Romsey Town v Coton, 18 July 2008

On a windswept but sunny afternoon on Fitzwilliam College ground Coton fielded a youthfull team - Away to Romsey Town. With the opening bowling of Speller and Scotcher, Coton kept it tight. Speller quickly took the edge and Breward dived low to his right for a classic bowlers wicket. Speller and Scotcher worked in tandem as the Romsey team found the opening overs tough to score from. Romsey's number three batsmen was determined not to give his wicket away and the running between the wickets put pressure on the Coton fielders. The partnership between Dennis and Owen put on 60 runs. Billy Haynes took 2 wickets and proved a handful for Romsey. Ross Chandler bowled 10 very accurate overs on the bounce. Speller came back on and took 2 further wickets as did Scotcher. Coton fielding was athletic and helped restrict Romsey to 159 for 9 in 40 overs.

This surely was a gettable target on a lush Fitzwilliam outfield. Paul Bradbury and Ross Chandler opened up to some very frugal bowling from Gopal and Jordan. The first 3 overs were maidens. Bradbury got on the board with a 4 as did Chandler but the going was still tough. The scoreboard started to tick along nicely until Chandler was stumped by some lightning work from the Romsey Skipper/Keeper. The game seemed to change quickly as Bradders followed quickly into the hutch after missing a straight one. Breward didn't trouble the scorers(not the only player to get a duck on the day). Coton's spirits were lifted as Speller and Hale began to score freely. On the last ball before drinks Speller wafted at a wide one and the Romsey keeper gratefully accepted. East got a goldie and Coton's innings was on the slide. Hale also went with the score still on 68. Paul Norton and Dave "all-rounder" Scotcher decided to show the top order how it should be done. The pair put on 28 valuable runs and earned Coton a much needed batting bonus point. When Scotcher was caught in the slips, Norton was left to shepherd the tail. I think talk of paying a "fiver" for a "six" proved too tempting for Coton's younger players as both Adam and Billy struck out for a coconut. Norts was left stranded (nice Red Inker though!) as Pete also went for a goldie. Coton all out for 98 in 36.2 overs.

Highs:

• Coton's new youth policy - good to see Billy and Adam lively in the field and taking wickets
• 3 wickets and 19 runs for Dave Scotcher - Coton's new "All-Rounder" in more ways than one. :))))
• A crucial run partnership from Paul Norton and Dave Scotcher - No and Go sound very similar Norts

Lows:

• Runs, runs, runs - let's get our team "mojo" back and score some.....
• 5 Ducks - Let's bat ugly and tough out some runs.
• Waiting 10 seasons to play a league game on a College ground - only to fluff it.