Fulmer 244-3
Tranter 1-12, Jagesh 1-46
RUASCC 140-8
Dip 67, Zia 25
RUASCC lost by 104 runs
Back to Berkshire and back to reality for RUASCC this week as we faced Fulmer in a new fixture and got well and truly humped in a limited-overs game at a picturesque ground just north of Slough. The day was overcast but warm and when Tranter lost the toss we were, as usual, asked to field first.
It looked bad from the outset. 25 runs came from the first two overs and although Jagesh and Withers were eventually able to bring the run rate down to below 12 the Fulmer openers scored heavily, punishing all of the loose balls and several of the tight ones too. Neither looked in any trouble at all until Ali tried to reverse sweep Pensioner Ken’s third ball and was hopelessly bowled for 43 – one wicket given away, but Fulmer had almost 200 on the board before they lost another.
Zia found a couple of edges that went into gaps in the field, including one that went very high and landed next to wicketkeeper Dip who’d lost sight of it, and Tranter dropped a slip catch via his face. The frustration continued as Dr Ashman served up a full toss that was lofted straight to Ken Stewart at deep backward square leg but the old man watched in despair as the ball wriggled free and hit the turf. Some expert shot placement brought fifties for both batsmen before Jagesh returned to remove Shyma for 53, well caught by Dr Ashman at mid off.
Field accelerated and hit 20 off one over from Stewart on his way to becoming the fifth opposition player to score a century against RUASCC this year. The onslaught continued but with the field spread we did at least manage to contain the boundaries in the final stages. Then in the 40th over Tranter picked up the third wicket as the Fulmer innings ended on 244-3.
RUASCC need 245 runs to win
RUASCC made a dreadful start when Carpenter was bowled first ball and two overs later Eagle was caught in the gully for 5 as what had appeared to be the perfect batting track when we were bowling suddenly became riddled with demons as balls spun, swung and seamed all over the place.
Dip and Zia played positively and got the scoreboard ticking along but Tamoor soon took his third wicket: Zia bowled for 25. Dersh joined his brother but after carefully playing himself in he chipped the ball up to mid off and was easily caught. With nearly 200 still needed for the win and a very long tail to follow the outcome of the match already had a depressing air of inevitability about it and there was little but pride to play for.
Rahul played a couple of lovely shots before he was bowled and Skipper Tranter was run out by a direct hit when going for a risky single, but Dip continued to accumulate and he reached an excellent fifty with another swipe to leg. Then just as we were willing him to push on and get a ton he made an injudicious dash down the wicket to the leg spinner and was stumped by some distance. A fine innings from RUASCC’s Little Master.
Jagesh had just managed to reach double figures when he became the eighth wicket to fall on 120 so it was down to Withers and Pensioner Ken to find 125 runs in the seven overs remaining. With nothing to lose Withers dusted off a couple of attacking shots and almost finished Ken off with an all-run four thanks to an overthrow. Stewart had gone a curious shade of grey by the time he saw out a final maiden over as RUASCC finished on 140-8 to lose by a great many runs. Withers survived a huge appeal in the penultimate over to end on 17 not out, more than doubling his season’s tally.
Our embarrassment was complete when the home captain admitted in the bar afterwards that he had refrained from using their best bowler, a very diplomatic way of telling us that he knew perfectly well exactly how shit we are. I wonder if England have considered pulling Jimmy Anderson out of the attack to give India a chance next time.
RUASCC Highlight: Pensioner Ken completing an all-run four. Meaningless in the context of the game, but it did at least shut him up for a few minutes.
RUASCC Man of the Match: It can only be Dip for his first decent knock of the season.
RUASCC Team: Eagle, Carpenter, Dip (wkt), Zia, Dersh, Rahul, Jagesh, Tranter (capt), Withers, Stewart, Ashman
Sunday 14 August 2011
Friday 12 August 2011
England v India (2nd Test, Day 2, Trent Bridge) – 30.7.11
It’s been a busy couple of weeks, what with tour and everything, so my report from Trent Bridge has been slightly delayed. The bulk of this was written on Sunday 31st July (i.e. after day 3) so I have added a few editorial nudges.
* * * * * * * * * * *
If, like me, you only go to one day of live Test cricket each year, my advice is to make sure you choose a day that produces 288 runs, 10 wickets, a ton, two fifties and a blistering Stuart Broad hatrick that rips the roof off the stadium halfway through the final session. Otherwise I’m afraid it hardly seems worth it.
