KEMPTON CRICKET CLUB MATCH REPORT

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Got off to a good start again by winning the toss and asking Egham to bat, knowing they have an excellent record of scoring runs against us at Kempton.

Our opening attack Ken Inwood 5-1-37-0 and Mike Dart 5-0-30-1 (LBW) coming in for some punishment, Ken in particular being hit for several sixes which made a mess of his usually economical figures. Ken was replaced by Matt Loveridge 11-02-59-4 (1 LBW,1 Bowled and 2 Catches by Aaron Campbell and Mike Dart), Mike being replaced by Tom Broad 4-0-20-0.Fabian Saverimuttu 8-2-24-4 (1 LBW, 1 Catch Steve Smith and 2 Bowled) replaced Tom Broad and got us back into the game with Matt matching the wicket taking at the other end. Late replacement Kempton U13 player Thamru Welagedara 1.1-0-6-1 (Catch by Aaron Campbell) coming on at the end to finish the Egham innings off at 182 All Out after 34.1 overs. Extras 4 Byes,3 Leg Byes and 1 Wide. Another excellent performance in the field as Egham had gone from 32 for 1, lost two wickets on 127,two again on 133,two again on 144 before the tail wagged with the last pair putting on 31 runs. Our youngsters fielding brilliantly, Steve Smith solid behind the stumps and poor Aaron Campbell having a mixed day taking 2 very good catches having dropped 3 earlier. Congratulations to Egham skipper Gordon Bartlett on getting yet another half century against us.

Another early tea then with the possibility of getting 56 overs back. A solid if slow start by Dave Miah 10 and Aaron Campbell 3 was just what we needed if we were going to have a chance of chasing 183.Unfortunately once our openers were out, Pali Palekar 2 being dismissed between them, we were in trouble at 24 for 3.Mike Dart 32 and Fabian Saverimuttu 23 got us back on track with a partnership of 47.When Fabian was out Tom Broad 0 put on 4 runs with Mike, which brought Steve Smith 16 to the crease and a 25 run partnership developed. At 100 for 6 things started to look grim when Steve got out and even worse as Mike Dart and skip 1 both departed with the total on 101.With persistent rain and a storm in the vicinity Ken Inwood 7 Not Out, Thamru Welagedara 4 and Matt Loveridge 12 Not Out, played out until the pitch was in a sodden state with water coming up when stepped on and a decision to suspend play was made. At which point our groundsman made an inspection and suggested it would not be a good idea to continue on safety grounds, especially as the odd flash of lightning was still to be seen. Our innings came to a premature halt on 128 for 9 in 42.1 overs. Extras 5 Byes,2 Leg Byes,7 Wides and 4 No Balls.

A Losing Draw for Kempton, probably a fair result as Ken and Matt seemed determined to remain in the middle to go for the win as rain was falling heavily !

Thanks to Tom's dad Kevin for his support and help collecting the boundary markers and taking our scoreboard trolley back to the clubhouse.