After two wash-outs on the trot, an eager Mogs XI assembled at the Seven Stars in Leigh, taking on much needed liquid in preparation for a hot day in the field, now that the English Summer had finally revealed itself. The Mogs won the toss and remembering that Leigh's pitch tended to deteriorate, opted to bat first. The pitch soon showed itself to be in the Dachsund mould - slow and very low - and the Mogs soon lost a clatter of wickets as nearly all of the Mogs fell to a combination of either horrible shots or spiteful behaviour from the pitch. Only Freeland (48) managed any sort of return, his total being the highest score in the match by some 25 runs. Soon after his dismissal (our 4th), Lewis was comically run out in a Furneresque manner and it was only due to some lusty hitting by Stevens and Lewis J (including one big, straight 6) that got our total up to 123 in 35 overs.
An excellent tea was taken with a good selection of freshly made sandwiches, strong builders brew and the unusual inclusion of marshmallows on the dessert plate, all reviving players and supporters alike. Talking of supporters it was great to see our first sighting of Imogen Freeland, sensibly protected from Oscar and Fabien by both parents and one set of grandparents. The Mogs enjoyed much the stronger support with Mr & Mrs Hewitt, the Lewis family, Mr & Mrs Parker (Snr & Jnr) and David Martin all clapping the Mogs fielders as we went out to defend our tiny total.
Abbott & Briggs bowled tidy opening spells without any joy, though the pitch soon revealed itself again with a series of grass-cutters evading Colonel Parker behind the stumps and racing to the boundary. Despite the use of a long stop for most of the match (much to the amusement of everyone bar Will!) Extras was comfortably Leigh's highest scorer. Captain Hewitt was desperate for an element of control and turned to his eldest son's godparents (Lewis M & Honeyfield) for some inspiration. It proved a shrewd move as Leigh capitulated somewhat from 38 for 0 after 12 overs to 51 for 5 after 21 overs with Will taking 2 smart catches in the process. The Mogs fielding was excellent and despite some steady drizzle and a quick break for a heavy shower with 10 overs to go Leigh had just 3 wickets in hand needing 45 runs. Briggs, Lewis J and Freeland all bowled well, a run out from Hewitt helped the cause but with 3 overs to go, the equation was simple, Leigh needing just 18 runs. Abbott was brought on from the top end for a 2nd spell and to all of our enjoyment struck twice with classic leg stump yorkers to see the Mogs home by 10 runs.
Despite the below-average pitch and the extraordinary statistic that only 11 boundaries were hit all day, it was a thrilling win and sees the Mogs record this season improve to Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1.
Author - Alex Hewitt
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