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Result - London New Zealand

Sat Jul 23rd The Grannies lose by 52 runs

Match report

It was a family affair with a scrum of Warners bolstering the ranks of a Grannies side as we played host to a similarly new-look London NZ XI at Sheffield Park last Saturday.

Up went the coin and LNZ called successfully, electing to bat first on a very green wicket.

Aggressive opening spells from J. Armour and C. Warner had the opposition openers hopping on the aforementioned and it was only a matter of time before J. Armour was rewarded for his efforts up the slope, sending the opposition skipper packing for a duck with an absolute jaffa which jagged back and caught the inside edge.

The age-old adage of ‘one brings two’ rang true to form, although not as we’d hoped, and A. Jaffer strode to the crease. Ominously confident in a floppy hat, A. Jaffer soon found his feet and, despite some very tidy spells from M. Stringer (0-12 off 4) and H. Warner (0-25 off 7), began to tick. A 26-over partnership was eventually broken by what can only be described as a blinder by C. Warner, who sent the fans wild with a one-handed diving catch at long-on. A. Jaffer departed for an imperious 83 and O. Dixon’s golden arm bore fruit again, dismissing the other opener for a gritty 67.

Despite some excellent fielding (special mention to A Warner who, with the wingspan of an albatross, threw himself about with careless abandon), the runs continued to flow and a score of 300 was looking likely. Thankfully, a combination of some J. Armour aggression (who finished with 3-fer) and some more safe catching off the bowling of M. S-W saw the opposition pull up just short of 300 with an impressive 296-6 off their 40.

We knew it was going to be a tough ask to chase and it soon became even tougher as early skirmishes went to LNZ – a searching line doing for the obdurate A. Warner and a technically correct but inadvisable leave on middle stump doing for O. Dixon. A brief partnership between debutant and Flashman ringer M. de la Fargue, and K S-W steadied the ship but poor judgement from yours truly soon brought T Greville-Williams to the crease with a lot still to do. Sheffield Park has proved a happy hunting ground for T G-W and he duly obliged again, putting on a stand of 70-odd with M. dl F. After our Flashy man fell forcing the game for a respectable 49, both the incoming M S-W and the set T G-W had no option but to hit out. T G-W fell for a well-paced 47 and M S-W, after some lusty blows including two pulls back past the bowler that would have had KP frothing, soon followed. This brought P. S-W to the crease who, ably supported by C. and H. Warner, tore the opposition apart with a raucous 47, including a reverse slap over backward point for 4. Footage to follow – I’m told by reliable sources that it’s already gaining traction on his Hinge profile.

Sadly, the task proved too steep and the scorebook denotes a worthy victory to LNZ by 52 runs. All was forgotten over pints at the Griffin and the LNZ, gracious victors, presented P S-W and A. Jaffer with well-deserved MoM awards. Our thanks to Nick and their team for a great game.

Match info

Also played: Alex Warner, Cosmo Warner, Hugo Warner, Max De La Fargue

Location
Sheffield Park,
Forest Row,
TN22 3QX

How to get there
The Cricket Ground is within the National Trust's famous Sheffield Park Garden, Sheffield Park, East Sussex TN22 3QX Telephone: 01825 790231. It lies midway between East Grinstead and Lewes, 5 miles north west of Uckfield, on the east side of the A275 (between A272 and A22).

Use the main entrance off the A275, signed Sheffield Park and Garden. Follow the sign to the visitors car park. Continue past the car park through the two sets of wooden gates. If the gates are locked the number for the padlocks is 1111.

Once through the bottom gate, follow the track around to the left and you will see the signs marked "Armadillos CC Car Park". Please park within the signs; you should not park beyond the final sign stating that parking is not allowed beyond that point. You may however drive up to the pavilion to drop off any equipment, but must then return to the designated car park straight away. You will see the ground (and the pavilion) through the trees from the car park. The ground is surrounded by a deer fence but the gates through it will be unlocked.