Penn Street vs Old Manorians

Penn Street 110-8 (M. Reavey 63*; Mo 2-5) beaten by Old Manorians 111-7 (J. Patel 52*; N. Loftus 2-27) by 3 wickets

On a very damp Sunday morning, PSCC gathered at The Squirrel contemplating the long jaunt to Wembley.

Surprisingly all the guys looked really quite fresh as we set out in convoy, led by our very own leader Matt Reavey. Despite Matt trying to get us lost, we arrived just in time to do pitch prep!!

We decided not to cut a strip as the ground was so wet and the opposition thought we would like to bat on a really green wicket!!!!

The Street won the toss and elected to bat first in a shortened 30 over match.

From the word go things looked like they were going to be tough with Loppy being bowled by the third ball of the second over. Matt was joined by Cherriott who was looking to forge his place in the side as a recognised batsman. The pair put on 40 odd when not for the first time Cherriott played a rather upish shot and was caught in the deep. Things went from bad to worse when James Sempill got onto one a bit too early and offered the bowler a return catch which he gratefully accepted.

The wickets continued to fall but the ever dependable Reavey was still there to steady the ship. After a few wholesome strokes the innings came to an end with the street 110 for 8, with Reavey unbeaten on 63. A great knock in anyone’s eyes considering the conditions.

After tea, PSCC took to the field confident of defending a moderate total. The early breakthrough came in the way of Fletch removing the middle peg with the score on 3. Nick Loftus then joined the party with a brace of his own.

With the street well on top, the feisty young talent Jacko Mendy came steaming in down the hill but after a few lucky shots the opposition started to dig themselves out of trouble. With the silver fox (Cliffy) one end and Cherriott at the other, the Street threw everything they had at the batsmen. Things took another turn when Cherriott bowled the ball of his life to remove a handy looking left hander and some great fielding produced a run out shortly after Jay Jay then looked to have pulled off a truly remarkable catch but was deemed to have just gone over the boundary rope. Despite the falling wickets the batsmen were scoring at a fair lick and soon only needed a few runs to win. These were picked off and gave Old Manorians a well deserved victory.

An enjoyable game was had by all despite the loss, and a big well done to all the guys who gave it their all.