Penn Street vs Ballinger

Penn Street 300-1 (M. Reavey 106*, K. Stephens 102*) drew with Ballinger 237-5 (J. Mendy 2-33, C. Herriott 2-52)

Oft has it been said that the Penn Street wicket is a good batting track, and Sunday’s game against Ballinger certainly did nothing to dispel said belief.

Winning the toss, the opposition skipper elected to bowl first in one of the few timed games of the year. Matts Reavey and Bannister opened up the innings for the Street on what was, at the time, a fairly cloudy day. The opposition openers found movement and bounce, and bowled a tight line, particularly from the pub end. Reavey looked assured though, playing some lovely drives through the covers to accelerate the run rate after a cautious start. Bannister at the other end looked a lot scratchier, finding it difficult to get the bowling away and was playing second fiddle to Matt senior, who brought up his 50 in good time. He was eventually joined by the other Matt after being dropped several times, and the pair had put on over a hundred before Bannister charged down the wicket and got clean bowled. Livid with himself, bats and a whole host of other gear got kicked and thrown around in disgust. However, this turned out to be a clever tactical ploy to bring Kyle Stephens to the crease. After finding his feet he started to cut loose, crashing boundaries through the off-side and down the ground to accelerate the rate and provide exactly the support Matt needed. The pair batted magnificently, giving the opposition nothing and picking up runs on a whim. Inevitably, Matt brought up his second ton of the year and Kyle followed suit with his first for the club, both finishing unbeaten in an epic first innings total of 300-1 in just 45 overs.

Buoyed by the batting performance, Penn Street took to the field with the knowledge that they could afford to attack from the off. They got off to the perfect start, with Chris Herriott taking a wicket with his fourth ball, well caught behind by Juppy with the gloves on. Jack Mendy provided excellent support from the wood end, and he too picked up a wicket in his first over; leaving the visitors reeling on 0-2 off 2 overs. Chris and Jack continued to bowl well as the two new batsmen looked to consolidate after being rattled. This pair put on a few before Jack managed to take the third wicket, caught at mid on by Mickey. Cherriott was tiring from the pub end, and in a sporting gesture to make the game closer he bowled a few overs of his leg breaks and off breaks, but with no breakthrough. At this point Matt turned to Chris Dale, who bowled an absolute beauty to break the developing partnership and take the fourth wicket that Penn Street required. The new batsman began to play himself in, and runs started to gently flow as they found their feet. Matt wrung the changes, but none seemed able to break the partnership that looked to be seeing the opposition safely home for a draw. Cherriott came back on from the pub end with the game all but ended, and managed to remove the senior batsman with a looping leg break caught in the gully. This brought the Ballinger captain to the crease with only a few overs left; and he and a young lad saw them home; the latter finishing with an unbeaten 60.

So the end of a profitable weekend for the batsmen, 967 runs scored in 2 games. Who would want to be a bowler?!...

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• M REAVEY 106*
• K STEPHENS 102*
• M BANNISTER 51
• J MENDY 2 FOR 33
• C HERRIOTT 2 FOR 52