Format: 40 overs.
Unusual stat: Ben, the FFOS opener (69 from 92 balls), faced the first ball in 19 consecutive overs ( 8 to 26) and in total during his innings faced the first ball in 29 of 35 overs and yet faced only 44.4% of the available strike.
The Mighty Mogador Wanderers travelled to Follies Old Farm having been heavily defeated in the fixture the year before, and were looking for revenge (and the famous Follies’ tea). With a number of players still on their way having been directed by Google Maps to Old McDonald’s farm instead, the Mogs were in to bat, with what felt like a slightly thin batting lineup.
Peter ‘Timo’ Furner and an extremely well-travelled Will Dowling went out to face the openers, and did so extremely effectively. The Follies’ fast and furious opening bowler “Rolly†was well fended off by the first wicket partnership until he eventually breached Dowling’s defence and made the breakthrough for the hosts. Whilst there were no pigs or cows to be seen on the farm, there certainly were a pair of ducks, and they came in the form of our no.3 and no.4 batsmen, who were dismissed without scoring, leaving the Mogs below 50, but 3 wickets down. Harry Hewitt and JD Burton added 10 and 14 respectively, with Furner keeping the scoreboard ticking over nicely. However it was Alex Hewitt, the Mogs’ no.7 batsman who stole the show, with a quickfire 48 from 42 balls to help get us over the 150 mark, and following a couple of mighty blows from Dr Murali in the final two overs, the Mogs finished their innings a below par, but respectable 152-9 after 40 overs.
The best tea on the Sunday cricket circuit was then put in front of the Mogs, and it would be hard to argue that this wasn’t at least part of the catalyst for the famous performance in the field that was about to come. A huge thanks as always to Follies for their amazing hospitality, it really does make the difference between a good Sunday fixture and a GREAT one!
The Mogs, a few kilograms heavier, were back out, and had a total to defend. Harry Hewitt and Will Dowling bowled the first 14 overs together, taking 4 of the Follies wickets and with the help of some excellent fielding on a tricky outfield, kept the hosts within touching distance. However one of the Follies’ openers, former Minor Counties player Ben Griffiths, was still yet to be dismissed, and after teasing JD with some acrobatic catching practice, decided he would provide stubborn resistance to the Mogs’ bowling attack. The first change consisted of young gun Ollie Burton and Peter Friend, a combination born in Reigate, but made at Follies Farm on this dreary Sunday. They bowled with intent and conviction, and despite tacking 3 wickets between them, still could not dismiss the Follies’ opening bat, who swiftly made it past the 50 mark. Whilst Ash’s seaming pace created chances for wickets, it was the returning Alex Hewitt who finished the game and secured a brilliant win. After making 48 runs with the bat, the captain for the day took 3 wickets in only 3.2 overs, and made sure the Mogador Wanderers won by 14 runs, on what was a great game of cricket against some fantastic blokes at Follies, and played on an even more fantastic ground. Thank you very much to Follies once again and for all the Mogs for their effort last Sunday, and I look forward to many more victories such as this in the coming months.
MWCC Stats