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A lack of match
practice showed as a distinctly rusty Farley slumped to a 113 run
defeat at Old Alresford. Following a pre-season washout, and with
their own pitch waterlogged, Farley were delighted to get on the
field at all, and when Geoff Ramsey removed the home skipper in his
second over, it seemed like business as usual.
Alresford consolidated,
and it wasn’t until the spinners were introduced that Farley made a
second breakthrough, Jake Hand turning one sharply to clip the bails.
Paul Roberts at the other end also found plenty of grip and the pair
worked through the middle order, both returning tidy figures of 2-29
off 10 overs apiece.
However, the dangerous
Ben Stanbrook was still at the crease and having benefited from a
reprieve against Hand, kept his patience against the spinners to
shepherd his side to 114-5 with 7 overs to go. Then Stanbrook and
number 7 Connell detonated, clearing the boundary several times to
take the home side to 190-6.
Farley’s reply got
off to an unfortunate start as Ian Swain was run out early. Captain
Mike Covill looked comfortable before miscuing a drive and Andy
Coveney appeared to be in good touch before slicing a catch on 27.
The middle order fell in a flurry, and Farley stuttered slowly to a
second batting point before the innings ended on 77.
Better batting and a
more disciplined performance in the field will be required at home to
Amesbury next week. |