“We are losing in the rain……”
Windsor 149- 8
Lost to
Falkland 150 – 8 (Harrison 57)
Looking to finally start making an impact in the league, Windsor made the long journey to Falkland in the rust bucket/ minibus that was going to take them on tour the following day!. Windsor had wanted to bat first to try and get some valuable extra points, and were stuck in after losing the toss. The wicket looked in surprisingly good shape with excellent work done by the groundsman.
Falkland bowled impressive line and length from the word go and extracted some bounce and movement early on removing Noble in the 2nd over. Patel and Chorley made a determined effort to see of the new ball with their wickets intact. The runs were not coming and Windsor were 14 for 1 off 13 overs! Patel and Chorley battled through but Nutley removed Patel for a hard fought 22 in the 18th over. Huggins looked in better touch and saw Chorley fall at the other end. The game looked finely balanced at 88 for 3 off the 32nd over when the heavens opened. Tea was promptly taken to try and not loose too many overs. After the rain stopped and the square had dried a little play commenced with Windsor having their overs reduced to 44 and Falkland got 40 to complete the game. Weston started hitting some lovely shots showing us what he is capable of, and got a well deserved 43. Windsor were desperate to pile on the runs to set a decent total for Falkland to chase. Wickets fell regularly with stand in keeper Bullock, Murray and Sam all adding a few runs to the total. Hill and edge couldn’t get the final run off the final ball to make the 150 and Windsor ended up on 149 for 8.
Opening pair Hill and Condon wanted to make some early inroads into the Falkland batting line up. Hill’s line was a little off but Condon was bang on the money straight away. Condon removed both openers, both bowled, with the score on 6. Windsor got a taste that their might be life left in the wicket. Hill removed Bloodworth and Falkland were 24-3. Condon was replaced after his restricted 7 overs by Kellard. Kellard immediately got the batsmen playing and missing and trying to hit him for the big shots. Edge replaced Hill from the other end and frustrated the batsmen with his miserly line and length. Edge removed Rasman and Falkland were 62 for 4. Windsor fielding was sharp and Chorley took a good catch of Kellard to remove Harrison for a dogged 57. When Kellard removed Townsend for a duck Windsor sensed victory could be had. Falkland needed 41 runs off the last 12 overs. Hill turned back to Condon as soon as his restriction expired to try and gain some bounce and lift from the wicket. Falkland pressed on getting singles and 2’s to push closer. Condon frustrated the batsmen and Hill took a catch as Randall spanked one to covers. At the end Falkland wanted 7 runs from 2 overs. Condon bowled well but a mis field on the boundary, and keeping Kellard on to try and take the last 2 wickets proved the un doing as a single was eased through the covers in the last over with 3 balls to spare.
A good effort, real commitment from the bowlers, and the fielders. Windsor nearly worked a victory out of nothing. Windsor’s batsmen need to knuckle down and need to show some mettle to grind out an innings, on water affected tracks. Windsor are now bottom of the league, and we are losing games against teams that on paper are no better than us. Application, concentration and a resolve is needed if Windsor are to survive. Windsor host Farnham Common next weekend…..