I am pleased to report a thumping win for the Mogs in our first game of the season. A strong Mog side and a huge Mog support met at the Dog & Pheasant for a couple of pre-match pints and skipper Alex "Badger" Hewitt won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that had produced 600 runs the day before. Furner revealed a new blade, which nearly had a big fat 0 to its name in the first over but the little master was dropped by the home team's Zimbabwean opener Roger Chibisa who returned impressive figures of 16-1-89-4. Larke was soon unleashing a trademark collection of searing drives and our openers put on 49 before Furner (9) was out to a terrific catch at point and Larke (37)also followed. Stevens and Freeland put on 35 for the 3rd wicket but they were disnissed with consecutive deliveries leaving the Mogs precariously placed at at 85-4. Hewitt & Fairclough steadied the ship and our run rate soon increased from 4 to 5 to 6 runs pre over as the boundary rate increased. Fairclough (22) holed out but Tharp kept up the good work, scoring 28 in a single over with 4 maximums all hitting the tennis courts. Tharpy was out for an excellent 41 and Lee, Lewis, Abbott & Parker helped the Mogs reach 265 from just 36 overs with Hewitt last out for a destructive (and somewhat fortunate) 92.
As CMJ would say it was a mackerel sky as we took the field but Abbott & Lewis ensured a strong start for the Mogs, restricting Brook to 20-1 from the first 9 overs with Lewis recording an LBW decision in an excellent 8 over spell. Abbo blew a gasket after just 4 overs and was replaced by Freeland who bowled with good pace, huffed and puffed but ultimately could not quite blow the Brook house down. It was the introduction of Tharp that turned the match for the Mogs and his slow dobbers looked utterly unplayable on a surface that all other bowlers had found to be low and slow. Quickly Brook self destructed from 90-1 to 100 - 4 and with Hewitt (2 -49), Fairclough (1 - 3) and an excellent run out from Larke, we won by 108 runs just before the heavens opened. Plyaers from both sides nad the huge Mog support ensred a good evenings takings for the landlord at the Dog & Pheasant as well as some hard grunt the 2 very pretty barmaids.
Hewitt
MWCC Stats