Long Marston 1st XI suffered a heavy defeat away at the hands of Abingdon Vale, with key players absent for the weekend! Missing 3 of the most senior players, and with Simon Robinson standing in as captain, Long Marston lost the toss and with probably the youngest ever 1XI put out by the club , were put into bat on a difficult pitch, with a very wet outfield. The innings started badly, with inform opener Matt Wareham being dismissed in the first over. Tight bowling from Abingdon meant despite batting for 50 overs, only opener Andy Pierce with a battling 36 made any real impact with the bat and Long Marston were bowled out for 109. The Abingdon openers got off to a good start, but tight bowling from Simon McLeman and Adam Wells frustrated them, chances came but dropped catches cost valuable points for the team. Eventually Wells did make the breakthrough, and more good bowling meant Abingdon ended up 111-3, with Wells picking up 2 wickets, and McLeman 1. A 7 wicket loss for Long Marston and a disappointing result, but with a home game against newly promoted Twyford next week Long Marston will be looking to get their season back on track!