Match Reports
Saturday May 12th
PINKNEYS 1st SHINE IN SPITE OF THE WEATHER
Saturday’s damp weather did not stop
Pinkneys Green 1st XI registering their first league win of the
season in front of their new pavilion against Yateley 2nd XI. Due
to the rain-delayed start, each team was restricted to 35 overs. The toss
was always going to be a critical factor in the outcome of this fixture as
the wet wicket had most bowlers salivating like Pavlov’s dogs. The honour
went to Pinkneys and they swiftly took to the field with Anderson (4-31) and
Razwan (3-45) leading the bowling attack. Yateley never looked confident of
attaining a competitive score. However, Muir Jnr (31) showed maturity beyond
his years and held together Yateley’s innings ensuring the away side
utilised all of their allocated overs and set a target of 111 for Pinkneys
to chase.
Pinkneys not only had to face the threat of the Yateley
bowling attack but also had to consider that rain might stop play. After a
tentative start and losing Lashley from the first delivery, the partnership
of Dhillon and Brant moved Pinkneys ever closer to the desired total. As
conditions improved Dhillon grew with confidence and showed an array of
quality strokes to bring up his half century and quickly put Pinkneys in
front of the required run rate. It was left to Fox to hit the winning runs
and continue Pinkneys’ impressive start to the season
PG 2nd XI vs West Reading 2nd XI
The new pavilion at Pinkneys Green Cricket Club is not the only thing to
have risen from the ashes. The Saturday second team, which had had to be
disbanded last year has been restarted and played its first match in
Division 6 of the Berkshire League on Saturday. The match against West
Reading Second XI was played at Reading University's ground which boasts
a set of covers so that despite the morning rain the game was able to
start only half an hour late.
Pinkneys Green lost the toss and were put into bat. Unsurprisingly,
considering the weather conditions, the new ball moved about quite a bit
early on. The ball found the edge of the bat frequently. Mostly the edge
of Richard Boulton's bat but either the ball flew into gaps or the West
Reading fielders failed to hold on to the chances. Boulton luck finally
ran out when he had scored 38. At the other end most of the batsman were
making a contribution but then getting out and it looked as though the
Green might end up with an inadequate total until James Taylor and
Arvinde Gandhe came together to put on 60 for the 8th wicket to ensure
maximum batting points.
A total of 184 was always going to be a tough score for West Reading to
chase if the Pinkneys' bowlers put the ball in the right areas. Every
bowler for the Green followed the same pattern bowling a wayward first
over before settling down to put pressure on the West Reading batsmen
who were continually seeking to attack. New player Gulfam Ur Rehman was
the pick of the opening bowlers but had four catches dropped, Richard
Boulton being one of the guilty parties returning the favours he had
been given. However after these early lapses Green tighten up and the
catches started sticking including a spectacular one in the covers by
Dalvir Rana off a hard hit cut. The introduction of Paul Rusted in to
the attack was the decisive point of the game. Bowling more slowly than
the other bowlers he was able to get more movement even with the older
ball and he cleaned out the West Reading batting ending with 5-19 as
West reading were bowled out for 124. This win means that after their
first league game the reborn Pinkneys 2nd XI sit on top of their
division.
Paul Gibbons
Captain Pinkneys Green 2 XI