Hunter becomes the hunted

Goresbrook 1's travelled to Rettendon on Sunday for this "rearranged" T Rippon premier division game with a makeshift XI which included two 1st eleven debutants with a combined age of 87 and a recall for Lawrence Walsh, a man who was being described as evergreen before Will Young had even recorded his signature tune. The call-ups bolstered a depleted bowling attack, although the top four batsmen were those who racked up 230 the previous day.

Rettendon batted first having won the toss and made the most of an extraordinarily short boundary on one side of the ground to race along at ten an over for the opening 8 overs as Shaun Ross and Jordan Calverley’s wheels came decisively off. However the introduction of Billy Smith slowed things significantly and the batsmen became more circumspect in their attacking intentions, Smith being extremely unlucky when a lofted drive from Huntingdon was safely held by Joe Curley over the boundary rope where the boundary curled around the apron of the pavilions patio.

Shaun Ross struck first as Billy Chapman snaffled a catch behind, Lees falling for 15 and next to fall was the left handed Huntington but not before he had reached 90 and had lost 2 balls deep in the undergrowth at the south end of the cramped Church Meadow ground. The ginger gunner holed out to a fine Stuart Greaves catch off Shane Barwick on the longest part of the ground and Barwick soon struck again as Billy Chapman took a second catch behind to remove Wall for 19.

Brook’s elder Statesman Lawrence Walsh was next to bowl and he soon grabbed a wicket courtesy of the safe hands of Danny Gilham at deep (well as deep as was possible on that side of the ground anyway) extra cover. Owen Elsom's brief bowling cameo brought further success as Castledine holed out to Shane Barwick at long on but Leader accelerated as he smashed 68 including 6 sixes until Danny Gilham plucked the ball from the sky off the bowling of Shaun Ross.

Two close stumping calls and a direct hit from Owen Elsom were given not out before a flurry of wickets coincided with introduction of death overs specialist Danny Gilham into the attack. First ball he removed Spooner thanks to a sharp one handed reflex catch from Billy Chapman then, following a run out from the deep by Jordan Calverley, Brook's 40 year old 3rd XI skipper then clean bowled Abrehart.

With Brook looking like wrapping up the innings before the scheduled close, no 11 Simmons provided a final twist, by proceeding to smash 12 from the last over to take Rettendon to a daunting 302 -9 from their allotted 45 overs and leave the visitors with a run chase requiring almost 7 runs per over from the outset.

Bowling figures:
Ross 10-1-87-2
Calverley 3-0-31-0
Smith 10-2-43-0
Barwick 9-1-60-2
Walsh 7-0-48-1
Elsom 3-0-13-1
Gilham 2-0-9-2

Brook’s reply started with a smattering of wides from the home attack but once skipper Kurt Whisker fell, caught off a leading edge, the visitors began to fall behind the run rate. Thereafter Joe Curley 17, Jordan Calverley 14, Billy Chapman 16, Lol Walsh 15 and Danny Gilham 10 were the only double figure contributions in an abject batting performance that petered out on 108 all out, some 195 runs short of the target in the 33rd over.

After a good display at OC’s on the Saturday, this was therefore a somewhat downbeat end to the weekend, Rettendon comprehensively outplaying us in every facet of the game. One to put behind us quickly and concentrate on winning the games ahead…..