It was with much enthusiasm that the men of the plough turned up to participate in the 1st game at the clubs new ground. The majority of the team were playing their 1st game of the season with Nick and Rohit making their club debuts so when Captain Cox won the toss and elected to bat the team were eager to get stuck in and see how the pitch would play.

 

Parks and Davis opened up and we were soon to find out that for every good ball the oppo bowled they bowled 3 wide down leg side. This meant that while runs were slow off the bat the run rate ticked along nicely thanks to extras, a trend that continued throughout the innings.

 

The oppo got the early breakthrough they were after when Sameer cut one back to Parks to send him back without scoring. Dyll then missed the only straight ball that Mohsin bowled to leave us at 25 for 2. Rebuilding was the order of the day and Rich and myself were happy to take our time and let extras do most of the work. Rich was was starting to look good before he got a jaffa that took his outside edge to leave the innings in the balance at 42 for 3.

 

I was the next go after Mohsinn showed he was a much better slip fieldsman than bowler and with Chas departing soon after it was left to Gary with support of the lower order and that man extras to get us to a defendable total.

 

Gary was the standout in the batting line up defending soundly and dispatching the loose balls when they came. For the Ace Arrows there best blower by a  margin was Habib. His nagging line and length proved tricky and he thoroughly deserved his 4 wickets.

 

The eventual score of 129 was probably 20-30 runs short of what Coxy had in mine but considering the large boundaries and slow outfield we felt it was a more than defendable total.

 

After another scrumptious tea Chas and Harry opened up and Harry showed that his rigorous off season training had paid off by taking a wicket with his 1st ball. However the avalanche of wickets we hoped for didn't eventuate and while the bowlers were reasonably tidy we were only able to pick up the odd wicket. 

When the oppo bought up the 100 with only 3 down things were looking bleak. But with Coxy rotating the bowlers well and the Ploughman's spirit ever present we fought back well.

 

Rohit marked his second ball in Ploughman's colours with a crucial breakthrough. Coxy then turned to the Ploughman's very own spin twins Rich and Yorkshire to turn the screws. A mixture of lovely bowling and self destruction from the batsman lead to a tremendous collapse with the score moving from 116 for 3 to 126 for 8.

 

The tension high as Foxy came into bowl, 4 needed from the oppo and 2 wickets from Ploughman's for an unlikely victory. Coxy obviously bought the field in and we were all on our toes ready to take the opportunity to shower ourselves in glory with that critical piece of fielding.

 

Well fate had it that I was chosen to complete the critical play. Foxy drew the batsman into a false shot, which he directed to myself at mid on. I would love to say that I held on to a stunning catch to spur the Ploughers to a famous victory. Alas the script writers had different ideas and I ended up dropping a dolly much to the disbelief of my fellow team mates. The batsman took his 2nd chance with glee and hit the winning runs soon after to clinch a 2 wicket win. I on the other hand I was left, not with glory but with the match report to write and enduring the next 5 days listening to Parks relive the the drop.

 

Yorkshire was the standout with the ball with 4 wicket while there opener Azam complied an impressive 43.

 

So there it is, a memorable game to mark the christening of our new ground, unfortunately we couldn't quite manage the win but I am sure all would agree it was an enjoyable first hit out for the season.