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A
pleasant Sunday afternoon at West End |
The five
match unbeaten run came to an end on the 28th July when Isleworth
Village visited us for our second meeting of the year. They scored 171 for 9
declared (Walliker 7 for 50 – including 4 wickets in one final over before tea)
and skittled us out for just 64 with a fine display of pace bowling. Simon
Bennett hit just under half West End’s total with a fine 31 in the face of a
very strong bowling attack. However, defeat was followed by victory as we
travelled to Worplesdon and Fairlands CC. The home side struggled to 72 all out
(Walliker and Barrett 4 wickets apiece) leaving us to get the runs convincingly,
for 6 wickets (Perry 52 not out).
Our second
meeting with Chertsey Rec was disappointing. After reaching 100 for 4, Hull and
Bates putting on 56 for the first wicket, we collapsed to 117 all out (Hull 29,
Bates 34). Then after capturing their best batsman at 26 for 1 the rain came
down. When we resumed the ball was difficult to control and Chertsey got the
runs for just the loss of 2 more wickets.
The
ultimate ambition of a batsman is to score a century, especially in one day
cricket, and that is just what Jason Walliker did in our next game, against
Ockham. His 103 helped the home side to 156 for 5, and was the first century
scored by a West End player since Alan Hull in 1984. He then rounded off an
excellent performance by taking 5 wickets for 9 runs only to see Ockham hang on
for the draw. This was followed by our most exciting game of the year at home
against Hamm Moor. West End batted first, making 63 for 4 before collapsing to
90 for 8, only to be saved by a ninth wicket partnership between Jason Stephens
(27 not out) and Mike Hills (37 not out) of 66 runs. This meant West End were
156 for 8 declared at the tea interval. Hamm Moor started solidly, 56 for the
first wicket and then steadily caught up the West End total. They needed 2 runs
by the final over and with 3 balls remaining struck the winning runs, Paul Bates
taking the bowling honours for 41 runs.
The
final meeting between us and the Lion Works saw two excellent batting
performances, 67 from Hull and 62 from Wilson, giving West End 206 all out, and
eventually wining by 76 runs. The final analysis of played 17, won8, lost 8 and
drawn 1 does not do justice to the excellent performances which set this season
apart from previous ones. The team scored over 1900 runs at an average of 112
per game, with nine half centuries and one century. The bowling was also
exceptional, with seven hauls of five wickets in an innings.
The
season drew to a close with two other events; the inaugural double wicket and
the President’s Day. The Double wicket feature six pairs of players, as balanced
as was reasonably possible, each pair facing ten overs from the rest on the
field. The batsmen carry on to the bitter end of their allotted overs but may be
out, and each time a wicket falls ten runs is deducted from their eventual
total. The first coupling's innings in this new type of game scored exactly zero
for their pains! After a tiring day's toil in the field where everyone was
spread out for the full 60 overs, the competition was was won
by Jason Stephens and Mike Hills with 60, beating Howard Turner and Duncan Perry
by the narrowest of margins, as they managed 59. The last game of the season was West End
versus the President’s XI, which is reported below.
Undoubtedly a season to be remembered.
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