Barnards Green cricket Club Match Reports.

^13th June 2004

Ending in a winning dr Barnards Green Singles v aw for Barnard Barnards Green Singles v Brintons s Green

Barnards Green Sunday 2^nd’s vs Redditch

Redditch were clearly better in most departments and enjoyed, but probably did not need, the best of a wearing pitch when they won the toss and batted on a very warm day. The Green’s fielding performance, given the age and shape of the team, was no worse than expected. Indeed Bryant had two early successes and Lamb, in his first match of the season, bowled respectably and claimed an excellent one-handed diving catch. Thereafter Redditch regrouped through Freeman and Haines. They scored freely off all the bowlers and profited from 40 extras. With eight players around or past the veteran stage, the home side were powerless.

Hill’s late spell beat the bat several times, but all the edges or mis-hits tended to find the boundary and not the wilting fielders. In any case, with Redditch past 200, now was a bad time for the ball to start jagging at variable height.

After tea, skipper Dick Brown played his trump card at once, but the hard-hitting Price was bowled fifth ball for a duck. Hill and Brown dug deep and made a fair fist of the next half hour. Unfortunately Redditch had plenty of accurate seam bowling in reserve, so that Brown (29) departed lbw after seven glanced and squirted boundaries, and Jon Lewis chipped to cover after a breezy 14.

Roy Mayo (6) and Hill (36) struggled on at three runs per over, but the game was up. Haines (3-23) introduced some pace and bowled Wajzer and Wheeler with straight balls. Lamb (20no) survived the hat trick and valiantly recovered some ground by striking three fours and a straight six, helped by two changes of bat. Jamie Longmore (15) proved a useful irritant in the late order, and demonstrated his reverse sweep to applause. But Bryant was soon bowled and Robin Longmore’s torn calf muscle kept him off the field, so the Green finished well short.

Redditch 247-5 (45 overs; Freeman 71no, Haines 70; Bryant 2-22)

Barnards Green 140 (35.5 overs; Hill 36; Haines 3-23)

Redditch won by 107 runs

Thanks to the match sponsors Malvern Independents