28.07.2007

East Preston - 172 all out - 45.5 overs - 6 points

Portslade - 176 for 1 - 24 overs - 30 points

An under strength EP side came up against an inform Portslade side on Saturday at Sea Road. Heavy overnight rain had made for a damp pitch and after winning the toss Portslade had no hesitation in deciding to field first.

EP quickly fell two wickets down, PP spooning up a catch from a ball that stopped off the pitch and Colin was bowled to what looked like a good delivery. Matters were made worse when Sean and Jack forgot that you are meant to call when you run and that  left Sean out of his ground and EP 3 down with very few on the board.Jack and Leon steadied the ship with Jack in particular playing some classy shots on the way to his 44. Leon was then bowled by a yorker and the Skipper entered the fray and soon sort to relieve his stress  from the previous week by hitting a breezy 41 off 27 balls. Jack and the Skipper were both out within a couple of overs of each other and Andy marshalled the long tail (apologies Joel!) to good effect to see EP pick up some additional bonus points, Praise should go to the 3 youngsters (under 14) who helped the 1's out (Adam in particular who was notified by the team secs at 1pm??) and stood up and held their own against the returning opening bowlers. Ashley, Si and Adam - well played. The youngsters couldn't quite see EP to 8 bonus points and the innings came to a close on 172. Not bad considering what had happened earlier in the innings but ideally a score of 200+ was required. Batting on the damp wicket had been difficult against some good bowling by the young Portslade attack but the wicket was settling down as the innings had drawn  to an end.

EP new it would be tough in the field as their under strength bowling attack was weakened further after the Skipper had damaged his big toe (wimp) after being yorked earlier and a good start was essential to put Portslade under pressure. A few tidy overs followed but the Portslade openers soon opened up with some lusty blows to all parts of the ground and EP's backs were against the wall. Jack and PP replaced the EP openers Sean and Joel in the hunt for wickets but unfortunately the runs flowed at a great rate and after only 15 overs the game had really slipped away from EP. The search for points continued and the EP skipper tried to turn his arm over but had to bowl without a run up ( no change there then!), PP was the only bowler to pick up  a wicket and no bowling points were added to EP's 6 batting points. The game was over after just 24 overs and just to rub salt in the wounds the returned victorious 2's watched the final few overs of the game.

EP were completely outplayed by what looked like an inexperienced Portslade team but they were given a lesson in how to bowl and bat positively. Portslade deserved their win and returned to top of the table.

A lot has been said over the last week or so at the club regarding player selection but it was not an ideal scenario having 3 under 14 players making up the numbers in the 1st team. Credit to Ashley, Si and Adam who all tried their hardest and did themselves proud but should they really be in the team?

EP find themselves in 7th place but just 8 points ahead of Scaynes Hill in 8th place with just 4 games remaining.

There is no league game on the 4th August.