Whalers CC vs Lemmings – 8^th July 2007

Whalers CC won by 8 runs

Cracking result at the weekend as the Whalers beat the Lemmings in a thriller in Oxford.

As a certain Whaler had mis-read the start time of the game and was in Derby with two other Whalers when the game should have started, we had no option but to bat first. The toss was therefore made to decide whether we should play a limited overs, or timed game. The toss was lost and we were plunged in to un-known territory - but this probably proved to be our saviour.

The outfield was damp and batting early was tough, but all Whalers contributed, with many getting into double figures. Scoring was very slow against an excellent attack though, and had we been playing a 40-over match we'd have scored little over 100. But without any over restrictions, Whalers batted sensibly, and there was no collapse. An excellent 7th wicket partnership between Khalil (33) and Gouldy (41*) eventually saw us to 164.

The Lemmings openers were clearly excellent batsmen, and started off scoring at about 8 runs an over. But a combination of tight bowling and excellent catching around the tea interval saw the top 4 dismissed without 50 on the board. From here the Whalers were in command, but for once it was the bowling, rather than the batting, which left something to be desired. The outfield had also speeded up considerably, allowing boundaries (a rarity in our innings) to flow. With 20 overs to be played from 6pm, the game started to drift back into the balance, but fortunately the Whalers could rely on Khalil and Ed to keep the ball in the right place. Khalil discovered a happy knack of taking a wicket with the last ball of most overs he bowled, and with two overs left to play, the Lemmings needed 11 runs, but had just one wicket in hand. It was tense stuff, but Khalil ended it with his final delivery, removing the tail-enders off stump while they were still 8 runs short. Khalil's final figures were a Whaler's all time record of 6-36.

Full report to follow…

Match stats:

Whalers CC 162 all out – James 41*, Khalil 33

Lemmings 154 all out –Khalil 6 for 36

Man of the match: Khalil – first Whaler to take 6-fer

Champagne moment: ?

Muppet moment: ?