Saturday 19th June 2004 vs Southill Park C.C.
 
Wash defy brave Southill
 
Washington C.C. 237-7 (40 overs)
Southill Park C.C. 197-6 (40 overs)
 

Washington ran out victors by 40 runs at Southill Park on Saturday.  Batting first, they set the Bedfordshire side a target of 238 and confined them to 197-6 in the allotted 40 overs.

 

The game, played in the idyllic surroundings of Southill Park itself, saw both sides enjoy periods of dominance after the home team won the toss and invited Washington to bat.

 

Former South Africa U-19 bowler ‘Dirk’ Botha opened the attack for Southill and generated considerable pace and bounce with the new ball. Tony Harris (5) fell early on, but Pete Kloss, opening for the first time, played very stylishly for 33, and held the top order together.

 

Washington’s run rate was nothing special in this phase of the game: a score of 78-3 off 20 overs at drinks meant plenty more work had to be done.

 

In the event, two magnificent half centuries lifted the total.  The first came from Marty Bock (52) who unleashed a series of cracking shots all round the wicket before being caught on the crease and bowled by Botha late on;  the second came courtesy of Dale Bracegirdle (60 not out), who added 99 in the last ten overs with Craig Stachurski (34 not out).

 

It was a grandstand finale that left Southill needing 6 an over, and they set about getting them in determined fashion.  Stachurski (1-7) claimed an early wicket before limping out of the attack, but Owen (38) and Jones (29) kept up with asking rate and took the score to 96 before Kloss (2-32) removed both in the space of three overs.

 

This double breakthrough put the brakes on Southill’s innings, and Kloss and Bock (0-21) kept up the pressure with some tight bowling.  Stachurski then ran out Ritchie (0) with a brilliant throw and this left home skipper Pike (38) and veteran Minor Counties all-rounder Kettleborough (39 not out) to rebuild the innings.

 

Just as the pace of the scoring was picking up again, however, Bracegirdle (1-36) found a way through Pike’s defences, and Paul Irons (1-33) had Stockdale (5) caught by the agile Agar Burton.

 

This proved a terminal blow to the home side, the final swing of the game’s pendulum, and the result duly ended in Washington’s favour.

 

A chilly, overcast afternoon gave way to a quietly sunlit evening and the true splendour of this most beautiful of grounds revealed itself before Washington bade their friends farewell and turned their noses back to the ‘Smoke’. 

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Tony Harris 5 Bowled
Peter Kloss 33 Caught
Matthew Cragoe 3 Caught
Marty Bock 52 Bowled
Agar Burton 6 Caught
Paul Irons 21 Bowled
David Gluckman 0 Run Out
Dale Bracegirdle 60* 
Craig Stochurski 34* 
Did Not Bat
Taran Persaud
Branden Legg
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 10 Tony Harris  &  Peter Kloss
2 32 Peter Kloss  &  Matthew Cragoe
3 32 Peter Kloss  &  Marty Bock
4 15 Marty Bock  &  Agar Burton
5 31 Marty Bock  &  Paul Irons
6 1 Marty Bock  &  David Gluckman
7 40 Marty Bock  &  Dale Bracegirdle
8 53 * Dale Bracegirdle  &  Craig Stochurski



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Agar Burton 1 - -
Taran Persaud 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Taran Persaud 2.4 0 15 0
Marty Bock 8.0 1 21 0
Dale Bracegirdle 7.0 1 36 1
Craig Stochurski 2.2 0 7 1
Peter Kloss 8.0 0 32 2
Paul Irons 7.0 0 33 1
Branden Legg 5.0 0 40 0
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