Forest Green C.C. 10th May 1998
By Justin Abel
Hetairoi 166 all out, Forest Green 120ish for 8 (both sides had 10 men)
The day for some of the Hetairoi began with a leisurely lunch in the Parrot overlooking the cricket ground, with an afternoon of glorious sunshine in prospect.
Match manager John Ball took one look at his side and promptly defected to the opposition.
The Hetairoi won the toss and chose to bat first on a low, slow pitch and a slow, if short, outfield. After a solid start from Mackintosh and Fenn, Wallis scored an elegant 45 before falling to an unfortunate run-out. The tail wagged effectively leaving HCC on 166 all out in perfect time for tea.
Matthews opened the bowling with Lindsey and started, as he no doubt intends to continue, with a double wicket maiden in his first over of the season (which included the inevitable lbw). This put Forest Green on the defensive and it needed Ball to play a great innings (which included numerous sixes over the short mid-wicket boundary) to put life back into the game. When he fell to Matthews in his second spell the home side could only play for the draw. At the end HCC were left needing one wicket for victory.