Enfield CC v Hornsey Cricket Club 3rd Team on Sat 06 Aug 2005 at
Match was Drawn Lossing draw (1 Point)
It was mission accomplished for the 3rd team who had a very weak team when up against bottom club Enfield. Bearing this in mind it was vital that we did not lose and thus the 3s adopted a sensible safety first option. Enfield were poor and a full strength team would have beaten them easily, which made it all the more annoying that availability was so bad this week.
Hornsey had only 10 men, one of whom was Jack Bruce aged 6, and one of whom was 66 year old Emmerson who bravely played despite being obviously unwell; that's the spirit! Bearing in mind the gaps in the field and the fact only one front line bowler was available, Hornsey did well to restrict Enfield to 240-4 and made them use up 53 overs. Enfield only have themselves to blame, they were defensive when batting, batted too long and were too concerned themselves about losing. As bottom club, they really had to win this and should have put their foot down a bit and declared earlier. The usual raft of poor decisions, two plumb LBW decisions from Johnny Bruce turned down were plain embarrassing, two run outs barely needed an appeal but were given not out, but we've come to expect this. The fielders stuck to their task. Peters took two good catches and Arun Sondhi in particular was excellent in the field. Johnny Bruce bowled unchanged for 27 luckless overs and only took a wicket in his 25th over, surely one of Hornsey's longest barren spells. 13 year old Charlie Joseph was outstanding and Enfield were pretty clueless how to play him. Block, or bash.
With 47 overs to face, which actually became 51 because of the quick over rate, a good solid start was needed and Dom Cincotta and Richard Welch provided this, batting for 16 scare-free overs. When Richard and Andy Myhill batted for a further 15 trouble free overs, a draw was virtually secure. Johnny Bruce smashed his first ball for a massive 6 with a sweep shot and then settled down to 11 overs of solid blocking, breaking free with a four every now and then to relieve the boredom. He was eventually out to a poor shot of a part time bowler and Mark Peters followed soon after for a duck to give Enfield a glimmer of hope with 8 overs left. However, Richard Welch batted throughout the innings, reaching a well deserved maiden club 50 an over or two before the end and James Fleming showed excellent technique to ensure a draw was reached without further alarm.
J.Bruce.
Hornsey Cricket Club 3rd Team Batting
129 for 4
Enfield CC Bowling
Enfield CC Batting
240 for 4
Hornsey Cricket Club 3rd Team Bowling