Sun Jun 11th Grannies win by 10 wickets
Players
- Baldey, Simon
- Battersby, James
- Fernie, Michael
- Flood, Tim
- Morris, Jonny
- Parkinson, Adam
- Scott, James
- van Lare, Justus
Match report
Goodwood 139-5 (40 overs)
Grannies 140-0 (18.1 overs)
A rather one-sided game took place in the shadows of Goodwood House this year, with the Grannies coming out on top. A nicely balanced Grannies team with 3 possible wicketkeepers, 5 spinners and some Medium pace, won the toss and decided to field, having been put to the sword last year by a strong Goodwood batting team (well, Jonny Heaven to be precise).
The opening attack of Justus van Lare and Nick Brett (Rolls-Royce) were miserly in their pursuit of the first Goodwood wicket, with Justus getting the breakthrough in his unchanged opening spell of 8-0-22-1. Brett was similarly constrictive in his first 4 overs, keeping the pressure on a rather weaker than expected Goodwood team. With the introduction of the spinners, the Goodwood opener started to score slightly more fluently, however this also ensured the second 'tweak' of the year for James Scott's hamstring, stopping to pull the ball back just short of the boundary, he then sank gently to the floor, before gingerly making his way off the pitch. The captain had shown excellent foresight however (having witnessed the demise of Scotty's hamstring at the Hogs), and not only posted him at backward point, so when the hammy popped he was just yards from the Pavilion, but also bringing his own son to the game as an impromptu 12th man.
Having clothed Oliver Baldey in Scotty's whites (which fitted the 13 year old rather well, thanks to the drawstring waist), the game continued with the Goodwood batsmen finding the Grannies bowling all too challenging, and some excellent fielding in the deep from Ashley Rickerby (Rolls-Royce) saving countless boundaries. Fernie completed a good spell (8-0-34-0) and made way for Lewis Roberts (Rolls-Royce), who partnered up with James Battersby (8-0-21-0) to really turn the screw. 2 sharp stumpings from Tim Flood and a ball which straightened to hit off, left Lewis with figures of 8-0-28-3. Brett (8-0-24-0) returned at the end to ensure that the Goodwood batsmen couldn't move the scoreboard along at all, and the innings closed after 40 overs with Goodwood on 139-5.
After another excellent tea at Goodwood, the Grannies opening pair of Adam Parkinson and Jonny Morris set out to see whether they could work out how to score on a wicket where runs had been hard to come by. With the sun now beating down on the players, the chase started well, both players working the ball around and hitting the odd boundary. As confidence grew, Parkinson became ever more fluent and sped towards a chanceless 50, the remainder of the team enjoying the fluency of stroke play whilst mindful of the potential Grannies collapse. As Morris reached 50 and the target grew ever nearer, any doubts were put aside and victory was assured as Morris smote the first ball of the 19th over to the boundary to ensure a famous 10 wicket victory with 21.5 overs remaining (A Parkinson 64*, J Morris 63*).
A great result for the Grannies, following on from victory at the Old Spots the day before, with the early finish allowing those who had fought their way down from London the chance to head back up at a more leisurely pace. Many thanks to all for an excellent match played with great humour.
Match info
Location
Goodwood, W Sussex,
PO18 0QD
How to get there
Entrance to the Ground from New Barn Hill