We felt a little while ago that these tickets would give us a decent chance of witnessing Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred and in accordance with Eagle’s specific instructions India began the second day’s play at Trent Bridge with one wicket down and the Little Master waiting to come in…
Morning Session
After several hours in the car we took our seats in the Radcliffe Road Stand at long-off/fine leg with two of the game’s finest batsmen, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, at the crease. Four successive balls were dispatched to the boundary as Anderson and Broad struggled to find the right length but Strauss kept his attacking field which meant that on the fast outfield any well-placed shot went all the way – and there were some very well-placed shots in the first hour. Laxman brought up his fifty with his tenth four, driven through extra cover, and just when it seemed there was no hope for England, along came Big Tim Bresnan.
(Ed: Of the six people in our group I was the only one who thought the selectors were right to bring in Bresnan instead of Steve Finn. Now I’m not saying that Steve Finn definitely wouldn’t have taken five wickets and scored 90 in the second innings, but I’m mightily pleased that Big Bres did.)
Anyway, Bresnan got one to bounce and move away from Laxman who very kindly edged it behind to Matt Prior and the partnership was finally broken. That wicket brought in Sachin Tendulkar to a standing ovation from the Trent Bridge crowd, many of whom were willing him to reach that century landmark. Then a slightly odd period of play before lunch saw Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott bowling at Dravid and Tendulkar - unsurprisingly there were no more wickets.
Afternoon Session
The return of the proper bowlers after lunch seemed to put a spark back into the England team and Tendulkar’s promising innings was cut short when he edged to Strauss at first slip. So no hundredth hundred this time, but for all we know it might have been the sixteenth time he’s scored 16.
The news just kept getting better for England: after Sachin’s dismissal Raina never looked comfortable and guided a wide long hop straight to Morgan at point, then Jonathan Trott landed painfully on his shoulder while fielding in the covers and was unable to bowl again. But just as it seemed England were really on top, Yuvraj Singh slashed Broad to gully and KP put it down. At this point India were still 80 runs behind but over the next hour and a half that missed chance looked as if it would prove costly.
Spurred on by the loud, irritating twat on the balcony behind us, Dravid and Yuvraj put on 128 runs spanning the tea interval. Dravid scored plenty in the vacant third man region (as did Bell the next day and many others in this game) and brought up his 34th Test hundred with a sweep off Graeme Swann who, like Jimmy Anderson, bowled well below his best and leaked runs all over the wicket. Swann didn’t seem to pose any kind of threat and his 12 overs cost 76 runs on a wicket that rendered Harbhajan Singh equally pointless for the tourists.
Yuvraj, having been dropped on four, passed fifty as India breezed past England’s first innings total and looked set to bat well into the weekend.
Evening Session
As enjoyable as Indian’s batting had been we all agreed that the day would be made a whole lot better if England could manage a really good session - nothing beats a good batting collapse after all. The period of play after tea was initially uneventful but then the bowlers got the boost they needed: the new ball.
Stuart Broad had been rested during the afternoon lull and he returned to the attack with fire in his eyes and steel in his balls. Yuvraj was the first to go, caught behind, and in Broad’s next over MS Dhoni, who clearly hadn’t settled, edged to Strauss for just 5. The crowd reacted with enthusiasm, the noise levels increased and Trent Bridge was buzzing as Harbhajan came to the crease to face his first ball. It also turned out to be his last ball as Broad beat him for pace and 20,000 people appealed for LBW. The umpire agreed and the ground went wild again. We were witnessing something very special indeed.
Now, no one came to Trent Bridge hoping to see a huge innings from Praveen Kumar. Kumar is expendable, like the Star Trek dude in the red shirt on the away mission to the dangerous planet Broad. As Kumar took his guard and looked nervously about, everyone in the stadium knew what was about to happen; everyone was on their feet already. To a deafening roar Stuart Broad pounded in, found the perfect line and length and the stumps were shattered. It was fucking awesome.
Such was the excitement in the ground at the time, we all believed he could make it four from four, and the way he hammered into Ishant Sharma you knew he believed it too. The ball was fast and full again but slightly down the leg side and Sharma poked it away with mighty relief. Broad had to settle for a treble-wicket-maiden and a standing ovation from the Nottingham crowd.
