THIS was what cricket is all about - two very evenly matched teams playing the game in the correct way.., and Fleckney coming out on top..
Ashby Carington batted first and got off to a flyer with the openers playing some big shots but in those situations if you live by the sword then you die by the sword and Mark "Chappo" Chapman picked up the first wicket of Bestwick for 29. Chappo, Max Potter and Chris Knight did a lot of the hard work of bowling the right areas and created a lot of pressure so when the slow bowlers came on it forced the oppo to take some risks - Frank Smith picked up a couple of wickets, as did Scott Roberts with some good flighted spin bowling. 4 of the Carington batsmen got into the 20s but no-one progressed to 30.
The 38th over of the innings was one of the most bizarre this roving reporter has ever seen - a treble wicket maiden for Fleckney's third choice spinner, James Sheath, in the only over he bowled - a fantastic catch by Chappo and further safe hands from Chris Knight helped the situation massively! Some might question why it took so long for Sheath to bowl but not this roving reporter..
Set 172 to win, it was vital that FVCC got off to a good start and to be fair to the boys, they did.. sadly Kav Shah went early but Jules Roger (30) and Mike Hextall (15) both got themselves in and helped FVCC keep up with the run rate. The key was partnerships and that was what we had - Sheath and Brijj Barot put on 47, Sheath and Chris Knight put on 26. Young guns Max Potter and Dave Stribling both came in and made important contributions and alongside Sheath, ensured that we got over the line with several overs to spare.
A day when everyone contributed - be that with the bat, ball or in the field. We love it...