The intrepid 8 of Hetairoi turned up to play the 11 of Oriel College today and lost. Oriel all out 139, and Hetairoi all out 102. But that was only part of the story.
 
As we knew that we would be down to seven as of 6pm (David Freedman having played on condition that he was released early), we decided to field on winning the toss. It was a slow pitch and an even slower outfield.
 
Varun and Mike Price opened the bowling, with three substitute fielders provided by Oriel. Varun bowled well and accurately, getting two early wickets bowled. Mike Price was unlucky early, having a very easy catch dropped by one of the substitutes, and passing the edge several times. But he found it hard not to overpitch and their opener took full advantage of some full tosses. The opener made a good 51 before missing a straight one from Amir bowling at a good pace in place of Varun with the wind. Michael Dacre then replaced Mike Price for a few overs of gentler fare, before the tail subsided quickly.
 
Given the quality of the lower order batting, we were confident of victory, and that optimism lasted with an opening partnership of 56 between Penington and Freedman, before Penington hit the ball towards the fieldsman who had dropped two absolute sitters when fielding for us, and shown no sign of catching anything even lobbed to him in the field. However, on this occasion he juggled it and caught it. Freedman was soon out as it was his appointed departure hour, and hopes rested on a good partnership between Laurie and Price. At 85-2, things were looking good, with Laurie hitting four fours in an over through the leg side. Unfortunately, Laurie then suffered a rush of blood and was out bowled swinging at a straight one. Things went from bad to worse, as Amir was caught at slip, and Varun hit his first ball straight up in the air to the bowler.
 
This left Michael Price with the tail and still 43 to get. Mike hit a couple of lusty blows, but in trying to keep the strike caught a leading edge and was caught at midwicket. The last man did not last long, and Oriel's joy was complete.
 
It was a shame more members were not able to play. The students were very pleasant, the weather was mostly sunny, and we had a nice day out. In the end, a couple more players would have made all the difference.
 
Bowling figures
Varun  6-0-25-2
Price  9-1-31-1
Amir  12-1-36-3
Dacre  5-0-25-0
Penington   4-1-9-4
 
Batting
Penington   28
Freedman    17
Laurie           26
Price            16
Amir             3
Varun            0
Bagg         2
Dacre      1no