Match Report - Earls Colne & Bures vs. High Easter 16/05/04

PDQ Cars League Match - Division 3

Earls Colne & Bures 250 for 8 (45 overs)

(David Coyle 56, Colin Bocking 55, Kev Coyle 46 not out)

High Easter 136 all out (32 overs)

Earls Colne & Bures won by 114 runs.

Team Sheet

The league season of the newly-formed combined Earls Colne and Bures side finally kicked off in some style with a comprehensive victory over High Easter, on a delightfully warm and sunny Spring day.

E C & B skipper Will Amos won the toss and elected to bat on a flat but low wicket and was quickly into his stride with a pair of boundaries through the covers, but fellow opener John Gibson perished cheaply at the other end. There followed a decent partnership between Will and James Lee, featuring cracking shots from both players, before each was bowled in successive overs with the score in the low 70s. There followed a period of calm with David Coyle and Mr. Slow at the crease as they looked to rebuild the innings. And rebuild it they did, taking the score on to 190 before Coyley was caught behind (he's always been partial to a little tickle behind) with the score on 188 in the 37th over. MS continued to accumulate, smashing a straight (ish) six before being ignominiously clean-bowled for a run-a-ball 55. Patrick McKenna ran himself out, bringing Kev Coyle to the crease who hit the ball to all parts, recording a tally of 46 not out off just 23 balls! E C & B closed at 250 for 8, an excellent team effort.

After tea, Keiron Webb struggled to find consistency opening the bowling from one end while Mr. Slow teased and cajoled with a lack of pace from the other. Needing to score quickly to stand a chance of reaching their target, the High Easter openers perished setting the stage for Coyley's off-spin. A wicket from McKenna, 4 for Coyley and 3 for John Gibson just about wrapped it up, helped by some very good fielding particularly from the youngsters. Mister Slow has asked that his pathetic and futile attempt at a caught and bowled, in which he threw himself full length much to the disgust of the two fielders who were waiting to catch the ball, be not mentioned. Suffice to say, the ball ended up on the deck in a melée of arms and legs but this was perhaps the only blemish on an otherwise good fielding effort.

Thanks are due to Danny Coyle who umpired throughout, scorer Kelvin Pilgrim and also David & Kev's mum whose name I am ashamed to admit I have forgotten, but who kept a neat and accurate scorebook the like of which has not been seen at Bures for many a year!

E C & B bowling figures....

And so the two sets of players repaired to The Spotted Dog to seek refreshment and to muse on the afternoon's game. A most satisfactory result to a match played in good spirit on a delightful ground. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect was the way E C & B played together as a team with each club's players contributing to the victory. The Bures contingent drove off into the night to be treated to another of Big Patrick's tales of life. This particular one concerned his activities not in an exotic location such as Cuba or Bali, but homely Hartlepool. I am not at liberty to disclose the precise nature of this particular misdemeanour of his except to confirm that a Doberman was involved, but I am able to confirm that, for once, that most sensitive part of his anatomy was not utilised. It is nice to learn that his youth was as apparently misspent as all of ours!

 Evening shadows lengthen at High Easter after the game.

Contact us - here