The Mogs lost a thoroughly enjoyable game against Wisborough Green, which was a new fixture but one that would be welcomed back in the future. We scored a competitive total thanks to good 50's by Abbott & Briggs T, but our bowlers strugled on a flat wicket and our hosts won with some 4 and a bit overs spare.
Having only found out that they had a fixture the week before, the Mogador Wanderers made the trip down to leafy Sussex to play their first game against Wisborough Green (the old haunt of the Briggs clan)The intrepid eleven arrived to a picturesque scene, a village green, a pub with live music and a clubhouse with a balcony. Andy went to the toss and was realised that the wicket was going to be a great track for batting on and when he won the toss had no hesitation in batting first, much to the delight of those still supping hop based product in The Cricketers beer garden!
Darrell and Peter opened the batting, and Peter was soon into his stride scoring 22 of the first 25 runs before being bowled by Hopkins. Phil Staverley, making his 1st appearance of the year, joined Darrell and they shared a partnership of 54 before Phil was lbw to Sedgewick for 17. What was apparent was that it was either 1 or 4 as the outfield was quick and the boundaries short square of the wicket, especially on one side. Darrell was playing well, and he was joined by debutant Will Cooper, a good friend of Magic. They took the score onto 142 in the 27th over when Darrell, who had taken a quick delivery in his nether regions a couple of balls before, was bowled for an excellent 67 (he will be missed when he goes to NZ on the 15th!!).
Toby was the next man in, and he used his local knowledge to advantage as he smashed 75 not out in the remaining 13 overs, Cooper made a good 29, and another debutant Jonathan Burton made a useful 13 supporting Toby. At the end of their 40 overs the Mogs had made 247 and retired to the clubhouse for an excellent tea. It was during the interval that Andy realised that he had limited bowling resources available to him, and more worrying that he would have to open!!
Joe and Andy opened the attack, and it was soon clear that the opening batsmen were not going to hang around and that the Mogs were in for a long day in the field. A run out when the score was on 53 only served to increase the run rate as the next partnership put on 152 before Darrell (who along with the pain in the groin was also stung whilst fielding) had to be begged to bowl and was rewarded with getting their opener caught by Andy for 115. Andy managed to bag a couple of wickets towards the end, and special mention must be given to Keith who bowled 6.3 overs and was like a young man in the field, however this was never enough as Wisborough Green eased home with 4 overs to spare.
A tired and somewhat broken (Darrell, Charlie and Andy all sporting battle scars) team retired to the bar and enjoyed the vista determined that next year we would do 2 things: 1. Play a declaration game and 2. Ensure we have enough people who can bowl!! Wisborough Green is a beautiful place to play cricket and we are very lucky to play at grounds like this
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