The day’s first loss
Was right at the toss
With a cloudy sky, and no rains

The Ploughmen went out to the field
With Greeney and Daley to wield
A tight line and length
(A mutual strength)
As one opener’s fate was sealed.

The partnership next was a long one
As they nurdled and scampered for each run
A dropped catch off Wright
Came back us to bite
As the third batter eyed up a ton

The bowlers were still hitting the mark,
But the bad balls got put out the park,
An inspired bowling switch
Brought Steve to the pitch
And a wicket from him brought a spark

One Twenty for two, time to drink
And for Cosgrove to have big think
Bat 1 passed his fifty
As the running stayed nifty
Although his run scoring rate did shrink

It was almost all down to our Bisi
Who’s laser beams made the bats dizzy
He got them to snick it
But somehow, no wicket
Eight overs of balls, neat and whizzy.

Hisham followed on Bisi’s Lead
With control also shown off by Mead
One over from writer
Could not have gone shiter
Allowing Ashford CC to be freed

By the end Damon Greeney had three
With new record dismissals for Suri
Two catches for Cal
Really kept up morale
With Run Outs for Khan and Harry

So Two-Forty-Five was the chase
After tea, where we did stuff our face.
With Cosi and Steve
It made us believe
That we had a great shot in this race

The start was so solid and stable
But bowlers put no freebies on table
When Cosi’s sent packing
Britto starts whacking
With Hisham too more than able

Hisham spooned the ball up to be caught
A sad moment in this little report
He had kept us alive
They add 75
With plenty of battles to be fought

Steve Britto continued to bat well
Took us over halfway then farewell
Score of 76
Kept us in the mix
But Wright 2 came in and soon fell

Our chances slipped down towards zero
We desperately needed a hero
To avoid failure
Here’s Niraj Tailor
As imperious as old Emperor Nero

His trademark was a flick off his pad
As runs he and Mead did add
Rob was soon sent
While Cal came and went
The situation had become very bad

But with cricket, there is always a chance
For one final flourish, a dance
Some very brave running
And tactical cunning
Made scoring continue to advance

36 from 12 balls that are left
Could we see a victory theft?
Alas not to be
Despite partnership 50
We suffered a loss, and were bereft

Niraj finished 41 red
As the rearguard charge he led
He ran all but four
So his legs will be sore
But proudly he should hold up his head

A game played with general good vibes
Between two well-mannered tribes
Maybe next time
We’ll beat you in rhyme
And so ends the game this describes.

Match report in Limerick form from Max Wright