The Strollers notched up a fourth victory on the bounce today with a crushing 150+ run win over the Old Fallopians at Ferme Park. With conditions sunny and bright, Spencer naturally chose to bat first upon winning the toss and this immediately looked to be a good call when Gav sent the fifth ball of the match high over the midwicket boundary and into the trees for six. Richardson continued batting with the same aggression he showed in Friday's T20 and dispatched several more deliveries for four as the run rate raced along at 7 per over.

George too looked in great touch as he mixed cautious reading of Asquith's away-swing with some well timed boundaries from the other end. The 50 was reached in just the sixth over but a change in bowling with the introduction of left arm seamer Hosking had Gav in trouble and he was eventually bowled for a quickfire 30. Spencer, in at three, read the lefty's line somewhat better and began his innings with fluency. George too accelerated his strike rate and scoring continued at 7 an over. The hundred was reached without further loss in just the 13th over with both batsmen playing their shots with ease all round the wicket. But then, with George on 42, the Strollers opener middled an off drive only to be sensationally caught at short cover where the fielder took an excellent reflex catch - an unlucky dismissal if ever there was one.

The only blip in the Strollers innings occurred when Dave Couldrey, in fourth, spooned another catch to short cover, this time from the other end, and was sent packing without troubling the scorer. In next came Tim who initially seemed to struggle to find his timing but, after surviving a close LBW shout from Woods, eventually settled into a groove - the ever reliable Fowler/ Sturm partnership firing yet again with sharp running between the wickets interspersed with regular boundaries. The 200 came up in the 27th over and both batsmen sensed opportunities for big scores. With the hitting becoming more expansive and the running becoming evermore hungry, Tim finally reached his maiden Strollers 50 with a clip to square leg and then with just 2 overs remaining all eyes were on the skipper to complete his ton. Tim added two more boundaries to his tally before Spencer eagily called a single and with a big six next ball notched up his second ton of the season! The innings closed with the Strollers posting a huge 272-3 off their 35 overs (one of the highest totals in Strollers history!) and the team repaired to the pavilion to enjoy their tea with defeat seemingly inconceivable.

Any such thoughts were banished in just the second over of the Fallopians' reply when Andy Bates in his second appearance in Strollers colours saw off their opener Ellis when Jonny Kemp took a well watched catch at mid on. However, in delivering his first over, Bates overstretched and did his back in, meaning he was out of the attack for the rest of the game. However this brought Paul Bowstead into proceedings at an early first change who hemmed down the Fallopians batting and was frustrated with the denial of several good LBW shouts. Harry Brown, bowling from the top end, generated plenty of pace but with his radar slightly off, the Fallopians' second wicket partnership threatened to get their side back into the game with, for a time, their run rate of just under 7 per over looking to match the required runs.

So Spencer brought himself into the attack and the combined pressure of his bowling in tandem with Bowstead stemmed the flow so the Fallopians began to throw the bat, taking their score past 50 in the eighth over. Whilst the tactic worked to begin with, their luck could not be sustained and Paul made the second breakthrough, bowling Linda through the gate. Shortly after, having survived several LBW appeals from Bowlstead, Hopson-Hill was not so fortunate when faced with the Strollers skipper and he was trapped for 22.

From here it was really one way traffic with wickets falling with frequency - Bowstead and Fowler adding two more apiece to their tally (Tim taking another one of his trademark rugby 'mark' catches at cover) before Jonny Kemp was brought into proceedings from the bottom end - a probing opening over yielding instant success when he clean bowled Hard for 3. The Fallopians limped over the 100 mark but the writing was on the wall.

Young Daniel 'the closer' Betts was brought on from the top end and, after four accurate deliveries, claimed his first ever wicket for the Strollers, bowling Hosker round his legs befire wrapping up proceedings very tidily with Dave catching Castle behind and thus dismissing the Fallopians for just 116.

A comprehensive and compelling win then for the Strollers that crucially has brought the season's results back to parity (Won 8, Drawn 3, Lost 8) and with the side in such form we must surely now fancy our chances of ending our year 'in the black' for the first time in this writer's memory! Congratulations must again go to Messrs Fowler (104* and 3-11), Sturm (60) and Bowstead (3-32) but yet again the truth was it was another fine all round team performance that gave us the victory and long may we keep the winning habit!