Match Report

The mighty Lavant were on the road once more this time heading to West Meon. After a couple of days of heavy rainfall the West Meon pitch appeared green, spongy and damp. 

With the Lavant bowlers licking their lips at the idea of being unleashed on (what appeared to be a bowler friendly track) the toss went up and much to the frustration of the Lavant skipper he called wrong and (unsurprisingly in a timed game) Lavant were asked to bat first.

The established opening partnership of Lavant skipper and Justin once more walked to the middle knowing their roles of seeing off the new bowlers would be crucial. The West Meon bowlers didn’t take long getting into their work extracting countless seam movement from the pitch. With the Lavant skipper gaining a life in the first over (only just evading the finger tips of mid off) both openers knuckled down. 

Scoring was slow but steady as both men remained watchful with balls doing plenty off the seam. Frustratingly, and after doing the hard work, one of the West Meon opening bowlers was able to break through the defenses of the Lavant skipper with a good ball that nipped back and hit the stumps. After all the hard work the Lavant skipper was out for 21.

Next was Joe who, with Justin, was able to start to build upon the foundation set by the openers. Once the West Meon opening bowlers were replaced (after long 8 over spells each) both Lavant batters saw this as the opportunity to try and push the scoring along. With Justin dispatching a 6 from one of the first change bowlers it felt like the bugles had been sounded! 

With a solid partnership forming between both men Justin was able to register another 50 of the season however was shortly out just after mistiming a shot and being caught for 56.

Next was Richard and the king fell in similar fashion, mistiming a shot from the West Meon spinner and being caught for 2.

As scoring against the wily West Meon leg spinner appeared tricky Joe decided to put pressure on the change of bowler at the other end. Unrelenting, he launched the new bowler for two massive 6’s taking 13 off the over, however the West Meon bowler got the last laugh clean bowling Joe with a snorting delivery that nipped back in through the gate (the first of many balls like that during the day)! Joe was out for a crucial 40. 

With the scoreboard moving in the right direction (and the top order doing their jobs) it was time for the middle order to take over the mantle. Chris ‘John’ Maclean walked to the middle and after a few deliveries sounding out the leg spinner got stuck in. It appeared, after seeing one massive leg break, Chris took the decision to attack and it paid off after unleashing several mighty sweeps square of the wicket. 

At the other end Will T carried on in the same vein that his team mates have become used to, getting down to business quickly and showing his class from ball one. It was the perfect display of middle order batting from both men capitalising on the platform that had been set by the top order. With batters getting into their stride quickly suddenly the ball was flying to all parts and the pressure had been well and truly swung back onto the West Meon bowlers. 

With the score rattling along to 170 the home side turned back to one of their opening bowlers in an attempt to stop the flow of runs and with instant success, with another sharp delivery that clean bowled Chris for 24.

Tragically Nathan and Phil succumbed to the opening bowler both being clean bowled for 1 and 0 respectively with quality balls moving off the seam.

With Will left stranded at the other end he unselfishly looked to try and get back on strike but was run out for a brilliant (and much needed) 34. 

With Rob looking to face the last ball of the innings he expertly dabbed the West Meon opening bowler round the corner for 1 completing the Lavant innings for a competitive 189.

It was an interesting innings in many ways. Highlighting how tough the job of the opening batters is when facing the opposition premier bowlers on a bowler friendly pitch, but also the collective responsibility of any batting unit. The top order seeing off the opening bowlers, setting the platform for the middle order to come in and cash in to move the scoring along to post a good score. It was very pleasing to see the batting unit as a whole delivering what was needed in challenging conditions.

Tea was taken, jumpers were donned, throwing and catching warm ups were carried out and Lavant returned to the field.

First up was Mark H who had been given the role of bowling into the wind and stuck to his task well. Bowling in good areas and passing the edge he just couldn’t find the breakthrough needed and, on another day, easily could have been rewarded more for his efforts. Mark finished 0 – 26 off his 7 overs.

At the other end Tam was having more joy. The club’s premiere opening bowler found his rhythm quickly and it was a joy to watch from behind the stumps. Setting the tone with the first over being a maiden Tam beat the defenses several times (cutting people in two on several occasions) and passing the edge time after time it felt only a matter of time before he took a wicket. 

Tam was able to clean bowl one of the openers for a duck. He then broke through the defence of the other opening batter (who was starting to get into his stride) with a brute of a ball. Tam’s lines and control were top drawer. He was then able to clean bowl the dangerous West Meon #4 with a simply unplayable delivery. 

