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Welcome to the official Boxgrove Cricket Club website.
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Sunday 28 August saw Boxgrove take on Pagham at home with the away team looking
to gain revenge for defeat only a few weeks before.
After heavy morning
rain it was a drying wicket and once again it was clear that it would be a good
toss to win. However, despite having an experienced tosser as captain, Boxgrove
came 2nd in the coin spinning contest and were put into bat.
In terms of
team news Boxgrove were without the experienced Chamberlain who was living it up
in the south of France but they did welcome back bowling talisman Matt Langton
as well as rising star Jake Bugden plus there were returns for stalwarts Gordon
Bailey and Jim Reed. However, for the third week in succession the line up was a
man short.
There was a new opening partnership with Kevin McGeough
joining Mark Holl. The going was clearly tough early on but with Holl up and
running, McGeough got his bat stuck behind his pad and was bowled by Kemp for a
duck. Bailey was next in and despite the fact he couldn't see out of his helmet
he survived to help Holl take the score to 37 for 1. The respite was short lived
however as Bailey swept a one handed shot behind square and was caught by
Cotterill for 9.
Boxgrove were suddenly in a bit of trouble and although
Holl was going well they knew much would depend on his partnership with skipper
Thorpe who was batting at 4. Thorpe was soon in his stride and the pair worked
well together to take the score beyond a hundred. Holl quickly passed fifty for
the second game in succession, his second of the season against Pagham.
Meanwhile, Thorpe looked well set to register a second half century of the
season against the same opposition too when he was stumped by Robson off Brown
for a very good 49. That left Boxgrove in a healthier position at 126 for 3 and
the scene was set for a cameo from Matt "Clubber" Langton.
From the
outset Langton looked in good nick, and after being watchful, he soon opened up
and hit the shot of the day - a drive straight down the ground for a 4 that
whistled off the bat. The running between the wicket was good too as Boxgrove
put Pagham under pressure. By this time the opposition had slowed the over rate
right down although credit has to go to Cotterill who was running back to his
mark despite 17 overs of fast bowling.
As the innings came to a close
Boxgrove had racked up a fairly challenging 147 for 3 off of 39 overs with Holl
batting through to end 61 not out and Langton being 14 not out.
In reply
Mant and McGeough tried to keep things tight but they had little reward or luck
as Pagham moved past 50 for no loss. Birthday boy Graham Minett (72) looked in
good form and it was clear that Boxgrove needed a breakthrough. To try and
achieve it, Thorpe brought on his lucky charm Matt Langton who soon had a number
of appeals for LBW against Brown, of which one was eventually given to leave
Pagham on 67 for 1 and it was game on.
Langton continued to trouble the
Pagham batsmen and he duly bowled O'Boyle for 12 leaving the opposition 94 for
2. The overs were running down and with Langton keeping things tight at one end
a draw looked to be the on the cards. Skipper and spinner Thorpe followed by the
hard working Bugden both bowled from the school end but with little joy and
Pagham were edging towards their victory target.
Thorpe was busy chopping
and changing the bowling to try and get another breakthrough but it didn't come
until Pagham wanted just 17 to win with 4 overs left. By this time the hard
working Mant (1 for 32 off 8) had returned and duly had O'Boyle caught well at
midwicket by Thorpe for 12. The game was still in the balance and an exciting
finish looked on as the game moved into the last two overs. However, there was
no scope for a comeback this time as the winning runs were hit through midwicket
off Langton and Pagham won the game by 7 wickets with 3 balls to spare.
Ironically Boxgrove had bowled exactly the same amount of overs but in half an
hour less.
So defeat for Boxgrove but honours even over the season as the
game almost exactly mirrored what had happened when Boxgrove had won at Pagham
only a month previously. Well done everyone.
Boxgrove 147 for 3 (Holl 61
not out, Thorpe 49, Langton 14 not out, Bailey 9).
Lavant 148 for 3
(Langton 2 for 41, Mant 1 for 32)
Pagham win by 7 wickets.
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