Sat 13th July Charlbury 2nd vs Minster Lovell 2nd

Minster Lovell 2nd 247-6 declared (40 overs)

Mark Fitzgerald 3-44

 

Charlbury 2nd 131 (39.4 overs)

Ayan Chakravartty 31

Mark Fitzgerald 47

 

Charlbury won the toss and elected to field first. Emilia and Andy opened the bowling and both bowlers quickly dropped into a good line and length. Andy started off well dropping into a good line and length which caused some early problems and also getting a bit of movement off the pitch. Emilia too started well, getting movement off of the pitch which made both batsmen play and miss on several occasions. Slowly the batsmen started to get their eye in and they began to play a few shots. The fielders were backing up the bowlers with several early diving stops to keep the score down. Slowly the score started to rise as the batsmen found a couple of boundaries and started to take a few singles. The overs ticked by and Charlbury could not get a wicket and started to become desperate for the breakthru. After twenty overs a change in the bowling was made as Emilia left the attack and Ayan entered it. Ayan made a quick impact as early on one opener miss-hit one delivery and Simon gratefully took the catch. A couple of overs later and Charlbury got their second wicket when the other opening batsman dragged his back foot out of the crease and wicket-keeper Abi stumped him off Andy’s bowling, Charlbury were back in the game. The score had now passed the hundred mark and there were still plenty of overs left, Charlbury would need to keep taking wickets if they were to stay in the game. The two new batsmen began to attack from the off, finding several powerfully hit fours to get the score moving along at a good rate. Andy then took himself out of the attack and brought Mark into it to see if his spin could bring the wickets Charlbury needed. The overs were by now beginning to run out so the batsmen started to go harder, but were hitting a lot in the air and so the possibility of a catch was always on. Finally Charlbury got a breakthru when Mark had one batsman caught by Simon. Mark was bowling a good spell getting some spin off the pitch, but also using his variety of pace and elevation to try and confuse the batsmen. Ayan too as bowling well, getting some movement out of the pitch. The runs kept on coming at a quick rate and so Ayan left the attack and Emilia re-entered it. Emilia again dropped straight into a good length and line and this began to slightly slow the run rate down. The 200 mark had been passed and still the score was mounting, but then Mark got amongst the wickets. First one batsman tried to hit him out of the ground, did not manage it and was caught by Andy on the boundary. Then last ball of the over Mark clean bowled the new batsman. Andy now came back on for a few overs at the end in place of Mark. Emilia then grabbed a wicket when she clean bowled one batsman. A couple of overs later Minster Lovell declared on 247-6 meaning Charlbury had to bat for 50 overs.

 

Charlbury opened the batting with Simon and Neil. The Minster bowlers dropped straight into a great length and line and made run scoring difficult from the off. Both batsmen had to play defensively early on, but still managed to pick up a couple of singles to get the scoreboard moving. Neil hammered a delivery to the boundary for four to get he scoreboard moving along a bit quicker. Then disaster struck as Simon edged one and was caught meaning Jon Flory had to come to the crease. Jon started strongly hitting an early four. Both players were looking for the quick single, but were having to play a lot of defensive shots. The disaster struck as first Jon miss-hit one and was caught and then new batsman Andy missed one early on leaving Charlbury three wickets down. Ayan now made his way to the wicket. Neil was batting sensibly, attacking when he could, but also trying to make sure Charlbury lost too many early wickets. Then things got even worse for Charlbury as Neil edged one to the slips and was caught. Mark now joined Ayan at the crease as a change in the bowling was made from one end. The new bowler was slightly easier to play and gave both batsmen the chance to push a few ones and twos around. Slowly the score started to rise and with both players finding a boundary Charlbury started to get back in the game. After twenty overs another change in the bowling was made as the opening bowler finished his spell and a new bowler entered the attack. Now Mark started to attack more and found a couple of boundary fours and with Ayan finding another four Charlbury were starting their assault on their target. After 25 overs Charlbury had reached 100-4 and the game was nicely placed. Then disaster struck as Ayan miss-hit one and was caught for a fine 31. Martyn now came to the wicket. Charlbury still had many overs to see out, but still had a chance of victory. The Minster bowlers were now bowling a bit better line and length and starting to cause a few problems for the batsmen. Martyn hit a four to keep the scoreboard moving. A double change in the bowling was then made as one of the opening bowlers returned along with a new bowler. Then disaster struck. Just as it seemed Mark might get his maiden fifty he missed one and was bowled for a great 47. Emilia now joined Martyn at the wicket. Both players pushed a few singles to keep the score moving along. A couple of overs later Emilia missed one and was bowled and so Abi had to come to the crease. She was not there too long as she hit one in the air and was caught which brought Freddie to the wicket. Minster were now bowling really well and Charlbury were struggling to get much more than a single. Martyn was wrapped on the pads and given out adjudged LBW which meant last man Ian had to enter the fray. The game did not go on much longer as Ian was caught and Minster Lovell had won by 116 runs.

 

Charlbury 2nd 6 points