Brookland

Match Report

Another Sunday, another Straggler stroll in the park. Brookland, short of players at the last minute, duly lost the toss to allow Allports, pere et fils, to set about the a limited attack on a flat track. Even the late arrival of the Committee Member to fill in some fielding gaps for the opposition didn’t stem the flow, and both Simon and Theo notched up half centuries on their way to an opening stand of 128 in the twentieth over. Unfortunately for the opposition, things then got worse with Charlie Munton and Hamish Morrison next men in. Hamish was undone by a very sharp catch off a 12 year old, but only after peppering the boundary, while Charlie remained undefeated just short of his 50. A declaration at 225 for 4 was a necessary kindness.

Brookland were not without batsman, and the early tea had left them with plenty of time to chase down the target. Toby Sinclair got the key breakthrough, finding a fine edge, but the middle order were not cowed, and a surprise almost looked possible. However, the regular third change pair of Tapp and Allport brought about an immediate capitulation, as 168 for 3 became 168 all out in short order.