Silsoe Cricket Club vs FM Arthur's Cricket Club

Godfrey’s description of the weather as “wet” in the score book was certainly an understatement.

With the captain’s tossing up in the rain, Silsoe were asked to bat on damp and slightly soggy wicket no thanks to the rain (In the North East cricket leagues this would be a fast wicket…).

Our opening pair got off to a shaky start, with yours truly getting caught and then making dodgy claim for a ‘no ball’ – sorry, Lee. The Silsoe ship was steadied by Jon and James and the scoring comfortably accelerated. The resurgence was then followed by a collective effort from the mid and lower-order to help Silsoe get to a very defendable 124.

Silsoe took to the field and the bowling attack made it very difficult to score runs, with 34 tight and aggressive overs before bowling the opposition out for 100. The fielding was solid once again and showed what a difference solid backing up, walking in and chasing the ball can have on the opposition’s ability to score runs. Wednesday’s drills at the Mark Dobbs Fielding Academy are certainly starting to pay dividends on a weekend.

The last words must go to the groundsmen, who diligently prepared the pitch for us in the pouring rain, and also to the chaps who stepped in once again to make sure we had 11 on the pitch. Don’t worry guys, the football season is nearly upon us!