Eltham CC

Match Report

Match report Eltham CC Vs Wilmington CC

A short and bittersweet match report...

After the August wash out it was somewhat a surprise to experience good weather.

The Wilmington ground is very picturesque and makes for an enjoyable saunter in the field. It is entertainingly in a valley, so those fielding in line with the wicket look down on everyone else ? and can result I a straight drive rolling back towards you.

I would say the match was frustrating in that we didn?t do ourselves justice. Fair credit to Wilmington ? a good bunch of friendly guys that adopted the spirit of the game to such an extent that I wouldn?t have been surprised if they had strolled out to bad with a pint, positioning it behind the stumps before telling everyone that they haven?t played for years! The issue really is that , other than myself, one of our best teams and managed to lose (that was a slight spoiler for those that like to read a match report and keep the suspense going until the last sentence).

Their opening batsman, Cotton, that I think might have been their captain too was almost out early on to a runout and a difficult catch chance ? then composed himself to a decent 50 before receiving a straight one that he missed. I don?t think he took this well but nobody ever believes that they are out LBW!

From here the runs came and wickets fell but generally not fast enough. Still 192 was an achievable target.

Tea was good ? there was an all to convenient bar next to the tea?

Now for those of the Eltham CC that can bat, the word was that it was a little unpredictable. It all seemed to be going fine ? with Pete making a quick fire 20 odd, and then we started losing wickets, Our top men all going for between 15 and 25 when if that had been 25 and 35 we would have been home and dry. Matthew delegated responsibility to the tail following his dramatically short tenure at the wicket, but they proved too fragile to give enough support to Pete Swain to slog us to victory, leaving all of us basking in the sunshine wondering where it all went wrong. Still the warm afternoon and character of the opposition helped greatly.

I look forward to next years encounter.

Phil the Duck