Lusty blows
Lustleigh, Devon, 6/3/2011
Strongroom won by 23 runs
Strongroom: 193-7 [J.Gower 55*]
Lustleigh: 170-4 [J.Wright 84*]
View the Scorecard
The tour was launched on a lovely warm, sunny June evening. Stalwart Andy Orme achieved his lifetime ambition and skippered Strongroom. Although he lost the toss, Lustleigh skipper Marcus was kind enough to follow visiting tour team etiquette and let us bat first. Chris West got us up and running by slamming the first ball of the tour through cover on the up for four, and went on to play pretty much a shot a ball. At the other end of the unfamiliar opening partnership, Mellor looked in reasonable touch, launching one enormous 6 over long-on and into the garden of the Gower’s former senior school music teacher. The other Strongroom batsmen came and went, mostly getting themselves out on a dry but grassy and slow pitch. Jon made it though to an accomplished 50 before retiring. The scoreboard was rattling along to the extent that Strongroom probably took their foot off the pedal a little. Guy enjoyed his not out and was congratulated by the n.o. grandmaster DP.
Ujjal was fuming after a marginal lbw cut him down as he approached his last couple of Strongroom innings, and this perhaps spilled over into an adequate but uneven opening spell, apart from a tasty last over. Hem slotted right back in to his Lustleigh 2010 line and length and bowled the tightest spell of the match. Joe came on and bowled a first miserly over of 1 for 1, and the Orme bowled blockhole off 2 paces - so all seemed to be done and dusted. Except that the teenaged Lustleigh no. 5 (P.Wright) realised it was do or die and began to throw the bat. OK, the leg side boundary was very short and a few hoicks might have gone to hand in normal circumstances, but his eye was exceptional and some of his straight hits were mighty. Joe’s figures took a shocking dent (53 off his last 3 overs), much to his bewilderment and slight amusement of his team mates (especially Ujjal). Even the trusty Mellor got smashed (0-36 off 2) and felt unsure himself whether 36 off the last over was entirely defendable. But DP made a welcome return to bowling duty and speared in some full darts to see us home.
It was kind of a comfortable win overall, but we lost more wickets and had been subjected to more of an onslaught in the field and our complacency was given a rude mini-awakening. The only real downer was missing the end of food service in the pub…
Written By: D.Gower
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