A weekend of contrasts for the 1st XI. A pleasing display at Birchfield followed by a disappointing batting effort against Clifton Durban. The game at Birchfield ended in a draw but Abberley made 141 thanks to a belligerent 53 from Will C and Birchfield were clinging on at 83-9. Barnaby led the way with 4-15 but in fact all the bowlers contributed and there was a pleasing urgency about our play as a flurry of late wickets almost saw us home against a useful side.

Sunday saw the visit of Clifton Durban from South Africa. The tone for the game was set in the first over with the opener dropped at point. A sharp chance but the boy went on to make 69 and anchor the total of 221 amassed in 45 overs. There was some good bowling, notably by Dan L but 4 more catches went down and our vistors played sensible cricket on a slow pitch taking advantage of the inconsistent Abberley bowling which offered too many cheap runs.

Our reply was steady with Will F and Ed playing comfortably. However we managed to get ourselves out with some poor shots and feebly only used 25 of the alotted 45 overs to score our 81. Woeful.

The Soutrh Africans played better cricket all day but we really should have given them a better game. We needed to play our best game to compete but fell well short of the mark.

'A Lack of Runs Allows Moor Park Comfortable Victory'

I should have looked at the clouds earlier: dark, foreboding and massing over the hills nearby. A forecast of doom? The rain held off but Abberley's batting struggled to lift the gloom and with a meagre 99 on the board life for the bowlers was going to be tough. However to have reached 99 after an eventful start was pretty good. Will B. our main run machine mal-functioned and James P. (on loan from the 1st XI) chipped a half-volley to square leg leaving the scorer with little to write in total column. By then Timon the Mighty had strode to the wicket and his opening shots looked classy. He and the fidgety Alex P. calmed Abberley nerves and started the scoreboard ticking over. The Moor Park bowling was tight and their fielding was brave.
They pegged us down and with a combination of poor calling and audacious shots wickets tumbled and the score slowly, very slowly mounted. Tea was taken after the final Abberley wicket fell. Words were spoken, tactics described and the message made clear: take wickets, take wickets, take wickets and defend your boundaries! Bowling was good but the bad ball was dispatched faster than a package from Parcel Force with double first class stamps! Abberley stuck to their task but so did Moor Park. Archie L. took a magnificent catch off his own bowling and Harry G. has Richard S. to thank for his wicket. A Run Out gave a glimmer of hope but in the penultimate over the winning runs were struck. The dark, foreboding clouds trundled away like an aerial elephant. They had brought their message and our fate was now fact.