BCCC v Washington CC
BCCC - 139
Washington - 144 for 4 Lost by 6 wickets.
Not a good day in the office for Barnes. Comprehensively beaten by Washington CC. Washington outplayed Barnes in all departments . Barnes day did not start well when we lost our wicketkeeper batsman Big Phil who turned up with a big bandage covering 7 stitches on his shin which we were told was wine-related from the night before !! He had to be ushered off the field back home to rest. Unlike one week ago when our Barnes pitch produced over 400 runs, this time around only 280 runs were scored.
Barnes lost the toss and were put in to bat. Nik and Keith started cautiously as Luke and Richard bowled a very tight line and length. Luke, their Chairman and opening bowler, in particular bowled very well in his 5 overs gave away only 10 runs and picked up 2 wickets. Keith fell for 8 after hitting 2 fours. In went Suraj to steady the innings. Nik was out LBW for 10. In walked Graeme who batted very responsibly to sure up the innings. Suraj and Graeme put on 40 runs then Suraj was out after scoring 18 to be replaced by Vish who played a good boundary-filled innings of 38 to take us past the 100 run mark after 22 overs. The remaining batsmen managed to add another 20 odd runs and Barnes ended up with 139 all out in 29 overs out of the allocated 35 overs!!! Washington did very well to bowl out Barnes in 29 overs especially as Barnes on paper had a very strong batting line up !! That's cricket for you ..
Washington started well chasing only 140 to win after the tea break and their openers took their team to 42 before Andrew, who in particular was playing very well, got out to Graeme who yorked him for 27. Tony Harris helped motor the chase along with a quick 43 together with Michael Taylor who stood firm to see Washington through to the end and was not out on 36 runs. Our bowlers Vish 5-17-0 , Graeme 7-14-1 , Suraj 5-25-1 , Sanjay 6-25-0 , Adi 2-18-0 and Nik 5-35-2 bowled as well as they could in the circumstances but unfortunately 140 was not a big enough total to defend successfully against a very strong Washington batting line up, and they only needed 30 overs to get 144 and only lost 4 wickets in the process. A very well deserved win as they were the better team on the day.
A good end to the day in our local pub Coach and Horses on Barnes High Street when both teams met for a few drinks after the game. A few anecdotes were shared and each team invited the other on their respective cricket tours if either team were short on players.
Man of the match - yes Vish again !!! For his quick fire 38 runs and tight opening spell of 5 overs for 17 runs.
Catch of the match - Joe for taking a blinder of a catch at short cover.
PS - a special thank you to one of our of our sponsors Foxx Associates for their unrivalled support on and off the field.
