1st XI (away) Abberley 119 all out Beaudesert 120 for 5 - Lost by 5 wkts

The recent trend of slow starts to a cricket season by the 1st XI was maintained on Saturday by a 5 wicket defeat at Beaudesert. Having been put in on a good wicket , the Abberley batsmen were unable to play straight or play with much composure early on and at 54-6 were in serious danger of considerable embarrassment. Francis though appeared to have listened to some of the advice offered this term and played with patience and thought to score a valuable 32 before he was woefully run out when we were on the brink of recovery. Alex and Matt gave a late flourish to the innings but 119 all out was not likely to be enough.

The young Beaudesert opener played with fluency on the offside milking one over for 4 consecutive boundaries as my mood deepened in the warm sunshine. However the arrival of spin halted the charge and Abberley finally woke up with Beaudesert halfway to the total. The ground fielding was notably sharp and at 98-5 we had them wobbling briefly. However the young opener remained and when he offered a sharp chance off Hugo, Max could not hold on and our slim chance of an upset had gone.

There was an odd mix of the very good and the very bad in this game but this side is not yet fulfilling its potential. It is no wonder that I am losing my hair !