was an excellent ball and was completely out smarted. Then Josh was out to a ball that just kept low. It was a disappointing end although I felt real guilty when I realised that Josh only faced three balls and I had the rest!
It was time to bowl and Matt and I bowled the opening two overs which were both maidens. Matt bowled another over which only went for two runs. Charles replaced me and his overs didn’t go for much at all. Steven did the trick with a wicket which we really deserved. Chris bowled well by not bowling any wides or no balls. That pair got their team to 208. We were on top.
Next we had Josh bowling, he had a tough batting pair and he kept them down and Alex helped by keeping things tight at the other end. I bowled my next over that was a wicket maiden and then Connor took a wicket and we were back in the game. The last batting pair didn’t lose a wicket despite Mihir’s and Max’s good bowling. We had lost although we didn’t give up at any time despite some bad injuries to Matt and Alex.
A proud performance.
Mihir Patel, our star spin bowler, gave up a day at Thorpe Park with his family today just to play for us so he deserves a big thank you!
Some pictures of the match are available on the 2009 Pictures Page.