Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

 Matthew Cragoe reporting

‘We won it in the field’:  that was skipper Aff Naseem’s assessment as his Washington side held their nerve to record a 16-run victory against the Eburry Strollers on Sunday.

Playing a 20-20 game after the regular 40 over fixture had been abandoned following a heavy cloudburst, the Chesham outfit seemed to be strolling to a regulation victory when they harvested 21 off just three overs, chasing the Wash total of 99.  But then Ian Relf (2-9) snared the brilliant opener Hussain (29) lbw, and the balance of the game began to swing inexorably Washington’s way.

Supported by some decent ground fielding the bowlers did what they had to do.  Luke Mitchell recovered from having his first ball whacked for 6 to return impressive figures of 1-11, and opening partner Clint Dugmore (2-27) worried all the batsmen with his pace.  His four-over spell ended with him on a hat-trick – you wouldn’t want to be the next man in!

But it was swing bowling pair Peter Kloss (1-5) and Ian Relf (2-9) who really applied the brakes:  the Ebury middle order just couldn’t score for about 8 overs.  And at the death, the steely nerves of Russell Pendry (0-4) and new spinner James Phillips (1-24) kept up the pressure and gave nothing away.

It was a great comeback from Wash who were disappointing with the bat.  Matt Cheviot (21) and David Gluckman (10 not) got the innings off to a good start, scoring at 6 an over, before, unusually, both retired hurt.

Naseem (21) looked in excellent touch, but never found a partner to build a sizeable partnership.  Lee Foggarty (1) was well caught at long on; Mike Turner (5), who has scored so many valuable runs for Wash this season, was also caught; Dugmore (9), Philips (4) and Relf (0) were all bowled; Kloss was run out for 0; and then Russell Pendry (5) and Mitchell (9) hit some telling blows towards the end of the innings.

Their departure brought Gluckman and Cheviot back to the crease for a reprise of the opening partnership, but the latter holed out in the deep, as Wash were bowled out in 17.5 overs.

So, not a great day with the bat, but a very exciting game. Last word to the skipper, who had a very good day at the office:

‘The bowlers had to be brilliant’, said Naseem, ‘because we were probably 20 runs short in the batting department today.  Luckily they were on top form, and overall I reckoned we deserved the win’.

Man of the Match:  Aff Naseem:  skippered brilliantly and led the batting

Packing the Kit:  No-one - by order of the skipper, because he was so proud of his lads: the kit packed itself.