Long Marston 2nd XI beat Chearsley 2nd XI by 43 runs

The match survived a morning inspection following a sopping wet Friday, but a sunny day soon had conditions playable for our final warm-up before the league season starts next week.

Availability was an issue and we only fielded 10, but still a solid team comprising seasoned second teamers and four promising juniors. Another negotiated toss saw Chearsley take to the field with N. Babington reprising his regular role up the hill and V. Connolly presenting a different challenge from the other end. Both bowled well, Nick shrugging off a little rustiness before picking up 2 wickets for 13 runs off 5 overs, and Vinnie again looking very tricky to face, picking up 1 wicket for 14 runs off 5 overs. M. Claridge bowled a typically tidy spell up the hill (8 overs, 1 wicket for 21 runs), and the four juniors again all showed promise with their bowling and fielding: D. Biggs (1 wicket for 17 runs off four overs) and Joe Storey both with very good spells down the hill, and H. Tripathy and F. Waters with encouraging spells tasked with the trickier endeavour of bowling up the hill. D. Stratford picked up a wicket in a short spell, and the skipper reminded the team why his own bowling is unlikely to feature a great deal in the league this season. Our fielding was excellent, with Dylan taking a fine catch at gully off Nick, Finn, Joe and Himank all saving runs with good stops, and Vinnie taking a solid catch on the boundary. P. Cherry again looked good behind the stumps. Long Marston, with a strong team from a Division higher than us, posted 169-7 off their 40 overs.

Vinnie and Duncan opened the batting in reply, but both fell cheaply against quality quick bowling. M. Claridge looked in good nick, hitting 5 boundaries including the game's only 6 before being bowled for 26. N. Babington played with a freedom and aggression rarely seen, transparently keen to skedaddle to a provincial soccer match at a nearby half-built stadium; he hit a fine knock of 48 from just 53 balls, and his batting will be a solid addition to the second team middle order this season. The innings featured some ambitious, and at times overly-ambitious running between the wickets, with P. Cherry an unfortunate victim to one such call. The team's innings then rather petered out, despite a few cameos, as we were all out for 126.

As with the game at Bledlow Ridge, plenty of promise for both the second and third teams ahead of an exciting weekend where the club will field three teams for the first time in its history.

[TM]