Sun’s Out, Coombs’ guns out, Ollie run out as ones lose but our battle was never in doubt

Bramshaw 1st XI v Hythe & Dibden 1st XI – HCL Division 1, Match Report by Bailey Loveless

There are four things certain in life right now death, taxes, Joe Coombs not helping put up the sight screens and Tom Arnold losing tosses. We were sent into bat by Hythe on a sunny afternoon. A huge thanks to Kev Gray and Ben Arnold for getting our pitch into playable after all the rain we’ve had for seven months.

The side was in good spirits with Will Ridley making a well-deserved debut for the first team. Sergio D’monte had forgotten his whites so Jack Booth moved up from 3 to open with TA as we progressed to 50 without loss after 15.

I had gone to get milk to make the scorers a cup of tea and when I got back about 4 and half minutes later Arnold and D’monte were out as Ollie Vincent joined Booth at the crease. Vincent was quickly run out from a direct hit with Patel and Johnny “big calves” Murray in and out nearly as quick as my hairline is receding after hitting some much needed boundaries. At 90-5 with 20 overs still left we needed partnerships. Michael Kingston joined Booth in the middle and soon took us into the 130s. Kingston hit some 6s to push the run rate up before he departed for a quick fire 37. Debutant Ridley then joined Booth at the crease as the latter got to 50 before hauling out to a man on the boundary in an innings that held the team together. Joe “May of gone to Marbella” Coombs swaggered out to the wicket and started hitting bombs which pushed the score to 215 as he and the stylish Ridley put on a superb unbeaten 63 (Coombs 46 off 24). A brilliant last 15 overs with the bat had given us a chance in this game.

We then tucked into a superb tea by Helen Vincent with the sausage rolls being a particular highlight of the day, they were flaky on the outside and soft on the inside (much like our batting at Odiham last week).

Kingston and Coombs rekindled their opening bowling partnership as we looked to defend our score. The Hythe opening batsman took risks and chanced their arm as they moved the scoreboard along quickly until Kingston knocked over the powerful Gates for a quick-fire 49. This brought Keegan Fortune, their overseas and Cape Town Premier League player, to the crease.

After D’monte didn’t enjoy bowling down the hill spin twins Loveless and Symonds came on in the hope of getting wickets. The other opener was dropped a couple of times before eventually being removed as D’Monte took a smart catch at mid-on. Their number four was then stumped and friend of the club Matt Young clean bowled for 1. At 124-4 with over 90 needed, we had a chance but needed more inroads. Symonds then had their number six caught off a neck-high beamer that wasn’t given as a no-ball but as Martin Luther King Jnr once said “shit balls get wickets”. Loveless and Symonds finished up with a combined 4-67 off 18 overs to give us some momentum. The mood was positive in the field with Patel in particular motivating the team after hearing that his beloved Man Utd had won the FA Cup. D’monte returned at his preferred up-the-hill end bowling quickly with him and Ridley keeping the required run rate above threes which was crucial as we tightened the screws.

Fortune and the new bat Page batted smartly though and didn’t give many opportunities for wickets as they chased it down with 3.4 overs left to win by 5 wickets with the former making an unbeaten 67. Fortune looks like a key player for Hythe if they are to have a successful season. We battled until the end and can be proud of our efforts and there are definitely positives to be taken forward for the rest of the season. There was a great atmosphere post-game with Hythe sticking around for a few beers. Big thanks to Teresa again for scoring!

See the full scorecard here: https://bramshaw.play-cricket.com/website/results/6082699

Tom Arnold loves a BBQ and did a brilliant job as head chef for the night. A big mention has to go to Steve and Racheal Symonds for stocking and running the bar again, what they do for our club is incredible. It was great to have cricket back at Bram for the first time this season!

A big game next week as we head to Pompey to play their twos looking for our first win of the season.