The Burnside Foxes (187/7) beat St Albans (140 all out) at Lancaster Park.
A cobbled together Foxes managed a rare victory this summer, with Matthew Everest at the helm while Dave Robertson was busy cutting shapes at Electric Avenue, and resorting to SMS to keep tabs on our progress.
Burnside batting first managed a solid opening stand of 64. Stefan Pienaar and Jeff Roy batted with confidence, before Roy was run out in comical fashion (No, Yeah, No, Nah Yeah, Bugger) for 34, and Pienaar followed shortly after for 27 (73 for 2). Everest was scoring freely before falling to a one-handed screamer at mid wicket, caught by a sprawling Graham Curgenven off Pierre Flavell for 47 (132 for 3). A flurry of middle order wickets saw the Foxes wobbling to 7 for 155 still with four overs to bat, before Hamish Kember and Scott Inglis steadied the final stages and brought the Foxes' innings to a close for 187 for 7 and no further loss. Potty Mason was the pick of the STA bowlers with 2/31 from his allotment.
In to bat with a bit rain about Saints started quietly but Gareth White and Murray Griffen both looked assured. Kember eventually picked up both openers (35 for 2), then followed a slow but steady flow of wickets - interspersed with the occasional boundary, sprinklings of rain, and one short rain delay. The moisture seemed to add a bit of life to the deck with balls nibbling off a length and skidding through quicker after the stoppage. Gareth Gibson nicked out Marc Wells for 30 shortly after the break (8 down for 86), which brought Mark Hampton (batting at 10) and Potty together. They offered stubborn resistance in adding 48 for the ninth wicket, but were always behind the required rate, and with Hampo being unable to move freely it always seemed a matter of time. Hampo was finally out for 28, and the final wicket (Daygo) fell shortly after with Mason stranded not out on 23, neatly matching the number on his shirt. Kember and Steve Twaddell were the best of the Foxes bowlers, picking up 3 wickets each.
It was nice for the Foxes to pick up a win, and both teams enjoyed an aftermatch chat - sharing stories about 'defeats snatched from the jaws of victory' we have manufactured over the course of the summer.
