Stapleford Phoenix v IPH

Phoenix won the toss, elected to bat.
IPH won by one wicket.

Match Report

Another battling performance that again came so close to victory.
Gareth continued as skipper and this time won the toss. With two players still on their way to the Field of Dreams, plus the need to avoid last week’s fading light problems, it was was an easy call to make – we batted first.
Gareth and Stuart overcame the setback of Dave’s early wicket loss to get the scoreboard moving; both retired not out – the skipper rode his luck but played some excellent attacking shots, Stuart took much longer but made sure we always had a senior batsman at the crease until the final overs.

Stapleford Phoenix
View from the boundary, one layer warmer.

Nick continued his double-figure form in a middle order that found it difficult to get going as the overs diminished – our total included four ducks, including Aidan, who, having finally turned up, went in at number seven and was immediately caught, thus once again winning the Thanks for Turning Up award he introduced last season.
Simon and Matt wielded willow in the final over to get our score to 96-7 – exactly the same total we managed last week.
Not a huge score but one we were determined to defend, although that task became even more difficult when their opener smashed his way back into the pavilion after just five overs; some of the shots he played off Simon in particular were astonishing.

Stapleford Phoenix
J West enjoying IPH opening batsmen

 

Our only option was to try to get the rest out and to our credit wickets began to tumble.
Simon was rewarded with the scalp of the other opener and Stuart’s tidy spell resulted in two more gone – including a superb caught and bowled.
Both change bowlers continued the trend with the ultra-economical Matt bowling one and the fixtures secretary getting two more caught behind in the same over.
Tim, having already taken a routine catch, pulled off another stunning caught and bowled and then bowled another IPH man off his legs.
Damon dismissed the next man as Dave took his third catch of the match behind the stumps, just as he had last week.
IPH were nine down but that meant their opener could return. He was able to take most of the strike and saw them home in the last over.
Great effort though.

Batsman Runs
D Garman(w) b Richard M 0
S Creed retired 28
G Everson (c) retired 26
D Rainsford c Richard B 0
Harrison b Ben 3
Robinson b Chris P 10
A Swain c Richard B 0
Cairnduff c Raj 0
J West c Richard M 2
Lancaster not out 6
M Dobson not out 3
Extras 18
Total (20 overs)   96-7

 

Batsman Runs
Chris P c Harrison Lancaster 9
Mel not out 36
Sushant c&b S Creed 8
Boyce b S Creed 0
Bond b M Dobson 1
Suraj c Garman J West 10
Aji c&b T Harrison 8
Ben c Garman J West 0
Richard M b T Harrison 13
Vin c Garman D Rainsford 0
Butler not out 1
extras 11
Total (19.2 overs)   97-9

 

Bowler Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Econ
S Lancaster 4 0 33 1 8.25
S Creed 4 0 18 2 4.5
M Dobson 4 1 6 1 1.5
J West 4 0 20 2 5
D Rainsford 2 0 9 1 4.5
T Harrison 2 0 8 2 4