Sunday 23rd September 2007 vs Graces C.C.
 
End of Season High
 
Washington C.C. 240 for 9 (40 overs)
Graces C.C. 232 for 9 (40 overs)
 

Washington ended their competitive season on a high on Sunday as they beat the Graces by a slim 8 run margin. Playing at home at North Middlesex CC in Crouch End the Wash posted a competitive 240 for 9. They seemed to have the game in the bag, reducing Graces to 43 for 5 thanks to great opening bowling spells from George Hope and Russell Pendry. But then a strong 116 partnership between Mendes and Bielby brought Graces right back in to contention and ultimately almost to victory.

The Man of the Match was Washington's George Hope who completed his 8 over bowling spell with figures of 5 for 46, and earlier in the day had smashed 49 runs from only 17 balls to help the Wash scoring along in explosive style.

Graces won the toss on a relatively docile pitch and, somewhat surprisingly, elected to bowl. Don Campbell (18) and Steve Brown (28) opened up for the Wash and progressed steadily to 42 in the 10th over. But then both fell in the space of 4 overs. Tony Burt (21) and Aff Naseem (41) then took the scoring forward and after Burt was adjudged out LBW, Lee Fogarty (34) came to the crease and shared an excellent 70 run partnership with Naseem for the 4th wicket in only 12 overs. Both batsmen played really well, blocking the good balls and striking the bad for 4.

At 153 for 4 George Hope strode to the wicket with only 9 overs of the innings remaining. Unaccustomed to coming in so late in the order Hope was highly impatient to push his score on. So much so that he hit four of his first seven balls for 6!! Four overs later, on 49, Hope was bowled having faced only 17 balls, an unbelievable display of hitting. David Gluckman (0) and Matthew Holt (4) departed quickly before a quick fire 23 from skipper Peter Kloss elevated the score well past 200. Russell Pendry (4*) and Gary Malcolm (6*) scored another 10 runs from the final 9 balls to enabled Washington to close on 240 in their 40 overs.

Following a mediocre tea as is common at North Midds, Graces commenced their innings and were immediately on the back foot. George Hope and Russell Pendry opened the bowling and both took wickets in their first over. In fact, although the batsmen hit a few boundaries, further wickets in Hope's next 2 overs and Pendry's 3rd reduced the Graces to 43 for 5. George's success was to be expected as his fast paced bowling in recent weeks has been excellent. However skipper Kloss had taken perhaps a small gamble opening with the slower bowling of Pendry; this paid off handsomely as Pendry (2-40) enticed the batsmen into rash shots to grab his wickets.

Matthew Holt (0-17) came on to replace Hope and bowled an outstanding spell without an ounce of luck. He had a caught behind dropped from his first ball and passed the bat countless times as the batsmen played and missed. He was so accurate that his 8 overs cost only 17 runs with 3 maidens. This was a great spell of medium pace bowling.

At the other end Gary Malcolm (0-34) replaced Pendry. He bowled steady left arm spin against cautious batsmen but did not achieve a breakthrough. Kloss (1-40) bowled a solid spell and finally broke the 6th wicket partnership, trapping Bielby LBW. However he could not oust Mendes who by this time was building a superb innings. He brought his 100 up with a magnificent six but was immediately excellently caught behind by keeper Don Campbell from a faint edge off Tony Burt (1-48).

Before Mendes was out Graces appeared in control and heading for victory with 25 needed from 3.2 overs. However with him gone it was apparent there was little more batting left. Hope took his 4th and 5th wickets and Graces were restricted such that they fell 9 runs short of victory in the end. Washington captain Kloss was very relieved that Mendes was out when he was, knowing that a couple of additional big hits would have made the difference.

Kloss said after the game “This was a great game. The Wash played well but the fightback from the Graces was excellent and they almost snatched victory. George's all round performance was match-winning but I also think Russell's two wickets in the early overs made a bigger difference than at first glance, and the Naseem/Fogarty partnership really helped build a winning score also.”

Man of the match: George Hope

Packing the kit: no candidates this time

Washington: Don Campbell (+), Steve Brown, Tony Burt, Aff Naseem, Lee Fogarty, George Hope, David Gluckman, Matthew Holt, Peter Kloss (c), Russell Pendry, Gary Malcom


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Batting
Player Runs How out
Donald Campbell 18 Caught
Steve Brown 28 Bowled
Tony Burt 21 LBW
Aff Naseem 41 Caught
Lee Fogarty 34 Bowled
George Hope 49 Bowled
David Gluckman 0 Bowled
Matthew Holt 4 Bowled
Peter Kloss 23 Caught
Russell Pendry 4* 
Gary Malcolm 6* 
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 42 Donald Campbell  &  Steve Brown
2 13 Donald Campbell  &  Tony Burt
3 28 Tony Burt  &  Aff Naseem
4 70 Aff Naseem  &  Lee Fogarty
5 45 Lee Fogarty  &  George Hope
6 3 George Hope  &  David Gluckman
7 6 George Hope  &  Matthew Holt
8 1 Matthew Holt  &  Peter Kloss
9 22 Peter Kloss  &  Russell Pendry
10 10 * Russell Pendry  &  Gary Malcolm



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Donald Campbell - 2 -
Aff Naseem 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Matthew Holt 8.0 3 17 0
Russell Pendry 5.0 0 40 2
Peter Kloss 7.0 0 40 1
Gary Malcolm 5.0 0 34 0
George Hope 8.0 0 46 5
Tony Burt 7.0 0 48 1
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