Sporting Alfas Cricket Club Sporting Alfas 2nd X1 167 for 9 tied with Newbold on Avon CC 167 for 10
Newbold on Avon returned to the Woodbridge Oval for the 2nd and final day of their tour to take on the Alfas 2nds hoping to get a win on the board before heading home.
As the day before, Newbold decided to set a target but tinkered with the batting line up in order to give all the tourists a game and made changes from the defeat the day before.
Clarke and Siddons started well, helped no end by Alfas being a bit too relaxed without the pressures of the league and the visitors raced to 40 without loss before the Alfas finally woke up in the 9th over.
By this stage, the visiting openers had had a few reprieves with some catches not being taken but Abdul finally made the breakthrough, getting the left handed Siddons to edge a beauty behind to the ‘keeper.
One became two a couple of overs later as Abdul continued to hone his radar and dismissed the other opener, getting safely under a steepling C&B.
Meachan and Pownall put on another 10 before the fun started and the game went crazy for a while!! Abdul, managing to bag 2 in his final over, clean bowling big Meachan and then getting poor Rose first ball! Abdul ending with 4 for 31.
However, Kyle had seen enough and taking over from Abdul, continued where he left off, opening his spell with a double wicket maiden! He got his revenge on C. Scott after the batsman had taken him on the day before and followed up that wicket by clean bowling P. Evans, all the stretching in the world not helping him close his gate on this occasion! Suddenly, Newbold were 66/6 off 15!
In a bid to allow the tourists to swing the bat a bit, the Alfas Brain Trust decided to throw the ball to the Baron C. Cooper in order to flesh out the score, but things did not go to plan in the 1st over! Cooper coming on, for his 1st bowl since 2015 and getting 2 in the over!!
First to fall was N. Letts, looking to pummel the ball to the Square Leg boundary, he misjudged the shot and could only toe poke the ball into the ‘keeper’s glove, nearly confusing all in the process. Allowing new batsman a sneaky single, Cooper then struck again as Powdall again could not cope with the (non) pace on the ball and picked out Muddy at Square Leg! 75/8.
J. Scott had seen enough, he came in with venom and menace and carted the bowling attack to all parts of the ground, scoring 75 and, after loosing K. Lee to another Roper edge, this time to 1st Slip, barely giving no. 11 a chance to bat. Scott managed the strike brilliantly to drag his team over 150 and post a score that they could try to defend, eventually falling to Cooper(!) when trying to take the strike once too often and Byrne whipping off the bails.
After tea, Alfas gave some of the players who have not had the chance to bat in the league a go, and Ahmed and Tocher opened the innings. Ahmed however, despite promises of a long stay at the crease, was back in the hut in the 4th over, unable to resist a wild swing and putting the ball up for Meachan to take a simple catch.
Tocher and Waqar continued to work away at the total before Tocher choose the wrong ball to waft at and missed the old straight one to be bowled for 11.
Byrne was next and the batsmen got a bit carried away with their reputation for quick singles when Waqar edged one around the corner but ignored his partner’s call for a run in order to watch the fielder miss the catch, fumble the ball and throw to the wrong end before setting off for the single, too little to late, not even Waqar is that fast!
Evans joined Byrne and was subjected to a few doubles before Byrne hit one to close to a fielder and was back with his teammates in the hut as regular No. 3, Muddy, strode out. The batsmen put on a bit of a partnership which could and should have been more but Muddy was not interested in matching the running of Evans, Evans getting annoyed as singles and doubles were turned down!
Together they added 40 before J. Scott came back to once again stamp his mark on the match. Coming out from behind the stumps, he got Muddy LBW, 8 short of his 50. Cooper joined Evans for a quick 15 before he too fell LBW to J. Scott who also stumped Roper for 1 and Abdul for 4
Matters then became tight as Skipper Perman strode out as last man to join Walker with still 31 needed for the win. The batsmen used their experience to stay in and rotate the strike well, getting it to 6 needed of the last over for the win.
In the end, they could only manage 5 to tie the game, both batsmen forgetting to run for the last delivery, Perman not knowing where the ball had gone and Walker forgetting to back up!
In the end, both teams walked away from a truly enjoyable game, dominated by one Scott and greatly influenced, not in the way expected, by Cooper for the home team.