Sunday 19th August 2012 vs Ebury Strollers C.C.
 
Clinton's Day
 
Ebury Strollers C.C. 194 for 8 (40 overs)
Washington C.C. 198 for 4 (38.2 overs)
 

Peter Kloss reporting

Clinton Dugmore scored a spectacular 90 not out to bring the Wash home with 10 balls to spare, and deliver the club’s first victory in over a month.

It was a gloriously hot and mostly sunny day at Ebury’s temporary home of Coleshill CC just south of Amersham. This was a nice rural village ground, surrounded by trees and with an old wooden and slightly dilapidated clubhouse. The pitch was a decent one, on the near side of the square so that one boundary was short and the other pretty long.

Wash skipper Toby Mariner lost the toss and was asked to field through the heat of the afternoon in this 40 over contest.

The Strollers started well against the opening bowlers, Mariner (0-42) and Sam Clark (0-32). The batsmen exploited the short boundary to good effect, hitting several 4s. There were also runs available in the expanse on the other side of the wicket. It was not that the Wash bowled badly, more that the batsmen were aggressive and took their opportunities. Max Murray (0-24) and Peter Kloss (0-30) took over with the ball after 16 overs when the score was 76 for 0.

At this point the scoring rate suddenly slowed, there were 3 maidens in a row and only 33 runs were scored between overs 17 and 30. Washington took their first wicket with a run out in the 19th over, but the slow scoring was definitely also down to the nagging accuracy of Murray and Kloss. Both were unlucky not to get wickets with strong LBW shouts declined and a dropped catch or two.

Will McDonagh and Clinton Dugmore took on bowling duties in the 33rd over. Wickets then tumbled as the Strollers tried to push the rate forward. Both bowlers benefitted with 3 wickets for McDonagh and 2 for Dugmore. McDonagh was a little wayward, but when he bowled on target was indeed deadly! James Cook, who had a good game behind the stumps, took a catch. There were 2 further runs outs (in fact all the Ebury top 3 went that way). Despite all these wickets though Ebury were able to push the rate up, and 63 were scored from the final 8 overs to post a final score of 194 for 8 from 40 overs.

After a good tea Shyam Pushpanath (7) and Ash Cruickshank (4) opened up the batting for Washington. However both of them, and no. 3 Mani Ahmed (4), went quickly to leave Wash teetering a little at 25 for 3 in the 8th over. There then followed the 2 batting partnerships which won Wash the game. Clinton Dugmore and Sam Clark started slowly, ensuring that they steadied the innings initially and didn’t lose further wickets. However after a few overs they started playing with increased confidence, particularly Dugmore who kept his head down and played some excellent big shots for boundaries. Their partnership was worth 61 by the 22nd over with the score at 86 for 4.

With Clark (21) dismissed, Max Murray came to the crease. Another excellent partnership followed, the 2 batsmen seeming to complement each other as they both played exceptionally well. Particularly the running of many singles kept the scoreboard ticking over and ensured they were always in touch with the scoring rate required which hovered around 6 an over. Dugmore did swing and miss on occasion, but when he connected the ball tended to go a long way. The shot of the day was a pulled 6 over mid wicket, not as you would expect over the short boundary, but over the longest fence. This must have been a hit of close to 100 meters!

Fittingly Dugmore hit the winning runs with another 6, on the short boundary side this time, to finish on 90 not out. Murray (48*) just missed out on a fifty, but the partnership was worth 112 and Washington had won by 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare.

Toby Mariner said after the match “What a great innings by Clint, just superb, and he’s now a definite strong contender for batsman of the season. Well done also to the other guys who suffered in the heat, but thankfully it’s not raining at least!”

The players of Washington adjourned to a local hostelry and watched the sun go down. Clint even bought a jug!

Man of the match: Clinton Dugmore for his 90* and 2 wickets too!

Packing the kit: no great contenders this time (yes, Mani was even early!)

 

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Shyam Pushpanath 7 Caught
Ash Cruickshank 4 Caught
Mani Ahmed 7 Bowled
Clinton Dugmore 90* 
Sam Clark 21 Bowled
Max Murray 48* 
Did Not Bat
James Cook
Matthew Cragoe
Peter Kloss
Will McDonagh
Toby Mariner
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 6 Shyam Pushpanath  &  Ash Cruickshank
2 7 Shyam Pushpanath  &  Mani Ahmed
3 12 Shyam Pushpanath  &  Clinton Dugmore
4 61 Clinton Dugmore  &  Sam Clark
5 112 * Clinton Dugmore  &  Max Murray



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
James Cook - 1 -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Peter Kloss 8.0 2 30 0
Toby Mariner 8.0 0 42 0
Sam Clark 8.0 0 32 0
Clinton Dugmore 4.0 0 24 2
Will McDonagh 4.0 0 32 3
Max Murray 8.0 1 24 0
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