Garnham’s 3rd XI Blog: 31st May 2014

Preston 3’s travelled to Wrest Park to take on Flitwick 3’s in match where training shoes were the order of the day!

Flitwick, on winning the toss, chose to take first use of a very artificial looking strip which surprisingly did not alter in appearance throughout the course of this game, or any other, for that matter!

Flitwick took full advantage of home ground knowledge and immediately set about the Preston attack using an aerial route to avoid the ball getting lost in the outfield. Flitwick’s opening bat Nicklin struck the ball cleanly throughout a knock of 84 and never allowed any of the Preston attack to settle on a length of plastic which suited.

The Flitwick innings continued in a similar fashion which enabled them to declare at the end of the 38th over at 235 for 4. All the Preston attack tried hard but dropped catches proved costly with fielders complaining that wading through the outfield was somewhat tiring. Dave Salon proved to be the pick of the attack bowling unchanged for figures of 19 – 3 – 75 – 2.

Eventually all the Preston team made it back to the Pavilion, despite a couple getting lost and ending up in a nearby garden centre.

Needing 236 from a maximum of 62 overs, Preston set about their task with openers Fierce & Cabarge finding it hard to locate the strip. After a while, the innings started brightly with the pair putting on 82 before Cabarge was adjudged LBW for 36 (leaf before wicket). Fierce soon followed for 39 having coming to terms with the aerial route somewhat sooner than his partner did.

The Preston innings continued to keep up with required run rate but a wicket would fall just as a partnership was beginning to take shape. With the scorers sat on top of the pavilion and shouting down to an expectant Preston team a ball by ball account of what was happening somewhere out there, the Preston innings gave up the run chase and instead had to settle for the draw.

Good contributions from Nigel Baggs (19), Paul Contstoptheboogiewoogie (18) and Pete Bobbins 25 n.o. saw Preston through to a comfortable 185 for 6 at the close.