Friendly Match vs The Graces, 4th June 2005, Mill Hill
By first-time occasional contributor Nick "My wife is radio-tagging wasps in Panama this week" Isaac
Graces XI won the toss and elected to bat. Rick Derons and Vince Croft kept the opening overs very tight, and were rewarded when four wickets fell with the score on 31. Vince's appeal for the second wicket was delivered with both knees on the ground, evoking memories of Dominic Cork in his pomp.
The fielding was good, save for a few dropped catches. The highlight was a direct hit from Alec McCrindle, which was unlucky not to be given out.
Further wickets tumbled and the Fields looked in control of the game until a 50 partnership for the eighth wicket. Crookie kept things tight at the death, conceding just 19 off six overs before Donny Mahmood mopped up the last two wickets. Set 130 to win, the Fields made a confident start, with Alec McCrindle and Mark Nuttall taking singles on demand. The curse of 31 struck again, when Mark chased a wide one and was caught behind.
Alec soon followed, and tight bowling and low bounce prevented the remaining batsmen from getting comfortable. Only Grant Straghan (12), Nick Isaac (a streaky 11) and Vince Croft (a doughty 8) put up much resistance. The Fields were all out for a disappointing 92.
No scorecard this week, but here's a link to the Graces web site: