Ley Hill vs Great Kingshill, 23rd April 2005
Alex Hallatt
A report from the Great Kingshill web site,
reproduced with thanks. View the original here:
http://greatkingshill.play-cricket.com/content/view.asp?id=80130&cid=218&tid=14&referer=&fixture=&team=12297
Great Kingshill Cricket Club got off to a winning start in their season opener on 24 April 2005. GKCC were put in to bat by their hosts and got off to a solid start with Chris Young (62) and David Pope (22) opening up. Nick Hallatt had begun to provide the mid-innings acceleration with a well constructed 45 before Rhys Goodwin loped to the wicket. Goodwin is well known for the strong psychological side to his game. He decided to lull the opposition in to a false sense of security by dressing in threads that had, in all likelihood, been provided by a local scarecrow. Goodwin showed no sign of being a man of straw as he started to set about the local bowling.
He built carefully with a nudge here, a dab there and the occasional booming drive, but then the game approached its fateful over.....
...Ley Hill's guileful spinner, a Mr P Green approached the crease. Boom!, Thwack!, Smash!, Goodwin hit the spinner for three consecutive sixes. Wide! was the call as Green felt the pressure. Crack!, Mint! Another two maximum's. The final ball of the over came...Goodwin danced down the pitch and smashed the ball on to the adjacent golf course. 37 runs from one over! The crowd went wild, Goodwin raised his arms in salute....not a crow in sight. All those that were there would remember the day that Rhys 'Sobers' Goodwin came to Ley Hill.
GKCC reached 235 before restricting Ley Hill to 160 from their 40 overs (Smith 4-32, Edwards 2-33) but the day belonged to the man in the ill fitting jumper, the colossus from Aylesbury. "I don't think we've seen the last of this boy", said a giddy onlooker. "I do", said captain Martin Smith, "his girlfriend won't let him play next week".
Great Kingshill won by 75 runs
Great Kingshill: 235 for 4 (Green 6 overs, 0 maidens, 1 wicket for 86
runs)
Ley Hill: 160 for 8 (Curtis 42, Spinks 36)