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Donnington, August 8 '09 (away)
A vital win for the 1sts on Saturday up at Donnington, and one which keeps their promotion ambitions alive, even if nerves were
a little frayed towards the end as a relatively comfortable cruise to victory turned into a nail biter!
Winning the toss and electing to bowl first on a damp strip, Turkleton and Charlie kept the Donnington openers in check, even
if early wickets proved elusive. Charlie was particularly economical, his initial 7 over burst containing fewer runs than even the
England middle order were managing up at Headingley.
It wasn't until the 21 over drinks break that the first wicket arrived, JD claiming a caught and bowled chance as the more
aggressive of the openers sought to go over the top like a WWI Tommy. With the deadlock ended, wickets started to fall in regular
intervals, JD and the Retired Lord Harris offering up a series of tempting deliveries and allowing the Donnington batsmen to seal
their own fates, aided and abetted by some quality catches in the outfield, notably 2 apiece for both Turkleton and Charlie.
Performing the roll of 5th bowler to make up the overs, Tubby got in on the act with the slowest lob ball to ever claim a wicket
as the Donnington batsman rushed down the track, had a huge swish, was minutes too early and the ball just had enough momentum to
dislodge the leg bail when it trickled into the bottom of the stumps. A classic dismissal of its type, even if Lee's effort to
headbutt the wicket distracted from the grace and beauty of the moment.
Charlie returned to claim a couple of late wickets, and a miserly team effort from the 'Parish bowlers resulted in Donnington
mustering just 136-8 from their 42 overs, but the season has proven several times over that this side aren't great at chasing
low totals.
After one or two amiable discussions with the umpire about the finer points of the rule book, it perhaps wasn't a great surprise
to see Lord Harris walking back to the pavilion early on in 'Parish reply after the ball hit his pads somewhere in the vacinity of the
stumps. This prompted JD to play his usual game and loft the ball over the covers, frustrating the bowlers and getting the scoreboard
ticking over nicely. Tubby's demise heralded the arrival of Richie "The Grinder" to the crease in a match situation tailor made for his
particular talents and temprament. He ensured that one end was unbreachable while players came and went at the other, JD being beaten
by a good one and AJ failing to implement his baseball theories after 4 weeks touring the States.
This promted the decisive partnership of the match as Charlie proceeded to play the shots we all know he's capable of, timing his drives
in particular on a day when few others came to terms with the slow pace of the pitch. He cruised to 42 and the winning post was in sight
when he chipped a ball to midwicket to end his hopes of a well-deserved 50 and just 16 now required.
When Turkleton was also triggered, it was left to Silver Billy Bowyer to strike a couple of lusty blows to bring the target down to single
figures, but then he was bowled trying for something else violent on the leg side. Fortunately, Ant Churchill joined Richie and calmly
went about collecting the remaining runs, even though this was Ant's first game for about 3 years, allowing Richie to finish the job
with a straight driven 4.
This win meant 'Parish swapped places with Donnington in the table and are now sat in 3rd with 3 games to play. Their fate is in their own
hands, starting with a massive game next Saturday against top-of-the-table Breamore at the Whiteparish Oval. It's make or break time, so
get on down to the ground and support the boys if you happen to be in the village at 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon!
Summary
Donnington 136-8 (Lord Harris 3-?, JD 2-?, Charlie 2-?)
Whiteparish 140-7 (Charlie 42, Richie 3? not out)
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