Sissinghurst II 171-7 in 40 overs (Michael Winner 55, Peter Smith 65, Ben Harrison 9-1-40-2, James Roche 9-3-15-3, James Flemington 9-0-32-2) lost to Speldhurst II 172-5 in 36.1 overs (James Flemington 76* Ben Harrison 40*, Charlie Streeten 7.1-1-33-2) by 5 wickets.
The weather was set fair, if the pitch and outfield a little soft and slow! Sissinghurst batted first and were 60-3 from 15 overs, with James ‘Junior’ Roche (3-15 from 9 overs) in particular being very economical.
Overs 20-35 were average in the field, but, despite some terrible mathematics from the skipper, we recovered well, restricting the opposition to 171 from the 40. Young Will Plunkett bowled very well under pressure, but still we wait for 10 opposition wickets!
In response, a celebrity appearance from Francis Booth lasted 21 balls with bat in hand. Unfortunately, no runs were scored! Junior Roche also failed to score, with considerably less time at the crease.
When Iqbal also departed we were 26-3 and looking precarious, but James Flemington had other ideas. Small partnerships with Nick Fowler and father Mark got us closer, but still 105 runs away.
It wasn’t until he was joined by his skipper that JFlem cut loose. Two very large 6s and a number of one-bounce 4s catapulted us to what had at one time seemed a very unlikely win by five wickets, with nearly four overs left. James finished unbeaten on 76 (65 balls) with skipper ‘Happy’ Harrison on 40 (46 balls).
Due to the good partnerships, I wasn’t required to bat and enjoyed my first victory with the club.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.