At this point Dravid realised he needed to go on the attack but at the first attempt he slashed a wide ball from Bresnan straight to the newly-installed third man. Fifteen minutes earlier India had been in control, 46 runs ahead with only four wickets down. Suddenly they had lost five wickets for six runs! The last pair swung the bat and added another 15 before Broad appropriately took the final wicket to finish on 6-46.
The Aftermath
Having watched the channel 5 highlights (predominantly to see if we were on telly) I have now seen the enormous inside edge that Harbhajan knew he’d got onto his pads so I understand why he looked so distraught to be given out. But as they said on the TV, he only really has his own cricket board to blame for that one after they vetoed the use of the review system for LBW decisions. I wonder if the noise inside the stadium was partly responsible for the umpire missing the knick, in which case I’ll claim an assist too.
England have bowled out the number one Test side in the world for less than 300 in every innings of this series so far and have exposed a fragile tail that arguably starts with a shattered-looking MS Dhoni at number seven (Ed: recent innings at Edgbaston excepted of course). With both Anderson and Swann well below their best it needed someone else to put in a dominant display and wrestle back control from the Indian batsmen, and Stuart Broad’s spell of 16 balls, five wickets for no runs is about as dominant as you can get.
To add a note of caution: Stuart Broad was the final victim of the previous Test hatrick (Peter Siddle in Brisbane) so if the chain is to be continued that means that Praveen Kumar is due to take the next one.
What happened over the next two days further emphasised how Broad’s incredible spell turned the match around - India didn’t win another session and ended up soundly beaten.
* * * * * * * * * * *
If, like me, you only go to one day of live Test cricket each year, my advice is to make sure you choose a day that produces 288 runs, 10 wickets, a ton, two fifties and a blistering Stuart Broad hatrick that rips the roof off the stadium halfway through the final session. Otherwise I’m afraid it hardly seems worth it.
We felt a little while ago that these tickets would give us a decent chance of witnessing Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred and in accordance with Eagle’s specific instructions India began the second day’s play at Trent Bridge with one wicket down and the Little Master waiting to come in…
Morning Session
After several hours in the car we took our seats in the Radcliffe Road Stand at long-off/fine leg with two of the game’s finest batsmen, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, at the crease. Four successive balls were dispatched to the boundary as Anderson and Broad struggled to find the right length but Strauss kept his attacking field which meant that on the fast outfield any well-placed shot went all the way – and there were some very well-placed shots in the first hour. Laxman brought up his fifty with his tenth four, driven through extra cover, and just when it seemed there was no hope for England, along came Big Tim Bresnan.
(Ed: Of the six people in our group I was the only one who thought the selectors were right to bring in Bresnan instead of Steve Finn. Now I’m not saying that Steve Finn definitely wouldn’t have taken five wickets and scored 90 in the second innings, but I’m mightily pleased that Big Bres did.)
Anyway, Bresnan got one to bounce and move away from Laxman who very kindly edged it behind to Matt Prior and the partnership was finally broken. That wicket brought in Sachin Tendulkar to a standing ovation from the Trent Bridge crowd, many of whom were willing him to reach that century landmark. Then a slightly odd period of play before lunch saw Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott bowling at Dravid and Tendulkar - unsurprisingly there were no more wickets.
Afternoon Session
The return of the proper bowlers after lunch seemed to put a spark back into the England team and Tendulkar’s promising innings was cut short when he edged to Strauss at first slip. So no hundredth hundred this time, but for all we know it might have been the sixteenth time he’s scored 16.
The news just kept getting better for England: after Sachin’s dismissal Raina never looked comfortable and guided a wide long hop straight to Morgan at point, then Jonathan Trott landed painfully on his shoulder while fielding in the covers and was unable to bowl again. But just as it seemed England were really on top, Yuvraj Singh slashed Broad to gully and KP put it down. At this point India were still 80 runs behind but over the next hour and a half that missed chance looked as if it would prove costly.
Spurred on by the loud, irritating twat on the balcony behind us, Dravid and Yuvraj put on 128 runs spanning the tea interval. Dravid scored plenty in the vacant third man region (as did Bell the next day and many others in this game) and brought up his 34th Test hundred with a sweep off Graeme Swann who, like Jimmy Anderson, bowled well below his best and leaked runs all over the wicket. Swann didn’t seem to pose any kind of threat and his 12 overs cost 76 runs on a wicket that rendered Harbhajan Singh equally pointless for the tourists.
