Penn Street vs Waxlow

Penn Street 179-9 (R. McSorley 64; Guggs 4-12, Harry 4-36) beaten by Waxlow 180-8 (Osman 87; S. Hennell 3-30) by 2 wickets

Man of the Match: R. McSorley, with a special mention to T. Armiger, with whom he made a stand of 89, and who surpassed his previous top score.

Saturday saw the visit of our good friends from Waxlow, who once again provided a nailbiting match. It didn't start well, though, as - despite a clear blue sky - the Waxlow opening bowlers were getting prodigious swing, to such an extent that both Peter Jupp and Chris Herriott were bowled without playing a shot. Before long we were 20-4 and only Simon Hennell looked capable of dealing with the bowling. However, the comeback started when he was joined by Dave Bateman, who, with some effective hooking, started to push the score along. Simon fell for 21, and out strode Ross McSorley. Ross has played some elegant shots this season without scoring heavily, but this time he looked unbeatable as he powered to his first 50 for Penn St including some massive straight sixes. On the fall of Dave's wicket Ross was joined by Tyler Armiger who confirmed the promise he has shown with the bat this season by racing to 33 as he and Ross put on 89 for the 8th wicket. After a quick cameo from Grant Henry, the total of 179-9 was much better than could have been expected after 10 overs.

With a plethora of bowlers to choose from, captain Rob Sutherland chose to open with Paul Goodchild and Jack Mendy. Jack's first ball ripped the opener's off-stump out the ground, a feat he equalled two overs later. Goody and Jack kept it tight until they started to tire in the heat. Grant looked menacing and Jack took a smart skied catch off his bowling. Tyler kept it tight and Ross bowled well but had used up all his luck with the bat. With 20 overs gone, Rob turned to Chris Herriott and Simon Hennell to try to exert some pressure, but Waxlow's No3 was batting well and had been put down a couple of times. Wickets were falling at the other end though, and Dave Bateman took a stunning catch above his head off the bowling of Simon. However, Waxlow were always up with the run rate and despite some tense final overs, they ran out winners with 2 wickets remaining.