It was a glorious day over near Rugby at Bilton Grange. Again Will won the toss and elected to field. The pitch was a belter as usual but the opening spells of Will C and Dan L were very tight and at the first drinks break Bilton were a mere 15-0 off 10 overs. Our grip loosened in the next 10 as fielders were a bit slack but only 60 were on the board after 20 overs. Will returned to take a couple of wickets and the big guns of Bilton came in and fired. The bowling was a bit wayward but the hitting was hard and true and 110 runs were whacked off the next 15 overs. The total of 170-3 looked a big one.

However the Abberley reply was a positive one. Will F hit his stride quickly taking 17 off one over with 4 consecutive pulls to the boundary. Dan G survived the opening bowlers but was bowled by the innocuous looking change bowler. However he did bowl a nagging length and Will F played a lazy shot and was bowled by the same bowler in the same over. Will C and Fergus joined forces and briefly looked as if they would carry on from wednesday until Will ran himself out going for a risky second run. The throw was a good one but with the ball already to hand it was a poor decision given the good start that had been made. Fergus, Will C and James all fell meekly playing poorly across the line and from 42 -0 we were 58-6.

Defeat looked inevitable as Bilton preened themselves but Ed and Harry had other ideas. The bowling became increasingly lacklustre and runs were picked up steadily. The Abberley batsmen were largely untroubled and proceeded to put on 82 for the 7th wicket in 15 overs. Ed finished with 45 and Harry 22 and a very respectable 140-6 was amassed in 30 overs. It was a super effort from those two.

The game was therefore drawn but this was another case of what might have been. I had warned the boys at tea that we had leaked 20 sloppy runs and most of our batsmen contributed to their own downfall. To finish only 30 short given our earlier predicament was a good effort and gives us heart for after half term. However the team needs to perform as a whole for an entire innings as we are too reliant on a few individuals at present.

"Seconds Shine as Bilton Wilt"

It was a glorious summer's afternoon: warm sunshine, blue skies and a breath
of a breeze. (Perhaps the Tescos check-out lady's prediction of a good
summer is coming right! Call me a 'doubting Thomas' but I'm still reading
the tea leaves!) Anyway back to the sunshine, the blue skies and the breath
of a breeze.The scene was set: stumps, bails, ball, kit, team,
spectators......but no opposition. At about 2.45 Bilton Grange arrived
having had some difficulty with 'Tom-Tom' (whoever he is) and directions.
Not to worry, we were soon ready to go. Captain Richard S. won the toss yet
again (the seventh time in succession.He should have a go at the lottery!)
So in we went to bat. Toby C. clipped the first delivery to the boundary,
Harry G. looked solid (nice to have him back from his South of France
excursion) ,even though the ball was keeping low. All looked 'tickety-boo'.
Until, Toby C. received a ball, which would have given any respectable mole
a shock had he popped up to sniff the air, and his off-stump was unsettled.
Captain Richard S. next man in looked nervous and his call for a run with
the ball in cover point's hands left Harry G needing 'Bolt-like' speed to
make his ground. Fortunately the early tremors subsided and a stand between
Richard S. and Timon W. developed. Almost 30 runs made between the two when
Richard S. departed having made 17. Runs kept coming; Timon W. stroked the
ball to the boundary and Andrew S. along with Alex P. ,lower down the order,
picked off the bad ball to give us a handsome total. Captain Richard wisely
declared. Our bowlers wasted no time getting in amongst the Bilton batters
and our catching was brilliant: total stickability, absolutely non-porous,
100% non butter-fingers! Wickets tumbled, runs trickled but time ticked by.
Rupert K. beguiled the batters with his clever variations of spin and
flight. Harry G. pegged them down with relentless accuracy and still the
catches were held: George H. claiming 2 and Toby C. diving for the catch of
the day.

A splendid win with contributions from all eleven boys and played with
enthusiasm, enjoyment and good spirit. Marvellous!

With Bilton Grange needing 10 from the last over Max W( 2-6) bowled beautifully to concede only one run, cementing a hard fought victory.

Having been invited to bat in a 20 overs match the early order Abberley batsmen rather lost their way and were soon 11-3. Max (10) and Toby Y(14) steadied the ship and with a solid 14 from Will A-J a respectable total of 89 was achieved.

Toby Y and Jake P gave the Bilton Grange openers few opportunities for run scoring and put the opposition under pressure from the outset. With excellent fielding the game culminated in the last exciting over, with Bilton Grange finishing on 80-9.

On a glorious afternoon the Abberley Warriors traveled to Bilton Grange to take on the Lions in a limited overs match. We batted first and accumulated runs quickly from the bat and extras. All of our batsmen played well, Ed H in particular played some nice shots in his brief innings and most were ‘retired’ undefeated on our way to a super total of 148 for 3 from 21 overs.

As a team we decided to let all of our players bowl for two overs. We bowled and fielded like it was the final of the Twenty20 World Cup!! – no bowler conceding more then 7 runs and the fielders throwing themselves everywhere to stop and/or catch the ball restricting BG Lions to a final score of 50 for 5.

A super game, on a perfect day, well played to both sides where enthusiasm and sportsmanship were the real winners