Match Report - 1xi vs Weybridge Vandals

Weybridge Vandals 1xi beat HWRCC 1xi by 39 runs.

Not good enough. That's why we're not going to get promoted this year. In previous seasons we have been good enough. Easily in fact. Often screwed out of it in fact. But not this year. Not this time. Saturday was a classic example of this.

We won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl. A placid pitch was met with some good ol' fashioned straight bowling, with Unsworth searchnig for swing and Ewen seeking a bit of ridgy bounce. On swing, so on came Whinney who got one to keep low and bowled the oppo skipper.

There followed the best catch I have ever seen. Imran at a close gully, with Ewen bowling full pelt, snaffled one down low left handed right by his feet. It wasn't an edge, it was middled. A simply insane piece of fielding. Some of his reactions are breathtaking.

The #4 was a bit of an embarassment and didnt last long - caught at gully. #5 middled a cover drive straight to a juggling Raza off Val Kilner. #6 played some decent straight drives, but Raza's introduction caught him unawares and he was bowled for not many.

At the other end the strong Saffa opener continued to bully his way through, dealing primarily in boundaries, including some towering mows off Raza. Kam soon had his man, Ewen stationed under the clock bucketing one.

At 100-5 The Wick were sitting pretty, when a mini partnership emerged - one of Ali's overs going for 19, whilst #7 seemed to hang around longer than perhaps he should have. One lbw decision was ridiculous, but he only perhaps added 15 more after this shout.

Ewen returned at the death to clean up the tail with good old fashioned fast stuff - taking 5 for the 3rd time against Vandals.

154 all out and The Wick were definitely in control. Tea as standard.

Skies had clouded over somewhat during the interval, and Jonathan Powell from the Kingsfield end proved to be a tricky customer - bowling off the wrong foot and hooping it like Tongy does. His contribution proved to be decisive, but only after Davies had managed to snick one off the other opener who was all huff and guff but as the figures show was no world beater.

Ali, like the oppo skipper, got a shooter (although this was a pea roller), and he departed. Cronin and Raza then in turn got jaffas from J Powell, both bowled. Imran, surviving a loud shout first up, was looking set, unleashing some booming drives and cuts, before getting shot down by the only decision made by an umpire in the game - classic that it happened to be an absolute stinker and that it was against our most dangerous batsman of the day.

This was another Wick collapse unfolding and despite a few bldugeons from High, who again fell to a J Powell hoop, it was left to Ewen and Whinney to see if their calm heads could get us over the line. Their partnership was measured and sensible, but ultimately unsuccessful, Ewen being caught at mid wicket, with the rest not lasting much longer.

At 114 all out I've seen far worse batting displays, but the score suggests a battering. In reality credit must go to Powell who bowled straight all day and kept asking questions, with the odd beauty thrown in there. For us, you could say we could have been more proactive and taken some risks. Ali showed the way, keen to hit the shine off the ball, before being undone by the pitch.

As I said at the start, this season we've had done to us what we've been doing to other teams over the past few years - just enough. With a few exceptions, we lost games/points foolishly and that has cost us. Saturday did have a feel of season underachievement before we started. We'd lost all reasonable chance of promotion a month ago and it was confirmed this weekend. Teams like Merrow and Vandals, who we'd beaten comfortably in years gone by, both looked the better team against us this year, which is why they're in the top 4 and we aren't.

So be it. I can think of worse things in life. If it was easy it wouldn't mean as much when you get it right.

MOM - Ewen 5-32, although Imran was unlucky to be triggered when set and alongside the catch of the century he would have taken plaudits in a parallel universe.

[Joe Ewen's hands - Ed]