Penn Street vs Holmer Green

Penn Street 175-8 (M. Lander 91; Little 3-16) beat Holmer Green 171-10 (N. Little 107; N. Loftus 3-32) by 2 wickets

Its been sometime since Penn Street have recorded a win against local rivals Holmer Green and its fair to say some have lost the faith in the fixture. Sunday saw Holmer's annual beer festival and the visit of their friends from over the A404. Would it be a road to nowhere for Penn Street or a false start for Holmer Green?

After a short walk out to the middle for Captain Nick Loftus, Penn Street took to the field with a strong bowling line up. Old friends Goodchild and Fryer opened up the attack with some asking questions; Goodchild bowling as quick as ever but suffering from erratic bounce from a dry Holmer pitch whilst Bobby continued from where he left of in a Penn Street shirt. Return of a local hero? The Holmer openers were a little fortuitous in particular Penn Street friend Nick Little who edged his way to some quick runs and Goody was unlucky not to claim his scalp after a he was put down in the slips. Never the less they persevered and Booby got the break through. Holmer Green scored fast and showed some of their league class.

Tom Glewis (on loan from Gaylords) was bought in to add something different; his variable, yet accurate pace gave the Holmer Green batsmen something to think about and enjoyed a rout ripping through the middle claiming 6 – 42 of 6 industrious overs. Young Tyler was also bought in the attack to add some young raw pace before being withdrawn for Nick Loftus who also chipped in with 3 – 32. Although Goodchild was a little unlucky with the ball in his bowling spell, he did see joy as he collected two catches to finish off the Holmer Green innings.

Although Holmer posted a more than respectable score of 171, it was felt that this could have been a lot more and perhaps Penn Street fancied their chances of competitive chase. A quick turn round following the Holmer innings saw openers for the day Charlie ‘Harry Potter’ Adams take to crease with Mark Lander who was sporting some very familiar kit. Keep it in the family……

Adams fell early on after being caught behind, but Lander stood firm and gathered confidence against an efficient Holmer attack. Jack Mendy added 13 to the total with Tony Smart also contributed a handy 15 runs. In the meantime Lander was picking of the Holmer attack and moved to 50 quite comfortably. As you’d expect, Holmer Green had something up their sleeve and this came in the form of their league pace bowler who is currently keeping Papa Love out of their first team. Two quick wickets fell and the run rate dried up but Lander managed to pick off vital runs from the other end of the attack to help keep the Street on the straight and narrow. Tyler added 10 to the total, but Richard Spooner and young George Simon fell victim to the venom of Dan Little.

Nick Loftus entered the scene to add some stability but Landers luck ran out when he was bowled on 91 – a superb innings. Bobby Fryer joined Nick at the crease and Penn Street got over the line with 8 overs to spare, Nick ended up on 21 not out. A super win for Penn Street and a gentle reminder to Holmer Green that their neighbours can still play with the big boys……