Sun Sep 15th Grannies lose by 2 wickets in penultimate over
Players
Match report
What a day of Grannies cricket!
It started with 3 of the team trialling for Kent at Canterbury; under 13 they may be, but boy, do they have futures...hopefully with the Grannies.
As they made their way there, so the Grannies innings started. Larry Brennan opened up with Matt Withers and runs flowed from the off. Larry got 21, attractively; his brother Eddie 37, equally so; and Harry Thomson also 37, but with both style and immense power (including an important 4 6's in the final over!). However the star of the piece was Matt, who stroked the ball majestically and with consummate skill to all parts, finally being out late on for 123.
The innings total in 40 overs of 255 for 6 looked to be at least par, but Stone, smarting from defeat the last 2 years, had other ideas. For a spell wickets were hard to come by; their top order fired; and the only significant break-through was to the keeper's right index finger...
And so it was that after 20 overs they were 151 for 2. We turned to spin (9 overs 0 for plenty...) and youth (more successful - Charlie Brennan and Hugo Robinson, 2 of our morning triallists, getting a 'bowled' each). Matt and Harry (coming back) together with Giles Robinson (on his first of I hope plenty of appearances) got into the wickets, taking 2,2 and 1 respectively, but ultimately Stone got 'em 8 down and only 2 overs to go. Stone, genial and welcoming hosts as ever, allowed us to field all 12 of our complement, their thinking being that 3 boys equals 2 men (unaware what terrific fielders - and throwers - those boys were...).
At the end of the day your scribe announced it was his last Stone fixture, and at the Ferry Stone were warmly thanked for their many years of outstanding hospitality - and the Brennan family agreed to take the match on for the Grannies.
A word in conclusion about Matt Withers' contribution to the afternoon's entertainment. A magnificent knock; a tight bowling spell producing 2 for 11; and a stunning direct hit runout with 1 and a bit stumps to aim at. If there was a finer day had by a Granny all season, I would have enjoyed seeing it.
Match info
Also playing: Charlie Brennan, Harry Thomson, Matt Cooke, Charlie Cooke, and Giles and Hugo Robinson
Location
Stone in Oxney,
nr. Tenterden,
TN30 7JL