1st XI Abberley 79 for 3, Packwood 76 all out - Win by 7 wkts

The final 1st XI match of a fluctuating season was played on Wednesday 25th June. For the first time we played Packwood in a reverse fixture from the usual May encounter. Back then we had chased 160 to win an excellent game, but with Packwood having won 3 tournaments this term, most recently the 20/20 at Shrewsbury, it was going to be a tough game.

Our cause was aided by the absence of Packwood's star batsman and Sandy duly clean bowled their replacement opener with the first ball of the game. Third ball saw a sharp catch dropped at slip as Sandy bowled an excellent opening spell. As has been the case all season, all the bowlers chipped in. We were tighter than Sunday when too many bad balls were punished by the boys from Durban. Packwood were still in 20/20 mode and lacking patience and despite two further dropped catches, wickets fell steadily, 5 of which were bowled. At 56-8 Packwood briefly threatened a fightback but the introduction of leg spin from Alex and a safely pouched high catch from Jack curtailed the proceedings at 76 all out.

At the Malvern Eight 8 we had bowled well only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Packwood, a loss that ultimately saw us slide out of the tournament early and Packwood go on to win it. It was important to finish the job but with lots of time to do it we could afford to be patient. Arthur led from the front very sensibly and Max as ever played calmly to lead us towards the total. Sandy came in for a quick blast and with some good running and several extras, the total was achieved for the loss of only 3 wickets in 22 overs.

A pleasing end to a term of good cricket. Six wins , 1 draw and six defeats aptly sums up our term. On our day we could give anyone a game but we were too reliant on Max to lead the way with runs and guilty all too often of lapses in intensity and concentration during a game which saw us lose momentum and lose games that we had a chance of winning.

The second round of matches against Packwood saw the 2nd.XI travelling North with William F. and William C. from the 1st.XI in the line-up. On a true and firm wicket we batted first and got off to a flying start scoring at almost
5 runs an over. However, after the fall of Will B. and Will C. and then Will F. (makes it easier if all the team were named William!) the innings ground to a snail pace. A few hearty shots from Henry O. saw us break the hundred but it was never going to be enough. Tight bowling was needed and keen support from the field was imperative. However we conceded 30 runs in the first 3 overs! So much for tight bowling. There were four splendid catches to dismiss the top order but there were also a number of drops which eased the pressure for Packwood and they ran out easy winners.

Nevertheless, an enjoyable day's cricket and the unfortunately the end of our season. Well played all and well done especially to Captain Wyndham ( a Mike Brearley in the making!)