After a week of temperamental weather, the sun decided to peek its head and shine through to the Bosham pitch. A few late arrivals to the pitch meant a reshuffle up the top. Will and Iain took the first overs. The premier leg spinner from Bosham was reminiscent of Warne, but spinning it both ways. One ball must have turned 1 metre from 20 cm outside leg to 80 cm outside off. Andy Pine snuck through the defence of Willy Mac with a wrongun. Next up was Steve..(showing his class with classical drives). The spin was not a factor for the nonchalant,number 3. He seemed to glide his way to retirement for 29. An effortless batting display once again.Iain, blazed away at the top with some big shots. The Sunday skippers good form continues. All of sudden lavant were 51 for 1 off 6. Both these players retired. Iain finishing on 26. Joe let loose with some on the ‘ON’ side pulling (the ball) over the boundary for some huge sixes. His strike rate seemingly close to 200. 

Three retired ‘not out’ players and lavant were in the drivers seat. 91 for 1 off 12. Most of these coming from one end. 

A change in umpiring and bowling and fortunes changed drastically. The skipper decided to stay mute after hitting it straight to point. Will T was already at the other end and Tam was only managing to let out a ‘no!’ (After Will could have had time for a cup of tea) A run out! The wheels started to wobble. Tran managed to spoon it off to cover trying to hit the bowler, but failing miserably. The deck of cards was falling hard. Andy (in only his 2nd T20 game) was bowled after a few singles, and Ben was dispatched for 4. A new debutant in max ‘little piggie’ Pigden could not keep out a straight one. It was down to the tail. Jim B selflessly swung hell for leather but to no avail. Rob held firm, trying to rotate the strike, as the retired batsmen were allowed to return. Some plays, misses and sneaky runs. A glimmer of hope remained. Iain added some handy late runs but they didn’t come easy with the tennis ball bounce from the 2nd end. 127 was the final score. The lowest total, so far this season. Was this going to be enough, at the 1/2 way point? It looked about 30 short. 

BOWLING

Ben Seddon started the proceedings with a few short ones to bamboozle the oppo. Jean Claude could sense Willy Mac was wanting revenge after failing with the bat, and boy did he not disappoint. He begun the proceedings swinging the blue ball…yellow ball…no, pink ball around corners – clean bowling the opener. Legend has it that it was the ball of the century. (SSB) Swing, seam, bounce. The rest was history. Two more unplayable deliveries and he had figures of 3-17 off the full compliment. The best figures of the day. Ben finished with a respectable 0-24 off 4. A change in bowling and Steve day bowled a good over, however after placing all the fielders in the correct position, the skipper neglected to place himself at mid off and let a boundary through. (My bad Steve)

 Justin Murray (injured)-umpire extraordinaire- politely reminded Tam that only 9 overs had expired when he asked the field to swap ends and that he needed to go back to year R to learn how to count to 10. Feeling guilty Tran bowled the final over from the 1st end. Going for 8 in his first over. 

The 2nd 10 meant lavant had to turn the screws on with Max piggie. Tam had faith in his ability, as he had played over 20 games with him at his former club Pagham as a 12 year old (James ‘child’ slayer – don’t get too excited, he was in our team, has aged 4 years – and is 6 ft 3). He flighted the ball with guile and varied leg spin. Andy swept the boundary like a dirty kitchen floor chasing hard and stopping all fours. Will T stepped up to the plate, bowling off 5 steps. He bowled sharp, straight and with accuracy. A quick wicket in his first over and going for next to nothing. Jim B was commando rolling like his life depended on it, ahowing the scars on his hands to prove it. The run rate was creeping up. The pressure was building. Max completed his quota with his maiden wicket for 23 runs off his 4. A tidy spell. Will T bowled superbly finishing with 2 -14 off 4. Which should have been 2-12 had Will and Tam decided to run after the ball instead of strolling behind and in front of it then let it trickle to the boundary. The run rate had reached 11 rpo. The pressure was too much for the Bosham side. A victory by 18 runs. 

Three wins from three games. A 100% win rate. 

Champagne moment- Joe’s run out from long off. 60 m away. (Tam flinched very quickly out of the way as it rocket towards the stumps.)

Cava moment: Robs football skills kicking it twice to our own fielder, before hurling it in. 

MOM: Goes to Will Mc. A top spell that ripped the heart out of a strong top batting order. Additionally, his leadership qualities and astute game plan amd field placements, helped with our teams success.  

Another display of selfless cricket and another immense team effort. As a captain, I was very proud of the dedication, teamwork and skill level. We play at home vs the fearsome Taverners. Can the Loons make it 4 from four? Only time will tell. We will see you again in 2 weeks time. Wednesday June 25th. Signing out!