After heavy overnight rain, a strong Mogs XI arrived at Headley's lovely ground to find a sticky wicket and it was no surprise to find ourself "inserted" after Hewitt incorrecty called tails. Openers Lee & Fairclough got us off to a solid start with Fairclough peppering the boundary, whist Lee practised the "leave" and the "forward press" with Furner-like determination (although in truth that's slightly unfair on Furner). Fairclough was out for 27(controversially in his opinion), caught at cover, which saw Tharp stride to the crease. Lee also fell (23) but it was the barrell-chested 3 & 4 of Tharp & Hewitt who put their foot on the gas as the wicket dried and conditions improved. Hewitt launched an all out offernsive before holing out for 61 off 34 balls with Tharp departing for 60 off 74 balls. A cameo innings by Dave Tharp (23) and contributions from Lewis M & Abbott saw the Mogs post 227 from 42 overs.
A fine Headley tea re-charged our batteries and by this time a fine audience had built with Mogs supporters easily out-numberng those from Headley. Johnny Parker was spotted in the crowd, offering the Mogs barritone support despite drinking lager rather than a traditional ale - shame on him.
The Mogs were over-confident in reply but Rice bowled way too short & Davies struggled with the ferocious cross wind. Abbott replaced Rice but also found things difficult initially & when Briggs retuired hurt after damaging his finger attempting a tough caught & bowled (one of 6 chances we spilled), Headley were 91 for 0 off just 13 overs. There were no signs of panic in the Mog ranks however and soon Abbott struck, cleaning up both openers and getting us very much back on track. Lewis J replaced Briggs and he bowled a great spell which included a brilliant mini-spell of 4 wickets in 11 balls. The Mogs were on top but Headley stalwart James Moss had other ideas and his run a ball 70 kept Headley very much in the game. One crunching 6 off Lewis M landed on his brothers car windscreen, resulting in a systems overload from the younger Lewis. Rice therefore came on for a second spell with clear instructions from his skipper to "get me 2 wickets" - he did better than that, taking the last 3, all clean bowled, all middle stump. It had been a really great win and we retired for beer & hot sausages with the many supporters who had braved the chilly conditions.
MWCC Stats