Not everything went to plan for Romsey Town CC today. A 50-run loss to St Giles was obviously not part of our pre-match preparation - but then neither was it terribly surprising given that they're undefeated league leaders. More problematic was that Andy tore his hamstring mid-way through our fielding innings, robbing us of easily our best bowler this season, as well as a reliable bat. And, while there's no denying that St Giles's win was comfortable, if Andy had gotten a chance to bat, maybe pulling a few balls to the short leg-side boundary, it might have have been a close game.
Our time in the field was clearly hard work. No bowler got more than one wicket, and only Ferdi Rex (1/49) conceded less than 5.00 an over. Things would have been better if we'd taken the chances that came our way - Nick Clarke and Roy Page did take catches, but more went down.
Chasing 251 we were always behind, although Nick Clarke (18 off 24 balls) gave us a lively start, after which Richard Rex (39 off 78 balls) and Robin Eddington (87 off 77 balls) compiled a superb partnership. Olly Rex's late inning surge (17 off 13 balls) gave us a smidge of hope, but where we needed an Andy miracle we instead had to be content with Arnie Garside (8* off 7 balls) and Rog Shelley (0* off 2 balls) ensuring we at least made St Giles bowl their full 40 overs.