The anticipation of the first game of our Season was such that 8 of the Mogs were at East Horsley's lovely ground a good 30 minutes before the match started - surely a record. The Mogs won the toss and duly inserted the opposition on a green, pudding of a wicket. Freeland and Briggs opened the attack, with Freeland in particular looking menacing and he beat the bat regularly - it looks like his 18 month course of intense anger management out in Athens has benefited this most natural cricketer. Freeland was the first to strike with an athletic caught & bowled, before Abbott, brought on at the Oak Tree end and looking like a cross between a Mogador tribesman and Osama Bin Laden, picked up two well-deserved wickets (excellent catches by Freeland & Martin D) in a lovely 8 over spell into the breeze. After a break for rain, Hewitt bowled 12 overs from the pavilion end, taking 2 wickets (another catch for Martin D and the first clash of ash in the season) and Pete Martin (swirling catch by Honeyfield) & Matt Lewis (bowled) took 1 each from the Oak Tree end. East Horsley duly declared at 165-7 with their No 3 batsman Mark Chapman top scorer with 56.
During an excellent tea (good balance of sandwiches, home-made cakes and fresh fruit), the heavens opened again and as the openers Furner & Honeyfield went out to bat, it was grey, cold, wet & windy. Furner unsurprisingly saw out a maiden from East Horsley's medium-paced skipper before Honeyfield opened the Mogs account for the season with a towering 6 over square leg off Horsley's 15 year-old leg spinner. Regrettably Honeyfield (6) then had his off stump knocked back and Tharpe went second ball for 0, caught at gulley, both to East Horsley's skip. The heavens then opened and we abandoned the match as a draw, with the Mogs on 9-2.
Despite not finishing the match, the Mogs looked in good shape for the season, with the fielders taking all the plaudits (6 catches out of 6) and the bowlers all finding a good line & length from the start. We enjoyed a couple of pints in East Horsley's lovely pavilion after the match with only the loss of Peter Furner's plank of a cricket bat (3lb 5oz) causing any undue stress. "Boycs" ran around the pavilion in total panic for some 10 minutes before the Chairman duly found it in his cricket bag.
MWCC Stats