BG Faders CC 158-3 (J. Steele 30 not out, C. Lindop 3-0) beat Crick Lions CC 121-8 (J. Kerr 27, C. Gibbins 4-23)

After a mid-season break of exactly one month thanks to the weather the BG Faders took the field against a Crick Lions team who took the spoils in the same fixture last season. The opening pair of D. Murari (27) and Fader’s debutant A. Baird (25) both made an excellent start to proceedings with some delicate strokes and hard-hitting boundaries. There appeared to be no sign of rust from the break in the fixtures, however an uncharacteristic middle order collapse, when batters 3, 4 and 5 were dismissed cheaply by C. Gibbins, had the Faders line up scrambling for pads. The innings was steadied by M. Metson (14) and J. Steele (30) who put a commanding partnership together before M. Metson was dismissed LBW by C. Gibbins. Then what can only be described as a dazzling 25 from 8 balls by S. Mackay and the shot of the match a square cut for 6 from A. Chatterton set the visitors a challenging, but chaseable 159 to win.

Crick began their chase with a steady approach, but tight bowling and scoreboard pressure from openers K. Rossouw and A. Chatterton forced an error in the 3rd over when an attempted second run ended in a run-out. It was then time to bring on the left armer C. Lindop for a masterclass in medium pace swing bowling. He despatched the first batter with his first ball, expertly caught by F. Barras ending with a wicket maiden, he followed that up with a maiden second over and a double wicket maiden in his third, bowling one batter and trapping the other LBW, thus completing the dismissal trilogy! Despite an excellent innings by J. Kerr (27) the damage was well and truly done when A. Baird picked up a couple of wickets and a smart bit of fielding by F. Barras in the deep forced another run out. The Crick side amassed a respectable 121 for 8, however not enough on the night. The BG Faders now with 3 victories from 4 matches this season!

Many thanks to all who turned out, and a tough match against the Old Guard at The Close awaits next Tuesday evening.

Chris Latham