2nd Team Match Reports Southern Premier Division 3

Hambledon 205 for 7 v Bashley (Rydal) II 99 all out on 24 May 2008

Bashley lost the toss and were asked to field first in extremely windy conditions at Ridge Meadow.The home side progressed steadily to 29 in the tenth over when Calum Maher (2-37) had Marshall well caught by the diving Phil Morris at slip.John Whiting (2 for 26) ,bowling with real pace now that he was running downhill with a following gale,bowled Milenko with a ball that nipped back and kept low.When golden arm bowler Chris Vaughan (2 for 25) trapped the dangerous Scutt for 16 with the score at 60 the visitors were hopeful of chasing a low score on what was proving to be a difficult batting strip.However the loss of Ben Nolan-Stone after just two overs due to an ankle strain proved decisive as Bashley lost their cutting edge.Marshall and Jones added 83 in 20 overs before Marshall was bowled by Neil Taylor (1-26) but with wickets in hand the home side were able to play freely and with the aid of some good fortune and Jones' solid unbeaten 67 they posted a useful 205 for 7.

If the visitors were to get close to chasing down this total it was vital to see off the new ball,which was becoming increasingly difficult to combat due to unevenness of bounce,unfortunately once again this was not the case.John Childs got a "jaffa" from Milenko which reared off a length and took the edge and then three balls later Maher was hit full toss on the toe by the same bowler and was adjudged lbw before having to be carried off the field with the score on 10.Vaughan (18) then joined Morris in a stand of 57 in 15 overs before Vaughan was deceived by the flight of Marshall.Gavin Bailiff and skipper Shaun Lilley then found different ways of getting out before Morris who,whilst riding his luck, played some fine strokes in the most testing innings of his Bashley career played a loose drive and was bowled for a very hard fought 42.Taylor and Nolan-Stone, adjudged lbw, Simon Dean(yorked first ball) and Whiting (stumped whilst wandering down the wicket for no apparent reason!) soon followed as the innings capitulated to 99 all out in the 28th over.

Titchbourne Park 153-10 v Bashley 2nd Team 154-8 on 17 May 2008

Watching Bashley 2's this season is not the faint hearted as they scraped to a 2 wicket win over Titchbourne park on Saturday.

Electing to field on a damp and overcast day the home side got off to great start, John Whiting (1-22) removing opener Joyce in his second over , however it would be another 15 overs before they would taste success again. Whiting and last weeks hero Gavin Bailiff bowled steadily but could not find the breakthrough as Gerrard and the dangerous Chayey took the score to 66-1. A double bowling change of Ben Nolan-Stone and Chris Vaughan (1-16) reaped rewards as the former accounted for Cheyney for 45 and Vaughan, looking somewhere back to his best trapped Gerrard L.B.W. Another Nolan-Stone victim and a smart run out from John Childs at mid-wicket and all of a sudden Titchbourne were wobbling at 105-4. Neil Taylor (1-15) and the ever improving Simon Dean (2-13) further turned the screw and when Nolan-Stone returned to mop up the tail the visitors were eventually routed for 153. Nolan-Stone was the pick of the bowlers, the former Hampshire Academy paceman finishing with figures of 4-40. After another sparkling fielding performance from the whole side Bashley went into tea knowing that a decent batting performance would ensure victory, however once again they didn't take the easy route!

Openers Grierson and Childs were soon back in the pavilion leaving Bashley reeling on 1 for 2 and the winning line a long way off. Phil Morris (27) batted sensibly but when Vaughan and Bailiff both departed cheaply the writing appeared to be on the wall at 23-4. Morris was next to go, somewhat unluckily to a stunning slip catch and this brought together the experienced Taylor and Nolan-Stone. Taylor did what he does best nudging and pushing the ball around while Nolan-Stone at the other end upped the scoring rate with a succession of powerfully stuck boundaries. However once again the tide was to turn as the latter was bowled for 34 and Taylor Obviously tired from his 4 over stint earlier was run out for 21. At 102 for 7 a Tichbourne victory looked to be the bookies favorite but skipper Shaun Lilley had other ideas, for the second week running he took on the role of finisher and with able support from Dean and keeper Chris Gates took Bashley over the line with 3 overs to spare.