Saturday 5th June 2004 vs Kingstonians C.C.
 
Wash hang on
 
Kingstonians C.C.
Washington C.C.
 

Wash hung on for a draw in a declaration match at the LSE ground in New Malden on Saturday.  After a tight bowling display restricted the home side to 187 in 45 overs, Wash had high hopes of taking the tie.  However, a mediocre batting performance against some wayward bowling left Peter Kloss (10), in his first innings as skipper, and Chris Davies (23 not out) having to play out twelve overs and thus save the game.

 

Kingstonian had won the toss and decided to bat first on a cloudy afternoon when the temperature fell well short of the 23 degrees promised by the BBC.  Washington’s bowlers, however,  kept things very tight in the early stages, with Dave Holbern enjoying his best outing yet for the Wash.  He found pace, movement and occasional steepling bounce in the pitch, and ended with figures of 2-16 off 11 overs. 

 

When drinks were taken after 22 overs, Kingstonian had only 55 on the board;  after the break, however, the home side accelerated, with Green (81) and Khalid (36) reviving the middle order before both fell victim to the wily Eric Stoughton (2-34) who also saw several other chances missed in an excellent spell. There was a wicket too for Neil Martin (1-38) before Ks closed at tea leaving Wash with a target of 188 for victory.

 

Washington’s reply got off to a flyer. Tony Harris gave the impression that he had urgent business elsewhere, picking up where he left off after last week’s century and murdering everything within reach.  It was a surprise when he slightly mistimed an aggressive cut shot and was caught in the covers, but it led to something of a collapse.  Steve Brown (3), Matthew Cragoe (5), Brenden Edwards (4) and Brad Hitchcock (1) all fell cheaply, and it was only the aggressive stroke-playing of debutant Canadian, Paul Wiste (33), that kept Washington’s challenge alive. However, when he departed, with the score on 72, Wash looked to be in big trouble.

 

Holbern (11) and Davis temporarily steadied the ship, adding 20 for the seventh wicket, but when Kloss marched to the wicket, Kingstonian clearly felt they had time to wrap up the game. As it was, they were frustrated by an excellent 33-run partnership which mixed caution with prudent aggression, and which took Wash to the verge of safety.  Kloss’s late demise, lbw with three balls of the game remaining, sent a few flutters though the Washington dove-cote, but Martin was awake to the challenge and saw the visitors through to the close.

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Tony Harris 24 Caught
Matthew Cragoe 5 Bowled
Steve Brown 3 Bowled
Paul Wiste 33 Caught
Brenden Edwards 4 Caught
Brad Hitchcock 1 Run Out
Chris Davis 23* 
Dave Hobern 11 Bowled
Peter Kloss 10 LBW
Neil Martin 0* 
Eric Stoughton 0 Caught
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 37 Tony Harris  &  Matthew Cragoe
2 4 Matthew Cragoe  &  Steve Brown
3 14 Matthew Cragoe  &  Paul Wiste
4 17 Paul Wiste  &  Brenden Edwards
5 6 Paul Wiste  &  Brad Hitchcock
6 4 Paul Wiste  &  Chris Davis
7 20 Chris Davis  &  Dave Hobern
8 33 Chris Davis  &  Peter Kloss
9 0 * Chris Davis  &  Neil Martin



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Matthew Cragoe 1 - -
Chris Davis 1 - -
Tony Harris 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Dave Hobern 11.0 2 16 2
Neil Martin 8.0 2 38 1
Peter Kloss 12.0 4 51 0
Eric Stoughton 6.0 0 34 2
Chris Davis 6.0 0 40 0
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