SCORECARD

Old Mo 232 -7 narrowly failed to chase down WMD 252 - 5

A surprisingly punctual arrival by all 11 WMD players raised hopes among the Fitmen of batting first on a peculiarly two tone Graveyard track. However, it was not to be. WMD won the toss and sent the Fitmen out into the field. Muggy overcast conditions and green patches on the pitch suggested a strong fit-attack would cause the openers difficulties, but WMD scored at a good rate right from the start. Mid-fast Ash and skipper Brentnall failed to remove the top two and it was left to Sharif, Chaz, Butch, Nutt and Raj to try to control the run rate.

Although the top three had been dismissed by drinks the depth of the WMD line up allowed them to accelerate further in the second half of their innings. Strong hitting from regular Abhi; showy improvisational shot making (including two flicks over the shoulder to fine leg); an exceptionally hard outfield making the gentlest touch zip to the boundary and arguably less than ideal field placement all contributed to the oppo amassing a sizeable total of 252 . Attempts to limit the total by frequent bowling changes did little to control their scoring. Although Abhi was eventually removed by Brentnall's heavily undisguised ball of mystery it was not before he had reached his ton and the damage seemed to have been done. A typically generous Fitman tea, including double portions of spicy rice temporarily distracted the home side from the enormity of the run chase. Ash retired to the dressing room for a well earned afternoon kip on the treatment table. Meanwhile the reply began.

In the absence of both masters of turgidity, Rob Green and Rich Harris opened. The two tone track also proved a little two paced making the required rapid scoring difficult initially. Oppo opening bowler Arjun sent down a tricky mixture of seaming swingers and massive wides making it hard to predict what was coming next. Green survived the opening 7 overs before Arjun had him caught behind. Harris accelerated nicely with some strong hitting before falling to first change, whirling top spinner, Asim. In between Frost had come to the wicket, fresh from a career best 62 against The Sportsman the week before. His signature calling injected some intensity into the chase and he interspersed his high decibel insistent commands with shots of genuine quality. He was though, unable to replicate the exploits of the previous weekend and fell for 27. Butcher arrived and played with typical deftness, deflecting and flicking until also falling to Asim's deceptive straight on spin. He was followed almost immediately by Tucker.

With the total on 114 and only 15 overs left the situation looked bleak. Could the home side score 139 from the remaining 90 balls? The oppo appeared to think not, visibly relaxing and clearly underestimating the partnership between Sharif and Raj that was developing in front of them. Sharif started quietly, sizing up the pitch and bowlers before unleashing some brutal blows onto the golf course. The field spread as WMD sensed that defeat was a possibility. Raj too contributed hitting five 4s in an unbeaten 33. When Sharif was finally dismissed for 56, only 36 runs were needed. With less than 2 overs left an Old Mo victory seemed improbable but not impossible. Nutt, seeing that maximums would be needed from the start of the next batsman's innings selflessly encouraged a rejigging of the batting order. Hard hitting Chas strode in and offered hope but fell for 11 off 4 balls in the final over.

Overall, a brave chase from the Old Mo including strong contributions from Harris, Frost, Butcher, Sharif and Raj fell just 21 short of a surprising victory.