Top of the table Odiham turned up with a youthful and fit looking team to face what was essentially a top of the table match between us in third place and with Odiham having the potential of sealing their promotion spot.

Jambo took on the roll of captain and won the toss and chose to bat. Openers Nick Bryant and Henry Schooling got off to a flyer and despite good bowling from Saurabh and Ali they got to drinks without having lost a wicket at 150 for 0. St. Mary’s had dropped a series of catches (3 off Keith) but none were easy, but after drinks there was a brief moment of relief as Keith picked up two wickets and Ali picked up one, but this brought Dave Riches to the crease and he scored even more quickly as he plundered 76 off just 37 balls before Saurabh bowled him towards the end, also Ed Terry scored 54 off just 26 balls. In the end Odiham cruised to 325 for 6.

The St. Mary’s reply started badly with Russell being unluckily bowled for 0 when the ball rolled back onto the stumps from a nice defensive shot. Tom & Jambo scored quickly and put on 94 before Tom was unluckily bowled by a ball that did not bounce as much as he may have expected. The pitch was perhaps one of the best I have seen at Newfound, but it did offer a small amount of uneven bounce but not as much as usual. Jambo moved to 70 when he was out caught and bowled. Lots of good contributions batting particularly Gorav returning after being away too long hit a very good 45. In the end St Mary’s got to 235 for 9 and a feeling of respectability.

Man of the match: Janet for her tea
Champagne moment: A very good catch by Gorav to give Keith his long awaited 300th wicket for St. Mary’s
Wally of the day: Keith for taking a very good catch at long on and then stepping onto the boundary.