Mordern Corinthians won by 5 wickets
After 2
games and 2 wins, Dan bravely handed over the reigns to number 11, James Gould,
for his debut captaincy of the Whalers.
With a very short boundary on one side and the sun shining strongly, Gouldy lost the toss but still managed to get the Whalers
put into bat.
A confident
start from Al, combined with a complete lack of timing from Oz, meant that the
scoring rate started slow and steady.
However the two-paced pitch would prove to be the downfall of Al who
pushed at one that never came off the pitch and gifted a chance to cover. Channa came in and
swiftly departed two balls later having shouldered arms to a straight one on
the stumps and gave the umpire no chance but to send him back to the
hutch.
Oz and Duncs then offered small resistance before Duncs fell the same way as Al and Oz shortly following, it
was left to Pip and Toby to add some sorely needed runs to the total. With a par score looking to be around 160-170
and the wicket holding up pretty well, some good lusty blows from both moved
the score on well but the Whalers were still running behind the rate.
In view of
this, Pip then sliced one to gully, Ed offered a sharp caught and bowled and Khalil was triggered for walking in front of his stumps, it
was then left to Mildon, Gouldy
and Kamal to keep Toby company. Unfortunately, Morden then released the known
enemy of all Whalers batsman, the grenade thrower who skittled
the last few including bowling Jimmy through his legs after a he’d thrown a
good few swipes at the delivery.
After a tea
featuring heavily on cakes and sausage rolls, Whalers strolled out with an
opening attack of Gouldy and Khalil. Morden’s openers looked useful with their
number 1 taking a particular liking to Jimmy.
However, the combined efforts of Khalil's
aggression and Toby’s cat like leaps behind the stumps saw him removed before
he could do too much damage.
There then
followed a period of 15 overs where the Whalers kept
Morden at a run rate of 3 an over but with little chances on offer. Jimmy, Khalil, Mildon and notably Ed (3/25) bowled well but without huge
reward as the Morden team slowly and steadily accumulated towards their
target. With Gouldy
then spreading the bowling out and Morden, confident in the knowledge of
wickets in hand, increased the scoring rate to reach the target with 6 overs to spare.
Overall,
the Whalers needed more runs on a good day with short boundaries and as in
previous years, the controlled batting of Morden saw them home in comfortable
style. With a rematch later this year,
Whalers should take heed of this approach if they are to get their maiden
victory against these opponents.
Match
stats:
Whalers 137 all out off 32.1 overs - Toby 36, Al 22, Pip 20, Duncs
19, Oz 17
Morden
138/5 off 29 overs - Ed 3/25, Khalil
1/13, Pip 1/17
Man of the match: Toby
Champagne moment: Toby’s
catch
Muppet moment: Gouldy has tried to give it to Channa
for shouldering arms and being given LBW. In reality it was Gouldy, for the pathetic shot to end the innings, resulting
in him being bowled between his legs!