With West Meon reeling and looking to rebuild, the Lavant captain turned to King Richard and Will T to turn their arms over hoping to press home the advantage and force a positive result in the favour of the away side.

The King (proving he is human after all) seemed a bit out of sorts and struggled to find his normal control and rhythm. The West Meon batters got stuck in and started to push, particularly with the #5 taking a liking to Richard’s bowling, sending the ball to the boundaries several times. To be honest he was lucky the king didn’t order a beheading! 

At the other end Will bowled tight and was very unlucky. Finding the edge time and time again but the ball seemed to either evade the slip cordon or fly through a gap for 4. It felt like a cat and mouse affair with both sides wondering who would blink first! 

With the balance of the game shifted it now appeared like West Meon were in the driving seat to push for a result. With the Lavant skipper considering his options he put his faith in Will and (considering Will had not had much luck on his side) backed his bowler and was richly rewarded. Will was finally able to get the breakthrough with a cracking delivery to remove the set (and dangerous) #5 batter. It was a critical moment considering the context of the game at that stage. Will T finished with 1 for 45 off his 7 overs.

At the other end Justin replaced Richard with the brief of just looking to stop the flow of runs and stabilise the bowling which he achieved with aplomb, wrestling back much needed control for the Lavant skipper. Due to picking up a knock on his knee in the field a big thanks to Justin for running in on one leg and being able to regain control of the game for his team. Giving nothing away he was rewarded for his bowling efforts by bowling the West Meon #8 (by just shaving his stump enough to dislodge the bails) and ending with 1 – 11 off his 6 overs.

Yet again the game state had changed now Lavant had regained control of the innings. With the home team looking to shut up shop and see out the game Lavant flipped the script to go wicket hunting. 

The Lavant skipper turned to Chris who made an instant impact prizing out the West Meon #3 who had been a thorn in the side of the bowling attack with a terrific delivery that clean bowled him. For his remaining overs Chris tried to find a breakthrough but (with the West Meon batters looking to block) couldn’t find a way through but finished with a vital 1 off 9 from his 4 overs.

Looking to mix things up (and push for the win) the Lavant skipper threw one last roll of the dice returning to Tam and Richard in an attempt to dangle the carrot and tempt the West Meon batters. 

King Richard returned and, for the most part, did what was asked, looping up tempting deliveries and was able to draw one of the batters out and was rewarded with a stumping, however still found it hard hitting his areas finishing with 1 for 49 off his 5 overs.

Tam also pushed the ball up trying to tempt the West Meon batters but couldn’t find a way through either and completed his day finishing with 3 for 26 off his 10 overs.

With the game coming to its conclusion West Meon finished 168 for 7 and (for the second year running) the match ended in a draw. 

It was a compelling game for many reasons. The Lavant innings was a showcase of dealing with bowler friendly conditions and how a batting unit constructs a competitive total in challenging conditions. This was very much proven by how many wickets were taken by being clean bowled!

The West Meon innings showed the ebb and flow of a game with Lavant being initially on top and then, an hour in looking like the game was gone, to show fight and character to drag themselves back into the game with the chance of a win but equally for the fight and character shown by the West Meon batters digging in and closing out their innings to finish up with the draw. Chances went begging for the away side and on another day perhaps this would have been enough to get the win over the line but on the whole a hard fought draw by both sides seemed fair.

Man of the match goes to Tam for an extraordinary piece of opening bowling. Tam is the epitome of a team player always willing to do what is best for the side. He never complains even if it means having to miss out, something I am extremely grateful for. He’s been struggling with form / aches recently so it was a joy to watch him in full flow. With a bit more luck he honestly could have blown through the batting order on his own. His first spell numbers (3 for 11 off 7) were only ruined slightly because some idiot asked him to come back on and try to find a wicket at the end (sorry). Well done Tam, much deserved.

Champagne moment goes to Will T for clean bowling the Dangerous West Meon #5. He toiled away with his bowling seeing the ball in the air several times not to be grabbed by anyone but found a beaut of a ball to get out the West Meon #5. This was a game changing moment as it stopped the West Meon run chase in tracks, swung the momentum back and got out the danger man. Big big moment and richly deserves the champagne moment. Well done Will.

So the 100% winning run comes to an end BUT the unbeaten run continues! It was a tough game (it always is against West Meon) but I’m proud of how everyone hung in there and fought to the end. 

On to the next!