Ian Webb
Just as in Tim Kaye's debut match as captain last year when Dave Mortimer (pictured below) went on his travels, my first match as captain of the Thirds resulted in the same unbelievable result for... a win!
Winning
the toss, Kenton were sent in, and one of the openers fell to the straight one
from Jake Wells after slogging a few through the mid-wicket region. Jake was
well supported by Will Rothwell in their opening stints, before Stuart Clarke
bowled a tidy spell to keep down the runs. Kash Shakoor picked up a couple of
wickets with his variations in pace, which sandwiched the most farcical run out
you are ever likely to see - certainly the easiest chance Jamie Morris should
have to whip off the bails.The captain then had a bowl, picking up a wicket in each of his two opening overs, including the opposition skipper, who was bowled with a slow full toss that found middle stump. Jake took a good catch off Kash's bowling to leave Kenton 90 for 7, before frustration followed as their number 9 batsman continuously dug out yorker-length balls just before they could do any damage. Will returned to snap up the final two wickets as Kenton were all out for 127.
Our reply started quickly, with Terry Rothwell hitting a quickfire 19, including 3 fours and a six. Joel Newell joined Stuart at the crease, resulting in 2 contrasting batting styles which both resulted in a few runs being scored - Stuart's extra-straight bat complemented perfectly by the confusing baseball-wielding style of Joel which must have put the bowlers off during their run-ups. A misunderstanding over a quick single led to Joel's run-out, before a surprisingly out-of-touch Kash miscued and top-edged his way to 22 before being stumped a long way out of his ground. By now, only 17 more runs were needed for victory, and Jake and Jamie comfortably saw us home with 4 wickets remaining.
Kenton: 126-9 all out (Kash Shakoor 3 for 22)
Ley Hill: 129-6 (Stuart Clarke 28, Kash Shakoor 22)
Ley Hill win by 4 wickets
Man of the Match: A great all-round team performance - the whole team deserves praise.
Clowns of the match: The Kenton batsmen who set up the easiest run-out you are ever likely to see - they almost stopped in the middle of the track to have a discussion about which end they were running to.