Saturday XI vs Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn 237-5 37.1 overs
Bears 236-6 45 overs
Having lost the toss The Bears were put into bat on a scorched pitch more reminiscent of the Mumbai than Lords. An experimental opening pair were not rewarded for the gamble with one of the openers being dismissed for 0 after four balls, a shock start quietening the usually vocal supporting crowd.
The next wicket stand however was impressive; 122 delivered by skipper Gunning (71) and Wilson (46) calmed the horses and The Bears looked more confident. A third wicket stand of 86 followed with the batsmen looking more comfortable as time went by. The skipper went on to score (111), supported by Johnson on (53). The exceedingly dry outfield was an indicator today would be a high scoring match, and it proved to be so with The Bears closing on 236-6 after Bedwyn completed their bowling, a score The Bears hoped would be enough to see them through, given the lack of regular Saturday XI players in the team.
The Bears had only one of their regular bowling attack on the day, so bowling out Great Bedwyn was always going to be a challenge; Their opening pair had a first wicket stand of 106, Nick Davies closing with an impressive 109, with the rest of the Great Bedwyn batting line-up comfortably registering double figures each.
An interesting statistic is not only was one of The Bears bowlers probably one of the oldest in the league at 56, but provided an entertaining father and son competition in terms of the Morris’ family. Morris senior took two wickets, compared to Morris’ junior one, Morris junior helping the cause by taking a catch from Morris senior’s bowling. No doubt family folklore was made today, to be discussed for generations to come! However, the catch of the game went to George ‘My Boy’ Ellis who took a spectacular catch on the boundary after throwing the ball back from just before the line – quite incredible.
Unfortunately, given the current lack of playing resources, Rob “The Wickie” Wilson was called in to remove his pads, forcing skipper Gunning to keep wicket for 1.1 overs, whilst Rob bowled in attempt to secure extra wickets and restrict the Great Bedwyn score. Sadly that was not to be and Great Bedwyn scored the required runs with 7 overs to spare.
A game played in good spirit with worthy opponents, it is hoped with a few more regular Saturday players available, The Bears can travel to Avebury on Saturday 21 July and bring home some points.
Our thanks as always to our sponsors, Chef de Party, The Devonshire Arms, RH Hayes Roofing and Josh Sutton Plumbing.
