A fabulous 51* from Waltham's
Matthew Pinny was not quite enough to wrest a topsy
turvy game from the hands Weldingham but how he nearly
did it! Waltham won the toss and on a tricky pitch for
batting put the opposition in. After 20 overs Owen's
decision to bowl first was looking well as an incredible
Chris England bowling performance had ripped the heart
out of the Weldingham upper order. Indeed, England,
on St George's day ably supported by Gearing and Woolford
had reduced the visitors to 88 / 8 but a obdurate 9th
wicket partnership of 94 ensured a respectable total.
Once in bat Waltham batted sensibly with Connor reaching
30 but with the Saints passing the plastic duck around
in the middle order found themselves 9 down and looking
down the barrel. Enter Matt Pinny who with Chris Burge
in support incredibly propelled Waltham to within 2
of victory. Pinny's hitting was brutal smashing 5 sixes
in all, despatching the flagging Weldingham attack to
all parts of Oak Meadow. With 51 left from the last
3 overs a victory looked far from a realty, but this
Waltham team is a more durable unit than last year and
Pinny so nearly made it a fairytale for all watching
on the balcony. What a game! |