Back inland and back to winning ways against North Elmham.
May. 29, 2012 On a glorious day with the sun beating down on the wicket, Barney turned up looking to get back to winning ways against North Elmham. The only change to the team was Ross Lonsdale coming in to replace Ritchie Warren. When the two Captains walked to the wicket for the toss it looked like a certain batting track, but North Elmhamwon the toss and elected to bowl first.
The usual duo of Aaron and Clive opened the batting with the intent of making some big scores, as they will not play on a much better pitch all season. With a quick outfield there was not much surprise in that both batsmen started hitting early boundaries to get Barney off to a great start. In the eighth over North Elmham struck to remove Clive who had made a promising start and departed for 13. Liam Channell then walked out to the crease and the dreaded pair tried to get off the mark early on, but unfortunately got out again for (0). With Barney looking in a bit of trouble Jake was the next man in and after great early season form he was hoping to make a big score today. With Aaron already getting his eye in he just needed someone to stay with him for a length of time to build the run rate up. With Jake hitting a couple of early boundaries he was then the next man out being trapped lbw to leave the game in a bit of a balance. Who was going to capitalize from now on, Barney with a good run rate and a nice pitch to bat on, or North Elmham for knocking over three wickets early on?
The Captain and Vice-Captain were then joined together and were holding a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. Aaron was keeping up a good strike rate and bought up his half-century with some beautiful shots all around the park, with straight drives, clips off his pads, and the odd six to keep the crowd excited. James was doing the right thing by keeping his end occupied allowing Aaron to score at ease and reached 82 before he was undone by a good ball from the opposition bowler. As he left the field he was greeted by a standing ovation for a truly magnificent innings which he should be proud off.
Ross then took his guard as a big hitting batsman. After seeing a few balls he let loose and hit a few fours and three sixes! James was also starting to score quickly at his end so Barney looked on for a big score. Ross reached 32 with a lovely cameo innings before he was the next man out. With overs running out and batsmen still to come he done the right thing by taking more chances. Lenny strode out to join the Captain with the intent of keeping the scoreboard ticking over quickly and with James hitting the ball nicely they both started to build a partnership. With some good running between the wicket and some boundaries being hit they both ended not out at the end of the 40 overs with James making 30 and Lenny 16 respectively. This left Barney with a big score of 213-5
Credit has to be given to North Elmham for keeping on their game as it was a really hot day to be standing out in the field for that length of time. All the team were encouraging to each other and on their toes for every ball.
With the sun still coming down nicely it was time for Barney to do their piece in the field and with the ball. Their fielding has been much improved this season with lots of motivation to do well for each other. Ross and Beanie opened the bowling and were both getting some nice carry throughs to the wicket-keeper, Stuart Baker. Beanie took the first three wickets by getting his first wicket from a good catch from Jake. Second was a good short ball which led to the batsmen standing on his own stumps, but his third was his best, after some excellent bowling to one of their left handed batsmen he cleaned him up by hitting the top of middle stump.
With a good start from the opening bowlers Liam Channell and James came on hoping to fill their boots with some wickets each. Liam was swinging the ball with some speed and looked very dangerous from his end. However, the more experienced head of James knew exactly where to put the ball by finally taking some wickets in a game. With an edge through to the slips Clive juggled with it and a bit more, and finally a bit more before he finally clung on to take a superb catch which left the whole Barney team elated. Beanie then took a catch with the ball going straight up in the air, before James got three more wickets to leave him with bowling figures of 5-11. Aaron then came on to see what he had in his locker and to the amazement of the rest of the team he managed to get a wicket with a good catch from James. Liam also came on after doing some athletic and energetic fielding to take the final wicket himself which was well deserved for the manner of his play. This left North Elmham all out on 82 and made it a convincing win for Barney.
Man of the match went to Aaron for an innings which showed real class. With it being a really hot day it took real effort to make a score of 82 and every person supporting Barney on the day were mesmerized by a terrific innings. A big thanks must go to the Foley and Lonsdale families for making a delicious tea for everyone. I'm now off on holiday for a couple of weeks so I will not be reporting on the game against Fakenham but I hope to hear good things from the game. Hope to see you all up here at our next home game to cheer on the team again!
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