Won
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | Out | 96 | ||||
| Andy Sumner | Out | 0 | ||||
| Scott Stevens | Out | 42 | ||||
| Stephen Mankee | Out | 21 | ||||
| Rhys Yorke | Out | 0 | ||||
| James Moore | Out | 6 | ||||
| Abbas Ghulam | Not Out | 4 | ||||
| Matt Hill | DNB | |||||
| Richard Harris | DNB | |||||
| Gary Phillips | DNB | |||||
| Extras | ||||||
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | 8.0 | 2 | 29 | 2 | 3.63 | |
| Scott Stevens | 2.0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 8.50 | |
| Stephen Mankee | 5.4 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 8.29 | |
| Rhys Yorke | 8.0 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 3.75 | |
| Abbas Ghulam | 8.0 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 6.25 | |
| Gary Phillips | 8.0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | 3.75 | |
| Extras | ||||||
| Fielder | Catches | Run Outs | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Sumner | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Scott Stevens | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Mankee | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| James Moore | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Harris | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sonning’s final warm up game was against British Airways, arranged at the last minute after Bracknell cried off. First mistake of the day was made by Skipper Gary Phillips at the toss when agreeing to a 40 over game with a maximum 8 overs per bowler. It was only after agreeing to this that he realised that we only had 3 bowlers!
Andy Sumner was given a rare chance to open the batting, a chance he was keen to take until run out for 0 by Mark Richards, as ever, desperate to pinch the strike! This brought Aussie Scott Stevens to the crease and alongside Richards, the ball was bullied to all parts of the ground. When Stevens was out for 42 , to the only LBW I have ever heard him say was actually out, it brought Steve ‘Swankee’ Mankee to the crease. He batted nicely alongside Richards who seemed to be progressing towards yet another century. However, keen not to have to pay for a jug, he was out for 96 and after some lusty biffing from ‘Aussie Antique’ Pete Whitmore and an unlucky golden duck for ‘Aussie Rookie’ Rhys Yorke (caught by the only fielder who could actually see the ball) Sonning reached 220 for 6 from their 40 overs.
This should have been plenty, but with Sonning’s lack of bowling, there could be cause for concern. After a tight start from Yorke and Abbas, Richards and Phillips came on and bowled really well with figures of 2 for 29 and 2 for 30 from their 8 overs respectfully. Phillips then gambled on bowling B.A. out with his strike bowlers, and leaving his part timers until the end. This backfired badly as Abbas was treated very harshly by batsmen who seemed to be able to hit the ball very hard , very often. As Steve Mankee and Scotty Stevens came on to bowl the final 8 overs, it now looked like B.A. were favourites to win. However, despite going at over 8 an over, they also picked up wickets, mainly thanks to some good catching and some very good keeping from Sumner. With 8 needed from the final over, the game could go either way, but disaster struck for Sonning when Vice Captain JJ Harris, desperately trying to stop a second run managed to dislocate his shoulder with an overly aggressive throw. Unfortunately the injury could keep one of Sonning’s most consistent batsmen out for a major part of the season. Fortunately Mankee managed to get the final batsman to spoon a catch to Stevens, whose easy catch won the game for Sonning by 3 runs with 2 balls left.
Most of this performance was good, but the slightly worrying way the B.A. batsmen smashed the ball to all parts, must not be repeated too many times over the season. The injury to Harris is also a concern as he has had a good few seasons recently and is one of their most experienced players.
JJ Harris
