HORSLEY & SEND 194

OLD MID-WHITGIFTIAN 198-6 B Shorten 70

Old Mid-Whitgiftian won by 4 wickets Opener Ben Shorten rediscovered some of his best form scoring 70 as Old Mid-Whitgiftian comfortably overpowered Horsley and Send by four wickets at Lime Meadow to earn their second consecutive league win.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat but despite nine of their batsmen reaching double figures none of them were able to go on to post a score of genuine substance.

Mark Roberts picked up three early wickets to give Mids an early stranglehold and when Horsley captain Raza Bukhari ran himself out his side found themselves in considerable trouble on 57 for four.

A mature and patient innings from sixteen year-old Jordyn Dyer (39) helped to repair the early damage and with Jamal Khan (32) striking the ball well at the other end Horsley still looked capable of setting Mids a target which would have stretched them.

However, a lapse in concentration proved fatal for Khan who played across the line to a delivery from Malcolm Sales and was bowled.

Sales followed this up by trapping Dyer lbw to leave Horsley on 140 for 6 with all their recognised batsmen back in the pavilion.

Although the Horsley tail all went on to make respectable contributions, their final total of 194 looked unlikely to prove adequate on a fast scoring outfield.

Mark Roberts finished with 4 for 50 while there were two wickets apiece for Malcolm Sales and Tony Brugnoli.

Shorten and fellow opener Richard Piggin soon put the Horsley total into context as Mids smashed 45 from the first five overs of their reply.

Piggin (21) looked full of confidence after last week’s match-winning knock at Old Emanuel but his customary bad luck returned once more when Randy Gayle dismissed him with a brilliant catch off his own bowling.

Gayle then removed Patel almost immediately but Mids captain Stewart Sales restored order hitting 49 from 48 balls including two huge sixes in a stand of 81 with Shorten which effectively put the game beyond the visitors whose wayward bowling attack sent down a staggering total of 31 wides.

Some good running and intelligent batting between Shorten and Robert Warne took Mids to within seven runs of victory before both men lost their wickets in a late mini-collapse.

Gayle took two of the three late wickets to finish with 4 for 40 as Horsley briefly threatened to deny Mids a potentially valuable bonus point but Brugnoli and McSherry saw them home without further alarm.

Mids are certain to face a much sterner test on Saturday when they travel to face an Old Whitgiftians side defending a 100 per cent record.