Rain thwarts a Mote 20 pointer

Alex Fordham lost the toss and his opposite number Grant Sheet invited the Mote to bat first; not a bad toss to lose on a pitch that appeared as if it would only get worse. With Hayes missing some key personnel, it seemed the hosts were looking to contain to set up a feasible run chase.

As per the last few weeks, The Mote began to steadily accumulate until Matt White saw a recurrence of a shoulder injury that saw him retire on 27. The early diagnosis appears to be an aggravation to his rotator cuff tendon and hopefully he will only miss one game.

The Mote then proceeded to set the game up nicely under Warren Jackson (29) and a classical James Hodgson (62) knock which allowed the Mote to accumulate late on.

With 200 looking like a par score, Chris Back hit an excellent run a ball 47 not out which was ably supported by the lower-middle order to end on a total of 223/5. On a tricky pitch, the score was probably worth in excess of 250 on a good track.

Despite not quite being at the races early on, The Mote had the opposition three down for 20 and the introduction of spin saw Hayes never really get going apart from Sergio Fedee (57 not out) who provided some hearty rear-guard action with the occasional eye-catching stroke.

On a pitch increasingly conducive to spin, the Mote’s Will Thirkell (12/1/34/4) and James Hodgson (11/2/25/2) bowled effectively with some poor batting. With the weather quickly closing in, the umpires did their best to keep the Motesters out there but the rain became too much leaving Hayes to escape on 134/9.

A win would’ve taken the Mote second but they remain handily placed only four points behind second with a game in hand.

The Mote this weekend welcome Tenterden to Willow Way who appear rejuvenated after a disappointing start largely thanks to overseas star Jacobus Du Plooy who has accumulated over 200 runs in two innings so far.