Waverley pass Hawley test

Chuckie's betrayal benefits visitors...

It was a clash of the titans deviants as Waverley took on Hawley, with the visitors having poached a couple of Hawley players in recent seasons. Turncoat Dan Litwin ("Chuckie") was joined by James Wright ("Mongo"), Chris Beanland ("Beanie"), Marcus Carmichael ("MC"), Simon Brewer ("KV"), Adrian Day ("Mog"), Andy du Gay ("Daddy Doogs"), Andy Rooke ("Mr Belvedere"), Toby Elborough ("Stokesy"), Adam Carmichael ("AC") and Laura Brewer ("Loz"). Mog's delayed arrival saw Kyle Moxham ("Kylo") deputise for the first hour of play.

Having asserted that he'd win the toss and bat first, Mongo promptly lost the toss and Waverley took to the field. However, this proved to be a tactical masterstroke on Mongo's part as Hawley were two wickets down after two overs, Chuckie shattering Bayly's stumps with a full toss and Mr Belvedere castling MacGregor. Chuckie then removed Durston and T Heighes in consecutive overs, rounding off his six over spell by seeing Sinclair caught behind by MC. From the other end, Mr Belvedere produced a masterclass in spin bowling that caused Hawley's batsmen plenty of problems, even though a further wicket wasn't forthcoming. With twelve overs gone, the hosts were in all sorts of trouble at 34-5.

Mongo shuffled his pack by introducing Stokesy and AC to the fray, with Stokesy's pace continuing to make life difficult for the batsmen. From the other end, AC bowled with unerring accuracy and had Wenham trapped LBW in his second over. The new pair of Miles and Adams looked content to occupy the crease, which resulted in AC bowling six consecutive maidens and saw Waverley maintain their stranglehold on the run rate. More bowling changes saw the introduction of Daddy Doogs and he struck in his first over, a superb diving catch from Stokesy getting rid of Adams - he followed this up three balls later as T Mortiboys holed out to Mr Belvedere. During this time, Miles had been accumulating runs that had dragged the home side towards a defendable total; however his luck ran out on 42 when he was castled by Mog. When he bowled skipper A Mortiboys in his next over, Hawley were all out for 132.

Tea was a splendid affair and a chance for the players to catch up with the numerous supporters who turned out for the came, 24 being in attendance at one point (including Chris Scarth and family from the USA and a Waverley debut for Alice Carmichael). Suitably refreshed, Waverley looked to finish the job on a wicket that had been a touch lively during the home side's innings. Run scoring was hard going and the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals - Beanie and MC were both castled for eight apiece, while KV only managed eleven (although it did include a mighty six). However, Mongo was once again playing a captain's innings and made 65 vital runs before attempting one expansive shot too many. At the point of his dismissal, Waverley were 100-4 but still had plenty of overs in hand. The departure of Mog shortly afterwards threatened to topple the visitors into one of their trademark batting collapses; but vital cameos from Chuckie and Daddy Doogs brought Waverley to within touching distance of victory. A four straight back down the ground from Mr Belvedere was enough to see Waverley home, a three wicket win with eight overs to spare.

The post-match awards saw a clean sweep for Chuckie: the Man of the Match Hat for his four wickets; the Pink T-shirt for complaining about an injured hand; and the *Anchor Hat for arrogantly assuming he was in with a shout of being named Man of the Match ("when are the awards, skipper?").