Paddy and JG forge match-winning partnership
Highgate Wood, 6/22/2008
Strongroom won by 5 wickets
Palm Tree: 194-8 (Kottam 76))
Strongroom: 195-5 (J.Gower 78, P.Ell 66)
View the Scorecard
J.Gower lost the toss, and Steve Russell decided to bat first and take advantage of good weather conditions and a decent looking surface. David Proctor and Paddy Ell (3-40) opened the attack, and both did a fine job in asking questions of the Palm Tree top order. Proctor in particular looked threatening (8-2-24-0), and bowled his 8 overs off the reel, and was unlucky in having 2-3 chances put down by the keeper/slips. Kottam (76) and Watson (36) staged a strong middle-order recovery, and for a while it looked as though the game was veering away from Strongroom, but Boote, Patel and Gower (3-35) all chipped in with timely wickets, as did Paddy in a fine second spell at the death. The Strongroom fielding was good overall, and Arvind and Proctor did well in sharing the keepers gloves. 194 was a good total, but not out of reach.
Tea Report: 8 ½ /10 We had two teas! Courtesy of some mid-week misunderstanding, Sarah Boote and the opposition both provided tea, so there was a huge amount of tasty tuck on show. However, I can’t remember the details, as I am writing this a month after the game!
Woolhouse and Jules opened up for Strongroom, but both were back in the hut within 20 minutes, and Arvind followed soon after. At 38-3, three of our strongest batsmen were out, and Strongroom were in real trouble. Enter J.Gower and Paddy Ell. Fast forward two hours later, Strongroom were 191-3, and the job was as good as done! After a slow and circumspect start, both batsmen gradually established themselves and began to take advantage of scoring opportunities, and forged a strong 153-run partnership in total. The pleasing aspect of this partnership was how it was paced, and conversations at the end of each over helped to set small targets and break down the run-chase into small, achievable targets. King was the most dangerous of the bowlers, and the wily Russell also posed a threat by inducing some indiscrete shots. Guy and Proctor finished proceedings, and Strongroom were dead chuffed to win from such a poor position. Palm Tree generous in defeat, and we look forward to taking them on again in the future.
Written By: JG
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