Buccaneers v Brook – 30 June 2024
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Marsh and Fletcher were tasked with getting the Buccaneers off to a good start. It soon became clear that the wicket had the potential to be a “leveller”, but both openers batted with determination. After Fletcher fell, Sutton battled it out admirably but one brought three for Brook, as Marsh, Sutton and Gresswell fell in quick succession leaving the Buccaneers at 66 for 4 – and the captain wondering whether chasing might not have been better. Thankfully, such fears were misplaced: enter Y Bahemou (debutant) who, with Kalidasan, mounted a successful counter-attack as much against the wicket as Brook’s bowling. It was one shot too many for Bahemou who missed a straight one, and Kalidasan fell to an lbw decision that left everyone scratching their heads. But the tone had been set: Moules continued the offensive with his trademark brutality, striking a quickfire 54, with Rydon finishing the innings off in style with a flurry of boundaries. The Buccaneers finished 207 from their allocated 33 overs.
A very light and quick tea followed, as general consensus (with the exception of the President) was that we should attempt to have play finished in time to watch England play mediocre football.
Fortunately, the Brook batsmen also got the message. Brook’s innings never really got going, with wickets falling at regular intervals thanks to the merciless Buccaneers’ bowling attack. Papasavvas and Rydon proved deadly with the new ball, seeing off the Brook top three in just a few overs. Marsh and Okines bowled with grace and guile, rattling through the middle order – one Brook batsman looking particularly bemused by what should have been a safe leave costing him his wicket, as Okines turned a ball two feet to hit the top of off. Disaster struck, however, when just a few balls into his Buccaneers bowling career, Sutton – in a valiant attempt at a caught and bowled – fractured his little finger at the ring joint. We are informed both finger and ring are recovering well. Moules – particularly keen to get to the football – took the ball to finish Sutton’s over, taking one wicket then and the final Brook wicket in his following over, leaving Brook 101 all out and everyone ample time to amble to the adjacent public house.
Result: Buccaneers win by 106 runs
Innings of the Buccaneers:
J Marsh c&b Mosely 35
T Fletcher c&b Soar 12
M Sutton b King 6
W Gresswell b Shaw 2
Y Bahemou b Shaw 17
E Kalidasan lbw b. Thompkins 20
S Moules c&b Johnson 54
A Marsh b Longmore 15
R Rydon Not Out 25
P. Papasavvas c. Both b Johnson 0
W. Okines did not bat
Extras: 21
Buccaneers: 207-9 (33 overs)
Innings of Brook CC:
L Soar b. Rydon 0
L Botha c&b Papsavvas 4
J Cooper c&b Rydon 7
C Longmore b Okines 3
A Shaw c&b Okines 11
S Johnson c&b A Marsh 21
J King c&b A Marsh 24
J Moseley Run Out 8
L Mosely b Moules 1
N Reily Not Out 3
N Thompkins b Moules 4
Extras: 15
Brook: 101 all out (25.4 overs)
Buccaneers bowling (O-M-R-W):
R Rydon 5 – 2 – 10 – 2
P Papasavvas 4 – 0 – 16 – 1
A Marsh 7 – 1 – 23 – 2
W Okines 7 – 1 – 38 – 2
M Sutton 0.3 – 0 – 3 – 0
S Moules 1.1 – 0 – 1 – 2
Y Bahemou 1 – 0 – 7 – 0