Format: 40 overs
Richard Turner 130 Retired Not Out in 87 balls (50 in 43, 100 in 75).
Steven Pullen 52 in 38 balls (50 in 34).
Alex Hewitt 77* in 29 balls (50 in 19).
The Mogs won against Newdigate's Sunday 2nd XI at The Red Lion Betchworth, after The Pilgrims dropped out of our annual fixture, but were happy to rent us their ground. Skipper Lee lost the toss and we were inserted. It was a good toss to lose! Turner & Furner opened up and the scoreboard was in overdrive with 1 or 2 boundaries per over being the order of the day. Turner drove anything overpitched with gay abandon whilst The Little Master pulled & guided with aplomb, making fine use of the steep downhill slope on the pavilion side. They put on 111 before Furns was adjudged LBW by Umpire Hewitt [PF: Unfortunately, I'll be retired before amateur umpires carry body-worn cameras with a ball-tracking app!]. Tina had already completed a 43 ball 50 but No 3 Steve Pullen improved this with his own 34 ball milestone. Like Zak Crawley his cover drive was imperious but also like the England opener, he left the field of play after reaching 52. Tina put on the afterburners and reached a coruscating ton off just 75 balls, although when we applauded his feat, he had actually scored 130 and he retired immediately. Will Loft, Murali & Emily all played excellent cameos and Hewitt applied the cherry on the top with 77 not out in just 29 balls with several lost balls. 372-6 off 40 overs must be one of three highest ever totals, though it's not unfair to say that Newdigate's bowling & fielding was friendlier than a wet dog.
After a DIY tea, Charlie marshalled his troops who were confident of a win and we were somewhat taken aback to find Newdigate ahead of the run rate after 10 overs on 97-1. Coles and Calafato bowled well but, as we had found, anything slightly short or full was easy to pummel to the boundary, particularly with our attacking field. On came Emily Taylor from the dead tree end however and she bowled a great 7 over spell that earned her 3 excellent wickets (3-48). Of all our "quicks", she bowled the fullest length and 2 LBWs and a good running catch by Furner were just reward. From the other end, Dr Joe "Shipman" Bason, bamboozled Newdigate with 8 overs of outstanding legspin that earned him 4 scalps (4-46) on his first game for the Mogs for 7 years. We look forward to him playing more regularly this season. Murali bowled 5 mean overs and it was Will Loft (3-23) who mopped up the tail to see the Mogs win by 121 runs.
The bowlers were well supported by the fielders with Emily, Will, Furns & Joe the pick. Brennan put in two spectacular dives attempting "worldies" and special mention to Charlie for skippering brilliantly and putting in an excellent shift as wicketkeeper. Post match ale was taken at The Red Lion.
MWCC Stats