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Fixture Details| Opponents: | Sudbourne Hall CC | | Date: | 2026-09-01 | | Time: | 13:00:00 | | Venue: | Sudbourne Hall CC, IP12 2AJ | | Result: | Won | | Match Manager: | Chris Megone | | 2nd Match Manager: | Clive Mackintosh | | Match Description: | Hetairoi 179-5 off 50 overs, SH 173 ao off 38.3
The 43rd playing of this fixture at the beautiful Sudbourne Hall ground (I believe only one cancellation) and we arrived to find that the only ever present, Rob Jenkin of SH was unable to play as a result of a recent knee replacement.
SH won the toss and elected to bowl, very much following precedent of this fixture down the years.
After a bright start with 20 off the first five overs, scoring proved challenging with Hetairoi reaching 90 after 30 overs. However, in doing so only 2 wickets had been lost and we were able to accelerate to reach a total of 179 after 50overs (surely one of the longest innings for quite a while??). Special mention is due to Mike Price who, after coming to the crease in the 7th over carried his bat to remain unbeaten on 84. This included significant partnerships with both Megones (52 with John and 90 with Chris). Eagle eyed viewers will no doubt spot that the order was packed with experience at the end of the order, who were presumably there mainly on the basis of their fielding skills (with the exception of John Ball, of whom more later!)
Because of the rather slow run rate SH were left c1:20 before the last hour, which turned out to represent a total of 41 overs.
SH started circumspectly in the face of tidy bowling from Will Ball and Ben Young, who picked up both openers. However, the SH No.3 Parth Metha (a pick up from the Sizewell project) proved to be a class act, particularly enjoying Mike's two overs of leggies and SH were soon well up with the required rate and reached the final 20 overs needing a further 101 runs with 7 wickets in hand. At this point Sam swapped keeping pads with Will Ball and then took the vital wicket of Mehta with the first ball of his 2nd over, the batsman playing a rather expansive shot to a ball that clipped the top of the stumps. At this point SH required a further 70 with 15 overs to reach their target, Another Sizewell recruit, Singh continued on the offensive, batting with a runner for an injury that seemingly didn't prevent him from dancing down the track at regular intervals. In the end the runner was his downfall as he was run out well short going for a 2nd having chosen the wrong fielder to take on!! However, at 140-5 with 11 overs left it seemed unlikely to have any great consequence. SH continued to chip away without alarm until the 12th of the last 20 when John Ball picked up two wickets. Still no great alarms for SH as they has kept back two of their best batsmen, including the skipper who between them took the score to 168 with 27 balls to come, at which point John enticed the SH skipper to come down the track to be stumped by son Will (whilst the batsman seemed unhappy with the decision, it definitely felt more out than in watching from the boundary). Now there was serious jeopardy and when Charlie Jackson chipped a return catch to Ben on the last ball of the 17th over 8 were still required from the last pair. Rather surprisingly a single was taken off the first ball of John's next over and the No.11 was the 3rd SH batter to be unable to resist John's offerings to become Will 3rd stumping victim.
Somehow a win for Hetairoi, but it felt very much like a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by Sudbourne Hall.
Special mention is due to Will Ball for three stumpings standing in as 'keeper, which helped his Dad to figures of 4-27.
Another great game between these two sides and we look forward to seeing them again next year. |
Postcode: IP12 2AJ Directions Add to calendar | Please login to change your availability or add a match report |
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