Won
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | Out | 31 | ||||
| Clint Stevens | Out | 1 | ||||
| Ian Boyton | Out | 2 | ||||
| James Ford | Out | 30 | ||||
| Richard Harris | Out | 41 | ||||
| Alex Wright | Out | 0 | ||||
| Scott Stevens | Out | 4 | ||||
| Jameel Ahamed | Not Out | 8 | ||||
| Gary Phillips | Not Out | 4 | ||||
| James Reilly | DNB | |||||
| Phil Wilding | DNB | |||||
| Extras | ||||||
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | 8.0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 2.63 | |
| Clint Stevens | 6.2 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 3.79 | |
| Ian Boyton | 8.0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 4.13 | |
| Scott Stevens | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Jameel Ahamed | 8.0 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 3.38 | |
| Gary Phillips | 8.0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Extras | ||||||
| Fielder | Catches | Run Outs | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lj Brown | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Clint Stevens | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ian Boyton | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| James Reilly | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Wilding | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sonning turned up to North Maidenhead in anticipation of their first ever Sunday League Cup match not quite sure what to expect. After dispatching HSBC (a team from Kent who had turned up to play North Maids as well, despite the game being cancelled weeks ago !), seeing the fielding disks put in place and the pink balls delivered, it looked like it would be an interesting afternoon in the strong wind.
Sonning were put into the field, and their new look bowling attack (4 spinners plus new Aussie LJ Brown) started well. Brown bowled an excellent line and length and his 8 overs were only dispatched for 21 runs and he was unlucky with some dropped catches, mainly a sitter from our friendly, soon to depart, Aussie! Skipper Gary Phillips, ever reliable Ian Boyton and Jamil, with his rapid form of spin, all bowled very tidily, but star of the show was Clint “Shakin� Stevens. His deceptive spell of half volleys, half trackers and non-spinners, together with his Borat styled moustache completely bamboozled the opposition. He ended with figures of 6.2 overs taking 6 wickets for 24 runs. This was probably the crucial contribution to winning the match as North Maids were bowled out for 139 in the 40th over.
Sonning’s reply got off to a tricky start against a good opening attack of a sharp tall quickie and an accurate left arm spinner. Star bowler Stevens was unlucky to be adjudged LBW early on and with Ian Boyton also going cheaply, it looked like 139 may be a good score. However Aussie ace Brown started to hit the ball well and having been joined by James Ford, they started a good recovery. This continued when Brown was out for 31 when JJ Harris, who had not played for a year after dislocating his shoulder in the same week last year, joined Ford. Harris and Ford hit the bad balls to the boundary and kept out the good ones, and gradually moved towards the modest target. Unfortunately Ford’s dismissal to a poor shot for 31 brought about a mini collapse and when Harris was out for 41, trying to finish the game with one hit, 5 runs were still needed with 2 overs and 3 wickets remaining. However skipper Phillips came in and smashed a boundary to finish it off with Jamil who batted well in his all action style.
This was a good win against a side who had some good players, and now Sonning can look forward to starting their league campaign next week.
JJ Harris
