Totton and Eling v Andover Cricket Club 1st XI (Sat) on Sat 23 Jul 2011 at 11:00am

Scorecard

Totton and Eling v Andover Cricket Club 1st XI (Sat) on Sat 23 Jul 2011 at 11:00am
Andover Cricket Club Won By 9 wkts

Match report Andover travelled to fellow basement boys Totton and Eling on Saturday and came away with a precious victory which could prove pivotal in their bid to avoid relegation. James O’Gorman lost the toss and was asked to field first but with overcast conditions and a damp wicket, Andover felt confident of bowling the home side out.

Andover knew early wickets would be crucial as the Totton side rely heavily on Hampshire opener Benny Howell and number 3 Simon Steel to provide the bulk of their runs. Openers Richard Taylor and Ben Robins bowled well without reward and when Howell had cruised to 42, and the side at 79 for no loss, a big score was looming. However, the introduction of swing-king Luke Graham thwarted their progress as the lofty seamer had Howell and Steel both superbly caught at first slip by O’Gorman. Two more wickets at the other end for leg-spinner Chris Hadfield saw the home side dip to 118-4 off 40 overs at the lunch break.

The wickets continued to tumble for the home team after lunch as the rampant Andover attack gave them no respite. Graham snared the important wicket of Rawlins, caught at second slip, taking his season tally to 19 wickets. O’Gorman picked up Beresford, well held by Ben Robins at square leg and Hadfield then followed up with a 3 wicket blast, giving him his first five-wicket haul of the season. The leg-spin dynamo, playing his last game of the season before jetting off to Cape Town for a work placement, ripped through the Totton line-up and ended with excellent figures of 5-46 off a marathon 21 overs. Richard Taylor was re-introduced to finish off the formalities and duly obliged in his first over of his second spell. With the home side finishing on 171 all out off 54 overs, this was arguably Andover’s best bowling and fielding display of the season, led by skipper O’Gorman who claimed 3 superb catches and was the engine room of the team.

The Andover run-chase started cautiously, but with 65 overs to reach the total, time was not an issue. Ali Hooper looked well set on 12 before being adjudged LBW and he was to be the only wicket to fall in the Andover innings. O’Gorman and Chris Hadfield came together to produce a chanceless 150 run partnership to effortlessly overhaul the Totton score. Hadfield played the perfect foil to the aggressive O’Gorman, hitting the ball into gaps and looking to rotate the strike. O’Gorman measured the conditions perfectly; playing each ball on merit, leaving the ball well and punishing anything remotely loose, including 3 huge sixes. The imposing New Zealander never wavered as he comfortably reached his century, ending up 108 not-out, and guided his Andover side to their first win of the season. He had to share the man of the match spoils as his partner in crime, Chris Hadfield, finished on an unbeaten 50 to compliment his five wicket haul, as the town side reached the total in 56 overs.

This win, on the back of a convincing winning draw against St Cross, has left Andover just 31 points adrift at the bottom. Another victory against Bashley Rydal at London Road this Saturday could see the town side close the gap to single figures, which will set the season up for a tense finish.

Andover Cricket Club 1st XI (Sat) Batting

Player Name		Runs	M	Ct
extras TOTAL :	for 1 wickets	0 174	(0.0 overs)
Ali HOOPER	Lbw BUTT	12		3
Chris HADFIELD	Not Out	50
James O'GORMAN	Not Out	108
Will PROZESKY				1
Jonty HADFIELD				1
Mark COPLESTON
Robbie HADFIELD				1
Richard TAYLOR
Luke GRAHAM
Phil BISHOP
Ben ROBINS				2

Totton and Eling Bowling

Player name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average	Economy
Benny HOWELL	23.0	5	38	0	0.00	1.65
Rushid BUTT	8.0	2	32	1	32.00	4.00
Sam WALKER	8.0	1	24	0	0.00	3.00
Simon STEEL	11.0	1	39	0	0.00	3.55
Ricky RAWLINGS	3.0	1	11	0	0.00	3.67
Adam CARTY	1.3	0	15	0	0.00	10.00
Mike KINGSTON	3.0	1	13	0	0.00	4.33

Totton and Eling Batting

Player name		Runs
extras TOTAL :	for 10 wickets	0 171 (0.0 overs)
Benny HOWELL	Caught O'Gorman/GRAHAM	43
3	Lbw HADFIELD (C)	30
Simon STEEL	Caught O'Gorman/GRAHAM	1
Ricky RAWLINGS	Caught Prozesky/O'GORMAN	13
Sam WALKER	Lbw HADFIELD (C)	5
Tom BERESFORD	Caught Robins/O"GORMAN	8
Nigel BUNGAY	Caught Robins/HADFIELD (C)	8
Phil COOPER	Caught Hadfield (R)/HADFIELD (C)	8
Rushid BUTT	Caught O'Gorman/HADFIELD (C)	0
Hakeem PEUZI	Not Out	3
Mike KINGSTON	Caught Hadfield (J)/TAYLOR	23