In doing this, we inadvertently shot ourselves in the foot somewhat, as the opposition were able to field players from their 1st and 2nd XI's without reprisal from the League itself (we checked), including one fellow who had played First Class cricket in Pakistan. But that is by the by... It was a competitive match, played in good spirit against a decent group who knew how to score properly on the app - a win in itself!

Right from the off, it was clear we were in for a battle, as their opening pair took quite a liking to CRS and Spencer, Ploughmans' opening bowlers, and had us on the backfoot in no time at all. 8 overs in and there were already 70 odd runs on the board. Even good balls were finding gaps and anything slightly loose was ruthlessly punished.

Lonnen replaced Roden-Smith and he too went for a few boundaries in his first couple of overs but then the experience kicked in, and after clean bowling one of the openers, along with some help from both Jahangir and Aman, managed to bring a modicum of control to proceedings. What followed was attritional throughout and it has to be said we really made them work for their runs. It was clear every incoming batter was proficient and looking to play positively, but we didn't give them any runs (only 10 extras in the innings) and we fielded pretty well, forcing a run out and taking most of the catches offered.

Lonnen bowled his 9 overs in one spell and then Duray juggled his remaining resources nicely. Aman bowled well throughout and picked up a couple of well-deserved wickets, as did Dom Scott, although I'm not sure he'll be telling people about one of his scalps too often. Leg stump full tosses are not his usual path to success but, hey, I'm sure he'll take it! Spencer came back at the end to clean up the tail, which he did very effectively, picking up his 4th wicket off the penultimate ball of the innings. Sinjungrammarians had racked up 282 and tea was taken.

So, a good start and some sort of platform was required if we were going to chase it down. Angus and Steve Britto strode to the middle and I went out to Square Leg to umpire. The first thing I noticed was the wicket keeper basically on the 30yd circle. Next thing I spotted was the aforementioned First Class cricketer sending down thunderbolts! Ably assisted by another fairly sharp and accurate opening partner.

This was going to be a challenge indeed. Sadly, Steve fell cheaply, as did Dom, Max and Jahangir, to leave us staring down the barrel somewhat. Angus was steadfast and defiant though and, having seen off the opening pair, then had to deal with one very good spinner and another couple of accurate ones. He was joined by Skipper Pretorius, coming in at 6. It was a big day for Dooz, celebrating his 150th cap for The Plough. And didn't he mark it in style! Circumspect to start with, he then launched an amazing counter attack that was simply a joy to watch.

After losing one partner, Angus, to a well constructed and hard-fought 45, then another one two balls later, he found himself in the middle with the old warhorse, Lonnen - not someone who enjoys having his pants pulled down in a cricket match! The pair battled hard to the bitter end. Lonnen was all at sea initially, particularly against the returning overseas pro, but just dug in to help his Skipper and team, as the constant vocal support from the sidelines spurred the pair on to, quite unbelievably, break the longest standing record at the Club - the highest 7th wicket partnership - a record which had stood for just shy of thirty years!

The honest truth is Duray did most of the heavy lifting, as he flayed the ball to all parts, and deservedly marked his 150th game with a searing century (brought up with a straight 6), eventually finishing on 113* from just 69 deliveries!! Lonnen scored 27* and the partnership was worth 157* in the end. Yes the oppo brought on some lesser bowlers for a bit, but they hadn't bowled us out, and being just 30 runs short of our target brought some reassuring respectability to our reply.

The honest truth is we lost the game in the first 10-12 overs of each innings as the oppo came hard at us with both bat and ball up top. We can only learn from the experience and take heart from the fact that we were very competitive against what will almost certainly be one of the strongest outfits we'll face all season.

One final mention to Michael Ainslie, making his debut in the Ones, and keeping wicket very tidily indeed. The day really belonged to Duray however, as his Mum beamed from ear to ear (whilst jiggling about trying to stay warm!) watching her offspring rise to the occasion magnificently. Hats off to him, let's hope for more of the same over the coming months.

Plough On!

Match report from Tom Lonnen