Won
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | Out | 8 | ||||
| Gary Phillips | Out | 25 | ||||
| Duncan Parr | Out | 15 | ||||
| Cameron Gannon | Out | 8 | ||||
| Richard Harris | Out | 19 | ||||
| Abbas Ghulam | Not Out | 13 | ||||
| George Troughton | DNB | |||||
| Mark Anderson | DNB | |||||
| Shehzad Akbar | DNB | |||||
| Ryan Pownall | DNB | |||||
| Extras | ||||||
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | 6.0 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 2.00 | |
| Duncan Parr | 6.0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Cameron Gannon | 14.0 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 1.64 | |
| Abbas Ghulam | 12.0 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| George Troughton | 10.0 | 5 | 20 | 3 | 2.00 | |
| Extras | ||||||
| Fielder | Catches | Run Outs | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Richards | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Gannon | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Shehzad Akbar | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Pownall | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Having been somewhat surprised on arrival to be locked out of the ground for some time, and then have no changing rooms in the clubhouse, skipper Gary Philips had no hesitation to insert Barnes on a soft green wicket, with a very lush outfield.
From the word go the Barnes batsmen found it difficult to time the ball against the excellent opening attack of Ghulam Abbas and Cameron Gannon. However it took a superb return catch by Gannon off one of the few shots that was timed to take the first wicket. Both opening bowlers bowled tight lines, but the slow wicket was hindering them. It was when George Troughton came on that wickets really started to fall. His pace was perfect to exploit the green track and he looked very dangerous taking 3 for 20 off 10 overs. Mark Richards somehow managed to get 2 batsmen to get themselves out and the rest of the wickets were shared around as Barnes were bowled out for 118.
A relaxed outside tea was the calm before the storm as when Sonning started to bat, they quickly realised why it had looked so difficult for Barnes. Fortunately the bowlers fed Skipper Philips favourite pull shot and the quick 25 runs he scored before being out to a blinding catch by the Barnes keeper were to prove very important. Class acts Richards and Gannon struggled to adapt their usual games to the difficult wicket, both getting out cheaply, while Duncan Parr, getting a rare chance at number 3 was very unlucky to get a pea roller that knocked his stumps over. When the experienced Harris and Whitmore came together Sonning were 60 for 4 and another quick wicket would have been serious due to a slightly weaker than usual batting line up. Tension was growing in the camp, with Richards nearly having a nervous breakdown on the boundary! However the pair knuckled down bravely, taking numerous blows while slowly edging towards the target. Harris was out with 20 still needed and Abbas came in playing shots from ball one, to quickly finish off the game in the 33rd over. Whitmore’s innings of 23 showed just how useful it can be to have an experienced 94 year old in the middle order!
Sonning were pleased to have overcome a potential banana skin in difficult conditions and continue their unbeaten start to the league season.
JJ Harris
