Ballinger
Waggoners vs Ley Hill, 24th August 2003
Will Holman
On the day after Ley Hill secured
promotion to the Mid Bucks Premier, the Sunday side came up against Ballinger,
riding high in the top flight, and received a glimpse of what our Saturday side
will be facing next year. Hopefully our performances will be better and the
results different.
Straight
from the off, Az Shakoor (right) and Jon Lown were despatched all around
Ballinger's matchbox ground, not helped by some indifferent fielding from a side
that often appeared scared of the ball. Az removed Whelan for 11, but this only
brought Ian Davies to the wicket, who built a huge partnership with Webster that
was not broken until Paul Green surprised everyone by taking a big catch on the
boundary. Webster went on to record a ton, almost entirely through the leg side,
and the Waggoners closed on 255 for 2.
The
Hill's dejected troops were mildly cheered by a decent tea of the traditional
sort, and spirits were raised further when Jon Lown and Will Holman quickly put
on 40 without loss. Holman fell lbw, bringing in Az Shakoor, who looked
completely ill-at-ease with the pies being lolled in his direction. Az, Brian
Puddephatt and Ian Webb all contrived to waste their wickets, leaving Kash
Shakoor as the only recognised batsman of any pedigree. Kash hit one magnificent
six and a number of attractive strokes on his way to an unbeaten 37, supported
along the way by Gary Helm (above left) and colts Lawrence Chamberlain, Ben
Fletcher and Craig Peterson.
Ley Hill ended up on 164 for 8,
massively short of Ballinger's 255. Hill will reflect not just on the quality
gap between the two sides, but on lapses in concentration that let Ballinger
stretch so far away.
Ballinger: 255 for 2 (Az Shakoor 1 for 26,
Kash Shakoor 1 for 33)
Ley Hill: 164 for 8 (Kash Shakoor 37, Lown 35)
Result: Draw
Man of the Match: Kash wins
for his excellent hitting in the middle order
Clowns of the Match: Collectively awarded to Ley Hill's atrocious fielding
display
Click here for the scorecard