Match Report - Little Bardfield Vs Bures 07/09/02
Little Bardfield won the toss and chose to field in this clash, hardly surprising given the under-prepared and green nature of the wicket! We were soon in trouble. Amos and Wigan back in the pavilion and the score at 6 for 2! But Warden and Whitthread, that eminent firm of undertakers set about rebuilding the innings before the latter was undone by a ball which lifted off a length. Steady accumulation followed, with valuable contributions from John Harris and Si Ayres. Bures closed at 177 all out off 45 overs, a very creditable performance, with David Warden excelling with 70-odd not out. Much as we all admired David's innings in the context of the game, Si's was the more entertaining. One hooked six off the Bardfield opener went many a mile and was followed by another over the sightscreen.
Bardfield at once found the going difficult against an accurate Waterworth/Wigan attack. I must say that I am as surprised as the next man to have used the word "accurate" in the same sentence as "Wigan", but it is my great pleasure to have done so here. Always behind the required run rate, the situation was tailor-made for Mr. Slow who set a deep field and encouraged the batsmen to hit him. Three excellent leg-side stumpings from keeper Amos followed, only one of which was given by the umpire! This dismissal was that of the the Bardfield lard bomb, who inexplicably had chosen to play cricket with half a pound of short-crust pastry sellotaped to his head. Having spent one half of the game bruising his toes with his own bowling, his fully Neanderthal instincts surfaced as he gave Mr. Slow the charge. To say that MS saw him coming would give undeserved credit to the bowler; let us just say he was stumped by the proverbial mile. His young successor, however was a different proposition. Pulling and cutting anything short and using his feet to the slow bowler, he put the game within reach before Si Ayres held a stunning catch at long on to effectively end Bardfield's resistance. Bardfield closed at 137 all out.
An excellent team performance from Bures with no individual man-of-the-match.
Match result - Win for Bures by 40 runs.
Storm clouds gather over the pavilion with Bures at 6 for 2 against Lt. Bardfield,
but fortunately it came right in the end!
Follow this link for the latest Division 1 League Table.........