The Originals got back into their stride following a lacklustre display at Letcombe with a fine win on Saturday against Watlington.
After a very forthright (and warranted) address from the skipper, who announced his intentions to either bat or………..bowl if he won the toss (!!), Marsh were asked to bowl first in glorious (yet boiling) cricket conditions. Despite the weather and the excellent track produced by our fine team of groundsmen, there was still something in it for the seamers with the ball swinging around from ball one! Stevie and Carlos (with a very economical 1-19 off 9) got us off to a good start removing the opening pair, before Chris Allen (84) started to punish anything loose, making a high total a distinct possibility. Marsh’s bowlers did an excellent job in pegging Watlington back, with Stevie (3-64) and Olly (4-37) the main contributors to the wicket column as Marsh dismissed the visitors for 205, which Marsh were confident of chasing down given the quality of the batting line-up and the deck.
A wonderful tea was devoured courtesy of my dearly beloved (“lovely melons” S.Turner, 2010), with another fine selection of savouries, which in my opinion has been a strength of the ladies performances so far this season!! ” Are the teas always like this?”, asked the umpire, whilst the other complained “the plates aren’t big enough!”, which really is a indictment of the quality of refreshments our valued ladies provide. We have a lot to live up to in the cricketing stakes as we are surely nearing the upper echelons of the official ICC tea rankings!!
Despite losing five players from the previous week, Gibbon went into bat with the belief they could win, which was immediately evident by the positive strokes Joe played at the top of the innings. Adam went early and we wondered whether a wobble was on the cards, but it was a day for the youngsters to lead the way and show us how it’s done! Joe and Will put on a magical 150-odd partnership for the second wicket, with some fantastic batting, illustrating both the touch and power either side of the wicket. Both Joe and Will played with a maturity belying their years, which was a pleasure to watch, giving a demonstration to all of us on how to construct and execute an innings. Despite losing Joe (71) and Will (77), Marsh moved to victory following a useful knock by Jules (16), Ollie (14no) and Matt (8no).
A good win with the youngsters leading the way, which takes us into an important few weeks with three away fixtures against three of the leading sides, starting with Minster Lovell this Saturday.
The pig was suitably fed with a diverse range of fines dispensed by our stand-in fines master (Joe). Notably, Stu for crying and leaving the field after being hit on the knee, Stevie for his comments on the tea ladies melons and a curious incident involving certain players and an egg sandwich in the changing rooms!!
We look forward to next weeks game at Minster.
Stu
