It’s always a joy to play on Farmer Chris’s picturesque Holt ground and this year, on a pleasant May evening, was no exception.
Losing the toss, we fielded first and The Milburys soon set about some aggressive batting with rather too many boundaries flowing for our liking! However, our opening bowlers Rishi & Tom T stuck to their task well returning 2 for 12 and 1 for 26 respectively. Bowling beautifully with good shape and swing – but without much luck – was Racqueteers debutant Chris M (aka The Doctor) whilst at the other end, the ever-wily Sepia tweaked three overs of controlled left-arm spin. When Sepia had to leave the field after cutting his finger in the field, our esteemed President took over the attack bowling up the hill. Having been cautious about bowling at all in this match (due to a nagging heel strain) he then delivered the most impressive spell of accurate, medium-paced bowling; a career best 5 for only 12 runs in 3.2 overs. Even more extraordinary was that all the dismissals were clean bowled. Well played Mike! Thus The Milburys innings finished on 112 for 9 in their 18 overs.
In reply we started solidly enough until both the Prof (5) and the Skipper (10) fell to good catches taken in the gully. The middle order rather fell away, as we pursued the total in our allotted 18 overs, though hope remained while The Bard was at the crease scoring a well-struck positive 26 (retired). G played an elegant and watchful innings (11 not out) but sadly we fell short in the fading light by 30 runs, eventually losing 8 wickets. The disappointment of coming second was soon forgotten over a drink and a plate of sausage & chips back at the eponymous pub; we look forward to returning to our triumphant ways on this lovely rural ground next time!
The Racqueteers Cricket Club 