The opening day of the season had arrived and the sun was beaming - that was indeed a novelty in late April. After enjoying the great ale in the Dog & Pheasant, the Mogs took up the challenge of batting first.
After some superb availability in 2010, the first game of the season had thrown up a relatively new but unwanted issue of struggling to get 11 Mogs available; thanks to Chris Walker for helping make up the numbers.
It was a tremendous start that Furns and Chris Walker provided; Furns incredibly scoring at over a run a ball. Unfortunately this stand came to an end as Chris was caught at point for 34. Furns was joined by Freeland as they both continued to build on the great start.
As the overs went by the focus changed slightly and Furns' run rate started to slow, as Bimbo took more of the strike. Jamie continued to score and made it to a solid 50. Furns by this time had stalled slightly in the 70's.
Unfortunately the slow going got the better of Furns, and although he thoroughly deserved his century, he was caught going for the bigger hit on 97....Jamie was joined by Jimmy who helped try and pick up the run rate. Jamie was eventually out for 78 and Jimmy fell quickly for 15; Toby (26*) and Charlie (11*) pushed for boundaries, with Charlie managing to park the slow bowling over the boundary for a huge 6 off the last ball of the innings.
The Mogs ended on 254 - 5
Tea was very gratefully consumed and it was a unanimous decision from the Mogador Wanderers that coronation chicken was an under-used sandwich filling these days and one they would be very pleased to enjoy more of - A top 3 sandwich filling.
It was a tough start for the Mogs as Brook opened with a couple of experienced, quality batsmen. They started and continued very well, as the score increased at a steady rate.
The Mogs struggled to prevent the runs from flowing and Brook batted very solidly. Although a few wickets fell towards the end of the day, and Toby Briggs bowled a terrific spell for very little runs, Brook had built the platform and were never rushed. They eased off the rate a little and reached the target with a few overs left within the final 20.
MWCC Stats