Goresbrook 4th XI arrived at Margaretting Village Hall for their final TRippon Division 11 league game of the 2016 season as Champions. This was in some part due to a successful season on the pitch but in a large part due to shenanigans in a higher division two weeks before.
A team of 5 adults and 6 colts were asked to field and Skipper Martin Rooke was keen, given the forecast, to dismiss a competent Galleywood outfit as quickly and cheaply as possible and wrap up the game and the season in style.
However some lacklustre fielding and catching gave cause for concern and it was not until the introduction of Paul Atkins in the 13th over that the initial breakthrough was made when Beva showed sharp reflexes to hold on to a return catch. A second wicket soon followed for Beva when Bolt held onto one at mid off without any use of his hands whatsoever.
It was at this juncture that the key event of the entire game was to play out. A looping slower ball, reminding older viewers of Nottinghamshire's Franklin Stephenson in his prime, duped both batsman and umpire alike as the former ducked and was hit pretty well adjacent on a trailing leg and the latter ducked in sympathy and seemed to plumb the depths of alacrity in his not out decision.
Galleywood's number 3, for he it was who had had the lucky escape, capitalised and reached a hard hit 50 before falling to a Matty Jones catch channeling his inner Inspector Gadget.
Therafter wickets fell regularly with Krishan Kumar nabbing two, one for Bobby Granger, one for Matty Jones , one belatedly for Owen Elsom and two for the returning Beva who completed a 5 wicket haul with a brace of ....... you guessed it...... LBW's in the 40th over. Had the earlier chances been taken (or given for that matter) then a smaller total would have been set with more overs in which to reach it.
Galleywood scored 185 all out from 39.3 overs.
After tea Matty Jones and Bolt got Brooks reply under way and kept apace withe the required run rate of a smidgeon above 4.5 an over but a flurry of wickets to Galleywood's young leg spinner including Jones for a hard hit 70 from just 48 balls, and the increasing persistence of the rain made runs quite hard to come by. However George Sleight and Ted Ivory,both of whom have spent many an hour this season in the middle for both the adult and colts teams,sensibly played themselves in and picked up enough runs to keep Brooks hopes alive. Sleight played a succession of late cuts down to the boundary as well as an 'up periscope' shot to a head high full toss but he fell eventually for 20. Boland and Kumar failed to trouble the scorers but Paul Atkins attacked with intent trying to keep the target in reach.
By this time conditions underfoot were treacherous for batsmen and fielders alike and was Beva's undoing as he slipped while trying to adjust his feet to a slower ball. Ted Ivory was joined by Owen Elsom and runs and byes were scampered and a boundary swept behind square by Elsom to leave 15 required from the final over. Elsom stepped outside the line and blocked the keepers vision as 4 byes were scored but when he then missed the penultimate ball 8 were needed from the final ball.
Brook finished on 180-8 with Ivory undefeated on 27 after nigh on an hour at the crease.
Credit must go to both sides for playing on in conditions as they were and for the manner in which the game was played.
A years more experience will go a long way in a division higher next season.
Goresbrook 4th XI finished the season as Champions but need every member of the team to play as they can for the entire time they are on the pitch and not just when batting or bowling.