1st XI
Match abandoned – incident documented in The Sun
2nd XI
3rd XI
On a day when there was a 60% chance of rain the 3’s were very grateful for the 40% as the skies cleared and made a full game possible at Brize Norton (Minster Lovell’s outground). Captain Walsh deserved credit for noticing that Minster III’s had drawn 6 of their last 7 games by batting second and holding on for a draw, and so inserted them upon winning the toss. Minster lost 2 quick wickets before the 3 and 4 dug in with very straight bats to support the opener, who almost carried his bat for 30. There were only 3 boundaries in the entire innings and Minster posted 106. Sportsmanship award goes to Murgatroyd, who appeared to take a blinding diving catch at slip before recalling the batsman as Luke had taken the catch on a half-volley. Bowling credits go to Ayyaz, who took 6 wickets, Will Coles bowled superbly without reward. Mark and Daniel started a spritely reply before Mark was given LBW (again!) and Daniel was caught. Walsh and Abeer made brief appearances, with Abeer victim of a bizarre run-out that bounced off the keeper’s foot, into the slip’s hands and thence made its way to the stumps. Sarosh (22) and Ayyaz (30) finished the game off with a resounding win for the Wolves. Mrs Ayyaz was match hero for the Pakoras.
Match Report by CB with notes from DC
4th XI
On a surprisingly dry day at Kennington, the visitors helped take off the covers, taking pity on the the three 4s players trying to get everything set up. I felt rather ashamed that we aren’t able to be punctual as a team!
Put in to bat by Bicester & North Oxford 4s, the 3rd wicket partnership between Conor O’H (67) and Philipp L (46) laid a solid foundation. With a combined age of only 28, Ben H and Tom A contributed sparkling cameos to effectively put the game beyond reach for the visitors – but not before teenage Zara Wyatt ran through out batting lineup to claim an astonishing 8 wickets and wrap up our innings on 179.
At the other end of the age spectrum, our answer to Zara was Simon P who claimed 6-30 while Rajat P toiled away drawing 5 or 6 genuine edges for no reward whatsoever. First change JP Gupta celebrated a caught and bowled almost before the ball reached him, claiming 2 wickets for no runs in 4.2 overs. The highlight of the game however was an absolute masterclass in leg spin bowing from Ben H – he bamboozled the batter for 5 balls before the sixth splattered the stumps.
Wrapping up a comprehensive 128 run victory with the 2s lining the boundary was lovely indeed!
Report by Philipp Lohann