FCC v West Wycombe
By Fulmer CC | May 21, 2011
Fulmer 185 for 8
West Wycombe 30 all out
FCC won by 155 runs
On another pleasantly warm Saturday afternoon, Fulmer welcomed familiar rivals West Wycombe to KGF. On winning the toss Tony had little hesitation in electing to bat.
Prash takes a breather on the way to a maiden Fulmer ton
Prash and Nigel made a reasonable start until an uncharacteristic mistimed drive saw the end of the latter. Tony joined Prash and the pair made good progress and 80 was on the board at the 20 over mark when drinks were taken.
Post drinks, following a yes/no/maybe/bugger! interlude and a great throw, the skipper departed the scene. The same fate befell Ian, the victim of another excellent direct hit from the same fielder. Ali and Steve quickly came and went, so the onus of posting a decent score rested heavily on Prash’s shoulders, and he did not disappoint!
Fulmer Cricket Club take charge during their innings against West Wycombe
He began to take a heavy toll on the opposition bowling, particularly on the leg side with some ferocious pulling which cleared the fence on more than one occasion. This enabled Prash to reach his maiden Fulmer century. Unselfishly Del, Jules and Pete all perished trying to push the score along. Adeel joined Prash at the crease and the Fulmer innings ended at 185-8 with Prash 102 not out.
West Wycombe celebrate a wicket during the Fulmer Cricket Club innings
A special mention here for our opponents who conducted themselves with great sportsmanship on more than one occasion, exemplified by their keeper who admitted he had not got the ball in his gloves when attempting to stump Prash after yours truly had already raised the finger! Well done keeper, a truly great example to all.
Whilst this was a reasonable total, given the high scoring nature of our recent encounters against our opponents, there was some discussion in the Fulmer camp as to whether we had enough.
Any such anxieties, however, were removed in spectacular fashion when the opening attack of Ali and Steve literally blew away the top order with a spell of bowling very rarely seen at this level.
Steve swung the ball prodigiously and Ali, with sheer pace and accuracy, greatly troubled what, we knew from experience, were very good batsmen. This was supplemented by Jonty Colloff running out their skipper for a duck with a direct hit from square leg. Many of us suspected that Paul had taken performance enhancing drugs, so prior to being awarded the fielding award, a post match routine drug test followed.
Steve returned a season’s best figures of 5 for 16 from 7 overs and Ali 4 for 11 from 8. So, in the space of 15 overs, a shell-shocked West Wycombe were dismissed for 30 with no one getting double figures… amazing!
Again, another lesson in sportsmanship from Wycombe, there was to be no post-match Tea Cup throwing, or locking of dressing rooms for tantrums. After handshakes all round, both sides enjoyed a beer and a chat in the early evening sunshine, with heady whiff of Steradent in the air, respective golden oldies Del & Les were overheard chatting about walk-in baths and Stannah stair lifts!
The captains handshake from Fulmer Cricket Club v West Wycombe
