Sat Aug 4th Match drawn
Players
- Bethwaite, Rory
- Chhibber, Kamal
- Keaton, Sean
- Mankelow, Chris (c)
- Morris, Jonny
- Percival, Bob
- Philpott, James
- Staniforth, Jonathan
- Sykes, Toby
- Yeates, Harry
Match report
An absorbing and enjoyable game was played out against London New Zealand at Sheffield Park, with the Grannies pushing hard for the win but just not able to take the final wickets for victory.
Having won the toss, and with LNZ looking a little light on players (8 only), the gentlemanly thing to do was to field first. So we batted. Morris and Keaton set about the opening attack in their own contrasting styles, with Keaton first out for 40 in an opening stand of 48. Philpott added 2, a step in the right direction in this fixture, before nicking one to slip. Suddenly, with wickets starting to fall, LNZ found substitute fielders rather harder to come by. Late arrivals arrived and after drinks it was game on.
Chhiber joined Morris, and unfurled successive cover drives, making batting look easy. A breezy stand with Morris (40), who had accelerated his scoring had the Grannies motoring nicely. Chhibs (31) was well beaten by Captain Sam Martin (also a Granny), but Harry Yeates continued the good work, going through the gears for an excellent 68. At 157-3 all the talk was around declarations. Fortunately, an old fashioned Grannies collapse ensured that wasn’t necessary. The Grannies finishing on 219 all out, leaving LNZ 40 or so overs to chase it down.
Rob Frome, on debut, charged in; Chris Mankelow (old hand) didn’t, but found an impeccable line and length. Both caused problems, and soon LNZ were 49 for 4. Chhiber and Stanners settled in to a great rhythm, and with the pitch doing just enough, a Grannies win was very much on the cards. At 117 for 7 we were very much on top, but some lax catching (mainly from the captain) and some excellent batting from the LNZ lower middle order enables the Kiwis to play out the last 14 overs in comfort and style.
As always, a wonderful fixture played in great spirit. Many thanks to all who played, and of course to Sam Martin and his team. See you all next year.
Match info
Location
Sheffield Park,
Forest Row,
TN22 3QX