Knockers Vs Hurst Green
Losing Draw :: Played on Sunday 28th June 2015Hurst Green
224-9
Knockers
217-9
Match Report
Should have won. Could have won. Nearly lost. Yep, Knockers were playing Hurst Green once more and went from 134-1 to 200-9 in the blink of an eye attempting to chase down a HG total for the first time in nine attempts. Captain Ed Marsh's 82 and Freddie Young bringing his A-game for four merited wickets were the highlights of this close encounter.
Hurst Green won the toss and Marsh opened with late call-up Harry Elliot's swing. Despite some cloudy conditions, swing it did not and Elliot did well to contain the solid HG opener, Wright. Marsh stuck himself on at the other end with the look of man that had just wandered through a desert for several days. His car buddy, debutant James Scrivener, was invited to take over after foolishly offering some verbal advice to his captain. The Scriv found his line and made the first breakthrough as Savage's mistimed sweep looped up into Seb Horner's gloves.
Elliot gave way to Young who was immediately on his game, bowling 11 overs straight. His variation, tight lines and gleaming hair proved the undoing of Hooker with Scott Landers holding on at mid on. Young then bagged Wright off his own bowling with the opener well set at 35 and at 83-3 things looked good. Ballard then came to the crease and hit a brutal 94 which saw Knockers do a passable impression of a Springwatch programme, so often were they hunting through the boundary's undergrowth. James Thompson was also spotted joining the match from over a high fence. Young broke Ballard's dangerous partnership with Wright in the first of four rattling wickets with Elliot picking up two and Young completing his figures and a fine effort with the ball. Elliot himself bowled well and was a much needed addition to the side.
Marsh came back to tidy things up and finally took the key wicket of Ballard after the superbly named Bosher had to retire hurt. Dave Brigden hadn't had much luck in that task and Tom Cobb even less so as he wheedled out a missed stumping, dropped catch and left skyer from Hurst Green's main man. Seamus Connely then ended the innings as Marsh and Horner combined for a smart run out and the home side finished on 224.
A great tea was appreciated by all except Guido who is on a diet of cigarettes and anti-socialist diatribe in readiness for his impending nuptials next year. He admitted to an education at Sussex Uni but if it was a flimsy degree in Media Studies or a Peruvian Mineral Aggregate foundation course wasn't established.
Scrivener opened with Marsh and the pair negotiated some tricky early bowling. Coombes was particularly troublesome and found an extra burst of pace after he removed Scrivener who can feel proud of his day's work with a meticulous 20. Horner stepped in and he and Marsh looked capable of wrapping up the game themselves. Hurst Green once more played the conditions and slowed the bowling down with a worrying number of shots finding fielders.
Marsh's aggression and Horner's stroke play was heartening, Marsh swatted an almighty hooked six while Horner had to run more than his shots deserved. Horner fell first, bowled for 45, but with a focused Cobb now at the crease and time and wickets in hand Knockers might just get the Hurst Green monkey off their backs at 165-2.
Not so. Marsh fell LBW to the returning Coombes who then quickly claimed his five-fer bowling Thompson, Guy Howe and Connely in quick succession. Brigden, Elliot and Young fell in the same manner at the other end and the tidy batting of Cobb looked stranded as Landers wandered out with just under three overs to go. The pair brought the target within sight but had to make do with seeing off the final few balls to avoid defeat, but once again avoid victory at Hurst Green.
MOTM: Ed Marsh, removed their main man, batted like a hero and brought the Scriv along.
Batting
| Batsman | How Out | 4s | 6s | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Scrivener | bowled | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Ted Marsh | lbw | 0 | 0 | 82 |
| Seb Horner | caught | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Tom Cobb | not out | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| James Thompson | bowled | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Guy Howe | bowled | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Seamus Connelly | bowled | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| David Brigden | bowled | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Elliot | bowled | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Freddie Young | bowled | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Landers | not out | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Elliot | 8.0 | 1 | 44 | 2 |
| Ted Marsh | 6.0 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| James Scrivener | 4.0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Freddie Young | 11.0 | 1 | 46 | 4 |
| David Brigden | 3.0 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| Tom Cobb | 3.0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Seamus Connelly | 0.5 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
