Kilve once again show us how it's done
Kilve, Somerset, 9/24/2022
Kilve won by 7 wickets
Strongroom: 190-6
Kilve: 194-3
View the Scorecard
Once again we gradually assembled ourselves on the north Somerset coast and it was good to be back at Kilve on this mini-tour. This year our team featured two debutants, Harbertonians Josh and Ant, and the return of evergreen Ol Moore, complete with a new iteration of camper van. DP was awarded the toss and the Gower Bros put on 45 in 11 overs, with DG (27) the most fluent Gower, whereas JG (50) was more swishy. While the youthful opening bowlers didn’t achieve any swing, the two change bowlers were proved more experienced and much harder to get away, with Marchent in particular extracting some big late inswing. Heny (50) once again played superbly, showing neat footwork and crisp strokeplay, especially through the covers and with nimble steers to midwicket. However, we struggled to up the scoring rate against accurate and wily bowling, and forceful drives and cuts kept going straight to well-placed fielders. Eventually both JG and Henry holed out trying to up the run rate, and thankfully Ant struck a superb 30*, with a big six over long-off. Our final total of 190-6 was very similar again to last year (194-6), but we knew it was 40-50 short against this team. With hindsight we could have taken more risks to up the run rate, but we were also light on batting (no Ben, Ankit, Vinay, Gwyn) and the bowling was shrewd and disciplined.
In a similar unfolding of events as to the previous year, Kilve managed their run chase with little effort and minimal risk. Badger (68) and Carl (62*) provided the backbone of the innings, and while we bowled and fielded with spirit throughout, their run chase was calm, steady and went to plan. Our lowlights included three dropped catches behind off Henry, who otherwise bowled an excellent threatening spell with pace and accuracy. Other highlights included the bowling of DG, Mario, Seb, Ian, Ol and Ant, Ant’s catch at deep gully and DGs agile outfielding and catch at mid-on. The champagne moment went to Ian for his 4-juggle catch at midwicket. While we bowled well, we could not find a way to dislodge their quality batters - especially ‘Carlos’, who is a class act. While the result was little doubt, this was an enjoyable game overall, and made palatable by a very friendly opposition.
In the images below we see two team shots - with Ian and DP rotating as cameraman.
Written By: J.Gower
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