WCC v HB XI.
26.8.06

Toss: WCC.
Result: draw.

WCC batted first and lost wickets regularly. If there's such a thing as a cool-headed sheet anchor then that's what Coach steadied the ship with. He allowed himself just the one big smack over mid-wicket which bounced amusingly off the scorers' table and into the bollocks of the opposition fixture secretary. With nice little 25s from Coops and Franksie, and a bit of a swish from the tail we reached 177.

Maloney and Vickery attacked the tea table with a controlled ferocity not often seen at this level. Especially impressive is their ability to eat out of either hand while maintaining a steady flow of reminiscence. Crumbwise they must be among the tidiest opening pair in amateur cricket.

Harry Baldwin's batting started well then lost its sense of purpose. We used nine bowlers to keep them interested but they ended up nine down and blocking the last four tense overs. The undefeated pair ran off at the end as if they'd won the World Cup, which was a compliment of sorts.

WCC 177 all out off 39.4 Harvey 4, Vickery 9, Maloney 40 Lee 2, Cooper 25, Jeyaratnam 1, Franks 25, Ceecatu 10, Swift 8, Sackville 8, Douglas 19*.

HB 126-9 off 36 Swift 7-4-10-1, Douglas 8-3-26-0, Sackville 7-1-25-1, Jeyaratnam 4-1-11-1, Maloney 2-0-5-0, Harvey 4-1-6-2, Ceecatu 3-0-18-1, Lee 1-0-1-1
Catches: Vickery 1, Jeyaratnam 1. Stumping: Franks 1
Debut: Ceecatu (in Douglas's spare trousers)