Yuvraj, having been dropped on four, passed fifty as India breezed past England’s first innings total and looked set to bat well into the weekend.
Evening Session
As enjoyable as Indian’s batting had been we all agreed that the day would be made a whole lot better if England could manage a really good session - nothing beats a good batting collapse after all. The period of play after tea was initially uneventful but then the bowlers got the boost they needed: the new ball.
Stuart Broad had been rested during the afternoon lull and he returned to the attack with fire in his eyes and steel in his balls. Yuvraj was the first to go, caught behind, and in Broad’s next over MS Dhoni, who clearly hadn’t settled, edged to Strauss for just 5. The crowd reacted with enthusiasm, the noise levels increased and Trent Bridge was buzzing as Harbhajan came to the crease to face his first ball. It also turned out to be his last ball as Broad beat him for pace and 20,000 people appealed for LBW. The umpire agreed and the ground went wild again. We were witnessing something very special indeed.
Now, no one came to Trent Bridge hoping to see a huge innings from Praveen Kumar. Kumar is expendable, like the Star Trek dude in the red shirt on the away mission to the dangerous planet Broad. As Kumar took his guard and looked nervously about, everyone in the stadium knew what was about to happen; everyone was on their feet already. To a deafening roar Stuart Broad pounded in, found the perfect line and length and the stumps were shattered. It was fucking awesome.
Such was the excitement in the ground at the time, we all believed he could make it four from four, and the way he hammered into Ishant Sharma you knew he believed it too. The ball was fast and full again but slightly down the leg side and Sharma poked it away with mighty relief. Broad had to settle for a treble-wicket-maiden and a standing ovation from the Nottingham crowd.
At this point Dravid realised he needed to go on the attack but at the first attempt he slashed a wide ball from Bresnan straight to the newly-installed third man. Fifteen minutes earlier India had been in control, 46 runs ahead with only four wickets down. Suddenly they had lost five wickets for six runs! The last pair swung the bat and added another 15 before Broad appropriately took the final wicket to finish on 6-46.
Ticket for the Test match: £60After a fourth consecutive failure for Alastair Cook (Ed: drop him!) England finished the day on exactly the same score, 24-1, as India had started it, but still trailed in the match by 43 runs.
Petrol from Reading to Nottingham: £45
Seeing Broad take a Test hatrick against the number 1 team in the world: £105
Don't let those bastards at MasterCard make you believe that shit comes for free
The Aftermath
Having watched the channel 5 highlights (predominantly to see if we were on telly) I have now seen the enormous inside edge that Harbhajan knew he’d got onto his pads so I understand why he looked so distraught to be given out. But as they said on the TV, he only really has his own cricket board to blame for that one after they vetoed the use of the review system for LBW decisions. I wonder if the noise inside the stadium was partly responsible for the umpire missing the knick, in which case I’ll claim an assist too.
England have bowled out the number one Test side in the world for less than 300 in every innings of this series so far and have exposed a fragile tail that arguably starts with a shattered-looking MS Dhoni at number seven (Ed: recent innings at Edgbaston excepted of course). With both Anderson and Swann well below their best it needed someone else to put in a dominant display and wrestle back control from the Indian batsmen, and Stuart Broad’s spell of 16 balls, five wickets for no runs is about as dominant as you can get.
To add a note of caution: Stuart Broad was the final victim of the previous Test hatrick (Peter Siddle in Brisbane) so if the chain is to be continued that means that Praveen Kumar is due to take the next one.
What happened over the next two days further emphasised how Broad’s incredible spell turned the match around - India didn’t win another session and ended up soundly beaten.
Thursday 11 August 2011
RUASCC Tour 2011
Without a win since May, RUASCC set off on the 2011 tour of Cheltenham (and vaguely surrounding areas) full of confidence. After three hugely enjoyable fixtures we returned on Sunday evening tired, happy and in some cases with stitches.
Here's what happened:
RUASCC 197-3
Baker 48 not out, Zia 46 not out
Birdlip & Brimpsfield 172-5
Zia 3-19, Holder 2-24
RUASCC won by 25 runs
We arrived in Birdlip on a glorious sunny evening and maybe the change of air was just what the RUASCC top order needed. Chan Malde struck some of the most powerful boundaries of the year, a six and seven fours in his 37, before Baker and Zia added an unbroken 69 stand for the fourth wicket. The total of 197-3 was higher than we often manage in a 40-over game.
