Band of Brothers

Match Report

With an 80% chance of rain forecast for four hours around midday at Eastling, and heavy rain across much of the county at 9am, it would have been an easy call to cancel the fixture against the Band of Brothers at Belmont.  It was, therefore, something of a surprise for those arriving at Belmont to find the ground perhaps not bathed in sunshine, but dry and with patches of blue above.  The special Belmont micro-climate had triumphed again, and, in spite of two short rain delays and a slightly extended break for lunch (to enjoy some fine Penstock 2022 Ortega), a game was played to an exciting conclusion.  Swallows were darting between the fielders all afternoon (a day for Keith Miller, who, it was said, could catch swallows in the slips), and swifts put in a couple of glorious brief appearances as they came down from on high ahead of the showers.

The Stragglers (representing the Belmont Trustees) were invited to bat by a particularly chatty BB side, who found almost immediate success with a perfect ball to clip the top of Benny’s off bail.  This brought Joe Gordon to the crease, and, with Harry Heming, he set about deconstructing the BB bowling.  Harry fell for 29, a victim of the drinks break, a partnership with Joe of 91.  A particularly good lunch found the Straggs on 135 for 2, Louis GW keeping pace with Joe.  On 97, Joe managed to play round a straight ball from Ben Regan.  However, Louis (50) and Angus Balfour (14) kept up the momentum, before both succumbed to the returning opening bowler with miscued drives.  With their departure, the Straggler innings fell away in something of a shambles as 188 for 3 (and thoughts of a declaration) become 203 all out in four overs.

Sam Gilliland and Joe opened up as the BB openers set off in a hurry.  It took the distraction of the tea break for Joe to take advantage of a break in concentration – 53 for 1.  However, batsmen kept coming and chasing hard, but none managed to build on to a large score, Will Pollington’s 39 the highest.  Skipper, Alex Reese, found helpful turn and removed Henry Roberts, and then Louis GW picked up two in quick succession, the second a high, swirling catch which had a number of Stragglers converging in potential chaos – 133 for 4.  Straggler fielders were putting bodies on the line, James Pollington hurling himself around the covers and Rufus breaking a finger to spend the rest of the innings fielding with one hand.  However, with Matt Simpson and Ben Regan at the crease, the BB were in cruise control until Alex introduced total absence of pace and brought himself back from the top end.  Three wickets in 3 overs for ten runs (176 for 7) changed the complexion of the game.  Runs were harder to come by, and Piers Richardson escaped a boisterous shout for LBW.  Inching towards the target with overs running out, Piers was obliged to ‘ramp’ Alex to find the only gap in the field and victory by two wickets (we played 10-a-side) with 7 balls remaining.  With nobody expecting more than a few overs before being sent home in the rain, the game proved to be great fun and, in the end, a tight finish and another lovely day at Belmont.