Knockers Vs Ide Hill

Winning Draw :: Played on Sunday 11th August 2002

Knockers
202-8

Ide Hill
152-5

Match Report

Despite being swamped by torrential rain on the Saturday, the Ide Hill wicket was deemed suitable for the annual fixture between Ide Hill and Knockers.

Captain Ollie Boreham won the toss and elected to bat first whilst the light was still good. Openers Guy Howe and Boreham immediately took to the Ide Hill bowling, swinging the bat freely and hitting boundaries at will. The opening partnership proved extremely fruitful, if short-lived as Boreham was soon caught on the boundary for a quickfire 24 from 17 balls. Howe was joined at the crease by the in form Irwin and the runs continued to flow. Howe's pull shot proved particularly prolific against the harvest of long hops provided by the charitable Ide Hill attack. It was only the sprightly reactions of Pete Smith that prevented an elderly spectator from receiving a faceful of leather from a Howe pull shot. Eventually the partnership was broken when Howe was caught off the bowling of M Lynch (jnr) for 36. Schofield's innings was brought to an abrupt end shortly after, as he attempted to repeat the previous years heroics. However, the marauding Irwin, obviously keen to impress his girlfriend, continued the prodigious run rate, plundering some massive boundaries until he was caught behind for a hard-hitting 40. Irwin's dismissal brought Thomas to the crease who continued to punish the short bowling with a some lusty hitting. Unfortunately, a mix up between the batsmen resulted in a run-out, which sent a disgruntled Thomas marching back to the pavilion. With two new batsmen at the crease, Ide Hill capitalised on their position and through the excellent bowling of J Walkling (2-15) put the pressure on the Knockers who failed to maintain the impressive run-rate. Marshall, Smith and Jariwalla all showed glimpses of form with the bat but surrendered their wickets before they were able to capitalise. After several overs of tight bowling, it was only L Spencer-Allen (28no) and P Seldon (15no) who were able to find easy runs before the Knockers declaration on 202.

As the clouds closed in and the drizzle began to fall, an enthusiastic Knockers side took to the field. The attack started promisingly as L Spencer-Allen claimed an early wicket with an excellent delivery. S Trounce frustrated the batsmen at the other end, bowling an awkward length that resulted in the dismissal of S Lynch, neatly caught by a stunned Jariwalla at slip. The Knockers fielding was excellent throughout and fine diving stops by Schofield, Howe, Thomas and many others put the pressure on the Ide Hill batsmen, even the melancholic Seldon threw himself about on the boundary with child like gusto. The pressure told as Trounce claimed a second victim with a tidy stumping by Boreham. It was Trounce again who struck soon after to claim his third wicket, M Thomas plucking a well-hit ball out of the air at full stretch to dismiss the promising R Saunder. Ide Hill then dug their heels in and some obstinate batting from O'Donohue and Boakes frustrated the Knockers attack. Boreham changed the bowlers frequently but none were able to establish any kind of rhythm as conditions worsened and the ball became saturated. Despite the Knockers' best efforts O'Donohue showed great patience and determination to hit an unbeaten 85 whilst Boakes eventually fell to a sharp catch by Marshall after Harbhajan Irwin had set the trap. The game lost its momentum in the last few overs and finished as a somewhat disappointing draw to end the Knockers five match winning streak.

Despite the draw, The Knockers can be encouraged by one of their best fielding displays of the season. The Ide Hill players and spectators were magnanimous in their praise of the fielding performance. Lets hope we can take that into our next match against Four Elms to make it seven matches unbeaten (doesn't quite have the same ring as seven wins does it Boreham)

M Thomas

 

Batting

Batsman	How Out	4s	6s	Runs
Guy Howe	caught	8	0	36
Oli Boreham	caught	1	2	24
Ed Irwin	caught	3	2	40
Paul Schofield	bowled	0	0	1
Peter Smith	caught	1	0	17
Martin Thomas	run out	3	0	12
Andrew Marshall	caught	1	1	13
Nick Jariwalla	caught	0	1	6
Lynden Spencer-Allen	not out	2	3	28
Paul Seldon	not out	2	0	15
Steven Trounce	dnb	0	0	0

 

Bowling

Bowler	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts
Lynden Spencer-Allen	6.0	1	12	1
Steven Trounce	14.0	1	58	3
Paul Seldon	5.0	0	11	0
Nick Jariwalla	3.0	2	4	0
Martin Thomas	2.0	0	7	0
Guy Howe	2.0	0	1	0
Ed Irwin	6.0	1	34	1
Andrew Marshall	2.0	0	26	0

 

Match Photos