St Mary’s 218 – 5 dec.
Shoreham 100 – 9

Match Drawn

As Shoreham’s Sunday side moved merrily into May, Captain Barrett had remained undefeated, destroying records from previous leaders and already cementing his place in the pantheon of Shoreham Cricket Club. At 32 for 4 chasing 218 however, this unbeaten streak looked certain to be extinguished, when Alex Haysler, short in stature, and Andre Pampellone reached the crease. But more of that later…

Captain Barrett won the toss and elected to send his refreshed line up in to field, in the hope that domestic god Tom Palmer and new boy Andre could pick up the openers with a shiny new red cherry. Perhaps Domestic Tom’s arms were weakened from whisking his cake mix, as return figures of 7-0-74-0 did not reflect kindly on some decent bowling being punished by their openers, with Pampellone (11-0-48-1) recovering from his first few overs to pick up the wicket of their opener for 49. Haysler (8-1-42-1) then replaced Domestic Tom, with an inspirational change from Captain Barrett bringing the wicket of the other opener second ball. The new batsmen had their pitching wedges out and successfully managed to chip just over the head of Captain Barrett. He then brought Mr Styles (5-0-36-3) on to replace the economical Pampellone, with some deceiving flight frustrating the batsmen and culminating in 3 wickets for the veteran off spinner. Danny Setterfield, back from paternal duties, also bowled well at the foot of the innings (2-0-7-0), at which point the declaration was made on 218 for 5.

As the tea was still brewing, Messers Wells and Doughty were sent out to see the home side through till the refreshment break. However, the former staked his claim for the duck cup, a competition which is really hotting up, with a golden duck bringing Mr Styles to the crease. He with Mark started to build a solid partnership until they were rudely interrupted by the sound of a whistling kettle. Domestic Tom then came into his element, serving up a great tea to send the players out on. However, the break worked well for the visitors, Mr Styles going for a well worked 9. Mark continued on with new batsman Nick Pearce, playing some cracking strokes, before being dismissed for 20. Nick (2) soon followed, leaving Alex and Andre at the crease with the score at 32 for 4. It turns out that AA Batteries last for an hour and a half, as both Alex and Andre settled in at the crease playing the home side to within sight of a draw, with Andre finally being dismissed for 9 6 overs from the end, and Alex for a top score 25 4 overs from time. Wickets tumbled after this however, leaving everyone on edge for the final over, with the home side 9 wickets down and Domestic Tom and Captain Barrett at the crease. Some choice words in the ear of Domestic Tom from the Captain ensured the last few balls were seen out and the unbeaten streak remains.

Alex Haysler

Posted on Thursday, 7th May, 2009 in Friendly Match Reports.