Railway Tavern strike first blow in T20 tussles

In the first of the two Twenty20 fixtures planned between the Railway Tavern and the Strollers this year, it was the home side who struck first. Putting the Strollers into bat on a glorious hot summer evening at North Middlesex CC, our innings never really ignited with only Matt posting a decent total (29) before he ran himself out - one of three such dismissals on a night when Strollers batsmen found all manner of ways to get themselves out. Eventually the Strollers innings crept up over the hundred mark, not least due to a shock personal best from Simon of 15 not out (including a couple of hitherto unseen delightful cover drives that were deftly caressed to the boundary) before the side was dismissed for a face-saving 113 all out.

A thunderous start from the Taverners' opening batsmen had the Strollers rocking on their heels until the dismissal of their skipper Alex James brought some much needed control back to proceedings. However, despite some impressive accuracy from all four Strollers bowlers used, the target always looked well within the Taverners' reach and - with the help of Reilly who carried his bat on 73 - their victory came in the fifteenth over. Still, a more asserted effort in the field demonstrated some fight from the Strollers which can give us some encouragement that our second win of the season may not be that far away.

Gavin Richardson
07.06.10

<< scorecard