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After a disappointing few weeks for the first XI, Bluehouse bounced back
with a stunning win against undefeated Herongate. Highflying Herongate have
been going really well this season, with two Aussie imports doing the
business with the bat on their placid home pitch, so Bluehouse entered the
game with some trepidation. Openers Simon Cooper (35) and Nigel Pegg (21)
got the home side off to a flying start, and with the score on 47-0 after 10
overs Bluehouse looked well placed.
The introduction of spin led to another Bluehouse collapse, and with only 10
overs left the home side had stumbled to 113 – 6. Crucially, Warwick Everest
(70*) was still there, and with the help of a spirited fight from the tail
Bluehouse closed on a defendable 199 – 8.
Buoyed up by Everest’s gutsy knock, Bluehouse took the field with more
purpose and determination than in previous weeks. Geoff Cox (6 – 0 – 30 – 3)
steamed in and removed danger man Manns with a beautiful out swinger
snaffled smartly in the slips. The home side continued to bowl well
against a team with top order batsmen coming in as low as nine in the order,
and crucially Bluehouse fielded superbly; the catching being especially
impressive.
Eventually, the game came down to wire, with the final blow for the visitors
being the loss of skipper Mahesh Luthra (35) to a returning Geoff Cox.
Words can’t describe the elation at the end of the day. A superb win against
one of the best sides in Division 2, proving once again that on our day we
can still beat anyone in our division. What we must now do is take this
momentum forward to the next two games; relegation battles against Writtle
and Great Totham. But for now, well done to everyone in the team for a
stunning victory. |
