Some games linger in the memory for the quality of the contest. Others for the beauty of the surroundings or the bonds of friendship between the two sides and their supporters. This game had ALL of these and a perfect sunny day to boot that surely made it the highlight of the season so far and a fitting tribute to Peter Martin to whom this fixture is dedicated.
Hewitt won the toss and immediately invited the Andy Hoad led Priory side to take the field. Freeland and Fairclough laid a solid platform by waiting for the occasional loose delivery during a tight opening spell from the aforementioned skipper and especially Toby Briggs, swinging the ball at pace and finally snaring Fairclough with a good one after Freeland had departed to his first ball of legspin from Packham - one of 6 Mog caps in the Priory side.
Will 'Alice' Cooper meantime had embarked on an innings that recalled the glory days of his rock and roll namesake. Now a fully accredited Mog after his Schools out for Summer, Cooper drew the Poison from the Priory attack and wielded his bat like a Fender Stratocaster whilst lacing fours down the hill on the off side with glorious precision. It was a surprise when his plug was pulled for 29 and unfortunately this triggered a collapse of 5 Mog wickets in 9 minutes for 2 runs.
This alarming statistic contained two incidents of significance as Mog legend Charlie 'Dairy' Lee ruthlessly dispatched captain Hewitt for a threatening 33 and best friend Magic Johnson for a less threatening duck with swinging deliveries and deafening appeals. This triggered a debate over lunch about the current phenomenon of cricketing soldiers of fortune such as Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen and others seeking top dollar over loyalty towards club and country. The pressure of a Beckham style basement extension as well as a monstrous pizza oven on the Lee wallet may have led him down this unfortunate road, and we only hope that he will resist monetary overtures to join our opposition in the future. The wholly coincidental deflation of his car tyres over tea may prove suitable encouragement in this respect.
In any case the Mogs recoverd gloriously after lunch, possibly due to the administration of a decent quality Port to the rampant Priory (+Mog) bowling attack, but undoubtedly led by the flashing blade of Stevens (32) with the steadfast, stylish support of Parker (20) who assembled a vital 53 run partnership together. Along with some lusty blows from Bunn that pushed the score up to a respectable 194 all out.
However there was a long time left in this all day contest and the Priory side contained enough batting quality to make use of the 50+ overs on offer. It was at this point that the Mogs unveiled their not-very-secret weapon Alex Mendis - making a welcome debut for the club after many seasons of not-very-subtle flattery. Since the foundation of the club, a lack of inches has bedevilled Mog bowlers. The 6 foot 10 Mendis did much to dispel this inferiority complex, and he bowled a truly Alpha Male new ball spell.
Still, Toby Briggs overcame this and the ever present mental pressure of having his father Keith umpiring with great skill, eventually falling one short of a hard hitting fifty unluckily but brilliantly caught down the leg side by Parker off Bunn. All rounder Cooper and the Vince Cable-alike medium pace of Freeland (economical but always controversial) captured 2 wickets each. However contributions from Matt Packham (30) with support from Dempsey and 'Big Phil' Davies put Priory into a winning position.
This was gloriously snatched away from them by 3 wickets from 8th change Hewitt who whistled through the late middle order with the waspish Honeyfield and set up Mendis to apply the coup-de-grace with the prized last wicket of Lee to secure a thrilling 26 run win. What a day, what a game and what a curry to follow...
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