The Mogs drew their opening game of the 2015 Season on a cold, overcast afternoon. After a fortifying pint of Doombar pre-match, the Mogs lost the toss and bowled first on a good track with pace & bounce. Brooker (1-40) & Graham (1-25) both bowled incisive spells and did the decent thing by removing an opener each, however this eased Wrenn & Williams to the crease who made the most of the good batting conditions and short legside boundary. Our opening bowlers were hit out of the attack with Lewis and Tharp taking over. Joseph was hit for 21 off his first over of the season (welcome back!) but created some chances along the way including 2 caught and bowleds that were put down, though saying that the balls were travelling at something approaching the speed of light. Tharp (1-40) was joined by Cooper and these wily competitors slowed down the scoring rate a bit, with Williams perishing via Pete Riddy's second smart catch. Wrenn reached a coruscating hundred with an almighty roar that The Off Break himself would have been proud but was bowled by Cooper (2-33) next ball. This put the breaks on Brooks innings and with the Mogs bowlers all getting an early seasopn bowl, Brook declared at 223 for 6 after 40 overs.
A DIY tea was served on the steps of the pavilion due to (most aptly) a "Frozen" childrens party going on inside the hall itself but Rob Brown and Pete Riddy opened up for the Mogs and put on 97 in 13 overs with Brown (55) smashing anything remotely too full, too short or too wide, with Riddy growing in stature beside him. After Brown was stumped, Hewitt joined fellow Aldro parent Riddy at the crease and they put on 58 serene runs for the second wicket before Hewitt (22) was caught trying to hoick a good length ball and this precipitated an old fashioed collapse that saw us subside from 155-1 to 198-7 as a succession of batsmen perished trying to force the pace off the wily bowling of Ward & "Richie" Chibiba. Riddy fell for an excellent 72, his highest score for the club, and although Cooper (16) and Graham (17) threatened to get the runs, new boy Tom Kelsey & Col. William Parker had 7 balls to either find the 10 runs required for victory or to secure an honourable draw. The latter prevailed with Parker securing his 96th Not Out for the Mogs (not bad in 181 innings!)and we retired to the Dog & Pheasant with our genial hosts to consume hop-based products and pick over the bones of an excellent game, played in the very best of spirits.
Report - Hewitt
MWCC Stats