Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. North Croydon, Sunday, 10 May 1998
Ground: Overton Park
Captain: Wil Scott
Match type: Limited Time
Toss: Unknown
Weather: Unknown
Opposition: North Croydon scored: 111 for 5 (41 overs)
Exiles Score: 163 for 8 (48 overs)
Result: Match Drawn
Man of the match: John Priestland 40 runs
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wil Scott (C) | lbw | 15 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Keith Roberts | b. | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Mark Bradshaw | ct. | 28 | 73 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | John Priestland (W) | ct. | 40 | 71 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Kristian Armstrong | lbw | 8 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Robin Airey | b. | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Andy Loukes | ct. | 20 | 28 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | Andrew Thomas | b. | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Luke Butler | not out | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Chris Bunton | not out | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Naren Patel | dnb | ||||
| Extra(s) 14w 17b 3lb | 34 | |||||
| 163 | 288 | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Thomas | 11.0 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Naren Patel | 7.0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Luke Butler | 7.0 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | Chris Bunton | 11.0 | 0 | 47 | 3 | 15.7 |
| 5 | Robin Airey | 5.0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Player | Catch | Run Out | Stumping | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Priestland (W) | 1 | 1 |
The Exiles encountered unbelievably poor conditions in their first game of the season at Sutton, the outfield resembling something one would find livestock grazing on. The grass had obviously not been cut for a number of weeks. If such poor service from Sutton Council continues, we will seriously have to think about looking for a new home ground.
Keith Roberts and Wil Scott opened against some very probing bowling from North Croydon, and Keith completed a miserable weekend when he was bowled without troubling the scorers. Wil and Mark Bradshaw both batted steadily, with fours almost impossible to score, before Wil was lbw for 15 to leave the innings in the balance at 38 for 2. However, John Priestland partnered Mark Bradshaw in a stand of 56 before Bradshaw mistimed a drive to cover for 28 (which included no fours). John Priestland continued to bat well as wickets began to fall. Indeed, John was the first batsman to manage to score a four. John was finally dismissed for 40, which in the conditions was worth at least 60. The main run-scorer for the rest of the Exiles was Andy Loukes who weighed in with a positive 20, as the Exiles closed on 163 for 8. In these conditions this was worth 200. However, the Exiles should have been grateful for the large number of extras conceded by North Croydon, who otherwise bowled quite reasonably.
The North Croydon openers batted very well to weather the early storm from Andrew Thomas and Naren Patel. Both Naren and Andrew bowled well with no luck at all. Special thanks should go to Naren for turning out for the Exiles when he had originally only come to the ground to bring the kit-bag.
Chris Bunton made the first breakthrough for the Exiles dismissing both openers in quick succession as they looked to increase their scoring rate. It was very difficult for the batsmen to score quickly on such an appalling outfield, and it soon became apparent that North Croydon had little chance of reaching their target. Bunton took another wicket with his dolly-mixtures to finish with 3 for 47. It was left only for Butler and Airey both to earn a wicket each in good bowling spells as North Croydon finished on 112 for 5.
Energy Exiles remain unbeaten after three games. Probably the most satisfying feature of the season so far has been the way in which we have operated well as a team with everyone contributing something. We seem to be relying less on one or two “stars”, with other members of the team improving and more than justifying their places. Man of the match against North Croydon was John Priestland for his excellent innings and a steady performance behind the stumps.
Report By: Mark Bradshaw