Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

An inspired spell of bowling from wily spinner Eric Stoughton saw Washington edge a tense tussle with Arkley on Sunday. Stoughton, who only stepped into the XI at the  last minute, took a vital wicket and choked Arkley’s increasingly confident run chase, allowing the home side to run out victors by 12 runs.

Skipper Shawn Hill summed up the game afterwards by saying: ‘there were heroes all over the field today – everyone contributed – but it was Eric’s eight overs that were decisive:  he’s the captain’s man of the match’.

It was certainly a close run thing, much closer than Washington anticipated after batting well.  Pete Demetri (56) and Matthew Cragoe (20) had put on 59 for the first wicket, the former surviving a couple of chances to record a gritty half century; his departure brought in Peter Kloss (51) and the big all-rounder continued his fine season by crafting an elegant fifty, working the ball wristily into the gaps and occasionally unleashing his trademark lofted on drive to good effect.

Together with Tony Birt (11), Taran Persaud (11), and Grattan McCoach, unluckily run out for 3, Washington kept the scoreboard ticking over at 4 runs an over, a rate that leaped to nearer 5.5 after Hill arrived and smashed (there’s no other word for it) 31 from a handful of deliveries near the end.

Washington took tea with 227 runs under their belt;  Arkley, however, had done well to snaffle 9 wickets on a surface that, after some early liveliness, had become slow and docile. And the first twenty overs of their own innings suggested that they had the situation under control: openers Knappett (56) and Spillane (82) added 101 for the first wicket, and were comfortably abreast of the required rate.

The introduction of Stoughton changed it all.  First he got the better of Knappett, courtesy of an excellent catch from Persaud, and then bowled the rest of his eight over spell for just 29 runs.  

He was well supported by some excellent ground fielding  - notably from Russell Pendry who also hung on to a good catch – while the rest of the attack kept up the pressure: McCoach saw a couple of catches grassed, and Dave Mutton bowled with plenty of fire from the pavilion end; however, it was Kloss (3-36) who did most to keep Arkley in check as the asking rate crept inexorably upwards.

Eventually it became impossible.  Arkley will feel that from a position of 190-2 this was a game they should have won;  that they didn’t was down to an excellent all-round performance from Wash in the field, and the bowling of Stoughton and Kloss in particular.