Saturday 26th July 2008 vs Aldenham C.C.
 
Wash Edged out in Tight Finish
 
Washington C.C. 146 all out
Aldenham C.C. 147 for 9
 

Ash Cruickshank reporting

 

The Wash's aim of a first victory at Aldenham since their first visit in 2006 was dealt an early blow when only 10 cricketers made the trip north.  After losing the toss (again), the Wash was sent in to bat and was immediately in trouble with Tony the Kiwi being bowled for a duck.  Brian White started promisingly but was fired lbw (5) in what was a very poor decision in this commentators view.  This set the tone for the innings with batsmen looking set but unable to go on.  Tony the other Kiwi (Burt) hit a cracking 6 with the first shot off his new bat but was dismissed for 17 having a pull.  Hitchy's 15, Alex Murray and the Colonel's 13 and Ash's 20 all reflected lost opportunity and the Wash started to find itself in trouble as young Charlie (not Iron's dog, the kid from Aldenham) was collecting regular wickets.  Only a cracking 34 from Aldenham boy Chris Hewitt who was well supported by Gary Malcolm (6 including a great four through mid wicket) enabled the Wash to struggle to 146.

 

Peter Guthrie's promises of early wickets seemed more than just talk from a bloke still smarting from All-Blacks humiliation earlier that morning as he took a 2nd ball wicket and three more in quick succession to give the Wash half a chance.  The bloke who thought he was leaving a bad ball only to see it knock over his middle stump was particularly troubled by Guthrie's fiery spell.  Not content with the fast falling wickets, Guthrie also drew blood from Aldenham's no.3(crime scene photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29879461@N00/2707601486/sizes/l/ ).  However, he battled on for a fine 68 to steady Aldenham's innings before Guthrie finally got his man (and 5th wicket) with a fine catch by Alex Murray.

 

This wicket saw the complexion of the game change faster that a kid reaching puberty as Burt (1 for 39), the Colonel (2 for 36) and Guthrie (6 for 62) continued to capture wickets and keep the pressure on Aldenham.  The run rate slowed to a miserly rate for the next 15 over's as the Wash turned the screws but in the end, 146 simply wasn't enough to defend as Aldenham once again triumphed with a 1 wicket win. A disappointing day on many counts but particularly for this commentator as it was a glowing testament to that ridiculous form of the game known as declaration cricket. 

 

Man of the match - Peter Guthrie who produce a multi-wicket haul for the second week running

 

Packing the kit - Whoever that fool umpire was who fired Brian White and thus caused the batting collapse

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Batting
Player Runs How out
Tony Harris 0 Bowled
Brad Hitchcock 15 Caught
Brian White 5 LBW
Tony Burt 17 Caught
Alex Murray 13 Bowled
Sandeep Kuckreja 13 LBW
Ash Cruickshank 20 Run Out
Tahir Islam 3 Bowled
Peter Guthrie 4 Bowled
Chris Hewett 34* 
Gary Malcolm 6 Bowled
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Peter Guthrie 2 - -
Tony Harris 2 - -
Brad Hitchcock - 2 -
Alex Murray 1 - -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Sandeep Kuckreja 16.0 5 36 2
Peter Guthrie 16.0 2 62 6
Tony Burt 9.0 2 39 1
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