Needing ten an over Birdlip were behind the run rate at the halfway stage (65-2) and a lethal delivery from Pensioner Ken Stewart (Dr Kilmore) sent one of their batsmen to hospital with a split lip - a piece of tooth was also found on the wicket. Parsons and Green both passed fifty (the latter hitting plenty of sixes) but the home side still needed 75 from the last five before Zia returned and took three quick wickets to quell the fightback.
Special thanks to Birdlip for generously donating two guest players in the absence of Carpenter and Griffiths. James Buse (34) and Trevor Holder (2-24) both proved to be of great assistance.
RUASCC Highlight: The batting, and Chan’s in particular, was pleasingly vigorous.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Zia.
Bristol 4th XI 126 all out
Zia 2-12, Ashman 2-16
RUASCC 127-6
Carpenter 38, Malde 31 not out
RUASCC won by 4 wickets
On Saturday we travelled down to Bristol and watched in awe as their 1st team played proper cricket on the main pitch. Fortunately we were scheduled to meet the 4ths so we snuck through a gap in the hedge to play in a neighbouring field.
Against a very young side two wickets apiece from Baker, Zia and Ashman proved enough to keep the total down. Pensioner Ken eventually removed the opening batsman for 43 thanks to a smart stumping from Young Sam and Captain Tranter took a stinging return catch to end the innings on 126. The other wicket, it should be noted, came courtesy of a run out by “Good Arm” Withers.
The RUASCC reply saw Weeks (3), Griffiths (10) and Stewart (2) all clean bowled while Carpenter added the bulk of the runs, hitting a six and five fours in his 38. When he was caught at square leg it was 73-4 but a 39 run stand between Zia and Malde took us to within touching distance of the target. That partnership was ended by another hilarious run out with Zia 20 yards out of his ground, and Baker was bowled by a jaffa before Eagle (1 not out) and Malde eventually saw RUASCC home with a few overs to spare, despite the best efforts of sub fielder Withers.
RUASCC Highlight: Eagle coming in at number eight, facing one ball and playing it behind square for a single.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Carpenter for setting up the successful chase and Malde for finishing the job.
RUASCC 208-3
Baker 65 retired hurt, Carpenter 62
Aldsworth 134 all out
Withers 5-27, Zia 2-18
RUASCC won by 74 runs
We arrived in the pleasant village of Aldsworth for the final game of the weekend and found a proper little cricket ground: huge slope from leg to off (or off to leg depending on which way you were facing) and a very grassy wicket that was part trampoline and part rice pudding.
Carpenter made light of the unpredictable bounce belting fours to all parts of the ground and the opening pair put on 60 before Eagle was caught behind for 12. Runs continued to flow and the hundred came up in 20 overs just as Carpenter was celebrating the first RUASCC fifty of tour. Baker’s soon followed and we looked to be heading for a healthy total even once Carpenter (62) and Zia (16) were dismissed by well-taken catches.
A short rain shower prompted an early tea and Captain Eagle chose to bat on for a few more overs after the break to try to reach 200. Baker’s match was ended when he caught a nasty top-edge and was rushed to hospital with a bleeding head wound but Malde and Griffiths piled on the runs in the last few minutes before Eagle declared on 208-3.
Any fears that our total might not have been quite enough were allayed when Zia and Withers shared four early wickets with just ten runs on the board. A couple of the Aldsworth batsmen provided spirited resistance slogging everything they could to the boundary, but further wickets from Ashman, Tranter and Stewart put RUASCC firmly in control. Withers returned and picked up the last three wickets to seal the third consecutive victory and also his first five-wicket haul in more than two years.
RUASCC Highlight: Withers’ reaction catch at short leg from a full-blooded pull shot.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Three-way split this time - great knocks from Carpenter and Baker to continue their good form over the weekend, and Withers for taking five wickets and four catches in the innings.
So after failing to bowl out any opposition side in a dozen matches, we achieved it twice in consecutive days this weekend. Having only won twice all season, we've now won five games. Here ends a successful and hugely enjoyable tour.
