Sunday 9th July 2006 vs London Schools U16 C.C.
 
Washington Pass the Schools' Test
 
London Schools U16 C.C. 212 for 7 (40 overs)
Washington C.C. 213 for 8 (39.5 overs)
 

Peter Kloss Reporting

 

There was an unusual challenge for Washington on Sunday as they faced the London Schools Under 16s side at the North Middlesex club. As ambitious young cricketers these young men take their cricket a lot more seriously than many sides Washington play. Therefore the Wash players had to be at the peak of concentration and performance. They were up to the challenge, but only just. Washington won on the last ball, a wide and a scrambled bye giving them the two runs required.

 

Earlier Justin Gurney (4-35) bowled an excellent spell of leg spin against competent London Schools batting. Later Pete Demitri scored an impressive first 50 of the season to give Washington a solid start on their way to London Schools' total. The consistently accurate bowling and tenacious fielding meant that the Wash players had to fight for every run on the way to their narrow victory. However in the end it was the 22 yard dash and dive to the crease from Brad Hitchcock on the final ball which got them home.

 

London Schools batted very competently. Eadon (47) and Lampier shared an opening partnership of 63 in only 13 overs and then there were also significant contributions from a number of batsmen who all played themselves in but then got out in the 20s. Pace bowler Shawn Hill (2-31) grabbed a couple of wickets, but the pick was leg spinner Justin Gurney (4-35) who was most impressive. The pitch was good for batting, not providing the assistance quicker bowlers would have preferred, but Gurney turned the ball a lot and caused the batsmen problems throughout his 8 over spell. The other bowlers were Richard Jones (1-35), Terry Tidey (0-34), Nick Tidey (0-30), Tony Burt (0-17) and Paul Irons (0-25).

 

The Under 16s ended on 212 for 7 from their 40 overs.

 

When Washington batted Pete Demitri (51) and Nick Tidey (10) shared a 53 opening stand from the first 11 overs. Demitri played particularly well against accurate London Schools bowling. However both batsmen then fell and at 83 for 2 from 20 overs Wash were behind the rate. Steve Brown (20) and Paul Irons (41) then built a solid partnership before both were caught and bowled by De Ruyter. Lee Fogarty (11) and Shawn Hill (17) kept the scoreboard ticking over but scoring quickly was not easy against the relentless accurate bowling and the excellent fielding. The young and fit cricketers chased every ball down hard in the field and threw very well.

 

Tony Burt (15*) and Justin Gurney (18) batted sensibly to see Washington almost home, but then Gurney fell with 7 needed from the last two overs. In a remarkably tense finish Burt and Richard Jones (3) took singles and a two to bring Washington to 211, one behind London Schools. There were then three balls left. Jones couldn't score from the first and then popped a high catch up to the bowler Warren on the second. However the batsmen had managed to cross and so Burt was facing for the last ball with two needed for victory. Brad Hitchcock took up position at the non-strikers end. From the look on his face the intention was clear. Warren bowled, Hitchcock took off. The ball was unfortunately a wide and also Hitchcock just made it to the other end with a full length dive into the dirt as the keeper despairingly threw at the stumps but missed. The wide and bye gave Washington the two runs they needed and they celebrated the victory. But, boy it was close.

 

Captain Justin Gurney said after the game “The young guys really gave us a run for our money today. There's going to be a number of future stars out of this team.”

 

Man of the match: Justin Gurney, for a great bowling spell, 4 wickets, 18 crucial runs towards the end, and strong captaincy

 

Packing the kit: Rob Tidey, the Washington under 16 player, for organising the game but missing it due to injury

 

Washington: Pete Demitri, Nick Tidey, Steve Brown, Paul Irons, Lee Fogarty, Shawn Hill, Tony Burt, Justin Gurney (c), Richard Jones, Brad Hitchcock(+), Terry Tidey

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Pete Demetri 53 Caught
Nick Tidey 10 Caught
Steve Brown 20 Caught
Paul Irons 41 Caught
Lee Fogarty 11 Bowled
Shawn Hill 17 Bowled
Tony Burt 15* 
Justin Gurney 18 Bowled
Richard Jones 3 Caught
Brad Hitchcock 0* 
Did Not Bat
Terry Tidey
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 53 Pete Demetri  &  Nick Tidey
2 22 Pete Demetri  &  Steve Brown
3 61 Steve Brown  &  Paul Irons
4 13 Steve Brown  &  Lee Fogarty
5 24 Lee Fogarty  &  Shawn Hill
6 1 Shawn Hill  &  Tony Burt
7 36 Tony Burt  &  Justin Gurney
8 5 Tony Burt  &  Richard Jones
9 2 * Tony Burt  &  Brad Hitchcock



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Steve Brown 1 - -
Justin Gurney 1 - -
Shawn Hill 1 - -
Brad Hitchcock - - 1
Richard Jones 1 - -
Nick Tidey 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Justin Gurney 8.0 0 35 4
Terry Tidey 5.0 1 34 0
Nick Tidey 8.0 2 30 0
Paul Irons 5.0 0 25 0
Richard Jones 5.0 0 35 1
Shawn Hill 5.0 0 31 2
Tony Burt 4.0 0 17 0
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