Marlborough 2nds
Marlborough 2nds win by 85 runs
Marlborough 2nds took the trip away to Winsley without their captain Nick Crabbe, Opening batsman Andy Crabbe and all-rounder Ben Head. After losing the toss and being inserted on a tricky surface by the Winsley skipper, Dave Slater and Rohit Gurjar set an important platform against some testing opening bowlers. They got to 10 overs without loss which allowed the players coming in to play with freedom.
After Slater was run out and Gurjar was caught, Pete Day batted most of the innings to top score with 52 crucial runs. Hassaan looked his usual destructive self from the 1st ball and was looking like he was going to take the game away single handedly until he got a dubious decision to be dismissed for 18. Mike Bush and Udhav Bhan provided useful runs and partnerships with Pete Day. Marlborough finished on 177 for 7 – a challenging total on a pitch that offered encouragement to the bowlers.
Hassan Asif bowled what is fast becoming his typical opening spell, removing 5 of the 6 batsmen, 4 bowled and two caught behind by Scott
Chandan Vaishnav bowled with control from the less helpful end and was unfortunate to go wicketless. Ashish Ghode on his first appearance for Marlborough 2s bowled tight lines, wicket to wicket, and gave very little opportunitay to score, racing through overs quickly, picking up one wicket in each of his spells.
Udhav Bhan bowled as first change and found his rhythm early and looked back to his best. Taking a sharp caught and bowled chance and following it up with two more wickets, both bowled. Mike Bush bowled with control after initial looseners and was a real handful on a turning pitch, he was also unfortunate to go wicketless. Ghode returned to claim the final wicket and complete the job, bowling Winsley out for 92 to win by 85 runs.
A real team effort in the absence of three senior players, good performances all round with the bat, ball and in the field.
Ten year support for LitFest from the late Susie Fisher