Here's what happened:
RUASCC 197-3
Baker 48 not out, Zia 46 not out
Birdlip & Brimpsfield 172-5
Zia 3-19, Holder 2-24
RUASCC won by 25 runs
We arrived in Birdlip on a glorious sunny evening and maybe the change of air was just what the RUASCC top order needed. Chan Malde struck some of the most powerful boundaries of the year, a six and seven fours in his 37, before Baker and Zia added an unbroken 69 stand for the fourth wicket. The total of 197-3 was higher than we often manage in a 40-over game.
Needing ten an over Birdlip were behind the run rate at the halfway stage (65-2) and a lethal delivery from Pensioner Ken Stewart (Dr Kilmore) sent one of their batsmen to hospital with a split lip - a piece of tooth was also found on the wicket. Parsons and Green both passed fifty (the latter hitting plenty of sixes) but the home side still needed 75 from the last five before Zia returned and took three quick wickets to quell the fightback.
Special thanks to Birdlip for generously donating two guest players in the absence of Carpenter and Griffiths. James Buse (34) and Trevor Holder (2-24) both proved to be of great assistance.
RUASCC Highlight: The batting, and Chan’s in particular, was pleasingly vigorous.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Zia.
Bristol 4th XI 126 all out
Zia 2-12, Ashman 2-16
RUASCC 127-6
Carpenter 38, Malde 31 not out
RUASCC won by 4 wickets
On Saturday we travelled down to Bristol and watched in awe as their 1st team played proper cricket on the main pitch. Fortunately we were scheduled to meet the 4ths so we snuck through a gap in the hedge to play in a neighbouring field.
Against a very young side two wickets apiece from Baker, Zia and Ashman proved enough to keep the total down. Pensioner Ken eventually removed the opening batsman for 43 thanks to a smart stumping from Young Sam and Captain Tranter took a stinging return catch to end the innings on 126. The other wicket, it should be noted, came courtesy of a run out by “Good Arm” Withers.
The RUASCC reply saw Weeks (3), Griffiths (10) and Stewart (2) all clean bowled while Carpenter added the bulk of the runs, hitting a six and five fours in his 38. When he was caught at square leg it was 73-4 but a 39 run stand between Zia and Malde took us to within touching distance of the target. That partnership was ended by another hilarious run out with Zia 20 yards out of his ground, and Baker was bowled by a jaffa before Eagle (1 not out) and Malde eventually saw RUASCC home with a few overs to spare, despite the best efforts of sub fielder Withers.
RUASCC Highlight: Eagle coming in at number eight, facing one ball and playing it behind square for a single.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Carpenter for setting up the successful chase and Malde for finishing the job.
RUASCC 208-3
Baker 65 retired hurt, Carpenter 62
Aldsworth 134 all out
Withers 5-27, Zia 2-18
RUASCC won by 74 runs
We arrived in the pleasant village of Aldsworth for the final game of the weekend and found a proper little cricket ground: huge slope from leg to off (or off to leg depending on which way you were facing) and a very grassy wicket that was part trampoline and part rice pudding.
Carpenter made light of the unpredictable bounce belting fours to all parts of the ground and the opening pair put on 60 before Eagle was caught behind for 12. Runs continued to flow and the hundred came up in 20 overs just as Carpenter was celebrating the first RUASCC fifty of tour. Baker’s soon followed and we looked to be heading for a healthy total even once Carpenter (62) and Zia (16) were dismissed by well-taken catches.
A short rain shower prompted an early tea and Captain Eagle chose to bat on for a few more overs after the break to try to reach 200. Baker’s match was ended when he caught a nasty top-edge and was rushed to hospital with a bleeding head wound but Malde and Griffiths piled on the runs in the last few minutes before Eagle declared on 208-3.
Any fears that our total might not have been quite enough were allayed when Zia and Withers shared four early wickets with just ten runs on the board. A couple of the Aldsworth batsmen provided spirited resistance slogging everything they could to the boundary, but further wickets from Ashman, Tranter and Stewart put RUASCC firmly in control. Withers returned and picked up the last three wickets to seal the third consecutive victory and also his first five-wicket haul in more than two years.
RUASCC Highlight: Withers’ reaction catch at short leg from a full-blooded pull shot.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Three-way split this time - great knocks from Carpenter and Baker to continue their good form over the weekend, and Withers for taking five wickets and four catches in the innings.
So after failing to bowl out any opposition side in a dozen matches, we achieved it twice in consecutive days this weekend. Having only won twice all season, we've now won five games. Here ends a successful and hugely enjoyable tour.
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