Holyport 1's too hot to handle for Ricky 2nds

In a match hastily arranged on Friday evening, it was hoped for sunny weather, good spirits and decent competition. 2 out of 3 was certainly a success, but the 2nd XI of Rickmansworth struggled against their Chiltern league opponents as they brought a strong side over to Park Road.

Winning the toss, Ricky choose to bat first and very quickly the dry low surface made it difficult for shot selection. Adeel and Kamran both perished to the ball that scuttled along the ground and it was evident that any indoor practice on hard bouncy flooring was not a good preperation for a grass track in the Spring. Ricky had reached 49, mostly due to some clever shot play by Ajay, before new boy Ed Manning succumbed to another shooter. Adeel Usman showed great restraint in scoring a steady 11 before getting caught brilliantly at midwicket. A fine diving catch. Blackwell (13) and Ajay took the score to 93 before Ajay got caught out for an innings anchoring 55 - his first 50 of many we hope this season. The little master really did have a great touch for so early a game. Jack Lee didn't trouble the scorers having a heave over mid off, and then Blackwell also got undone by a low one. Bilal Mohammed produced his usual fireworks for an entertaining 27, before he was also caught by a decent catch that brought gasps of admiration from the crowd. 137 all out and Ricky went to tea in hope more than expectation.

After the break, and a good tea, the Holyport batsmen showed their class. These were 1st team batsmen and it showed as they simply took a boundary off every over and kept the strike rotating. Brett Harvey beat the bat, as did Jack Lee, whilst Tom Watson shaved the stumps a couple of times. Otherwise the Holyport batters were just too superior and ran out easy winners.

...Or maybe they didn't. Maybe the joint winner was the game itself. Played in wonderful spirits, in front of a decent crowd, a with a couple of drinks in the bar afterwards to celebrate. The new players acquitted themselves well, and it was great to see a number of non-playing players come down to offer moral and vocal support. Here's to a season where the sun shines and maybe we take a few more wickets. We hope so.