1st inns Kings Heath 123 all out in 42.4 overs (Dan Armstrong 28, Gregg Arrand 19, Aaron Oliver 13, Jag Patel 10)
2nd inns Pickwick 124 for 6 in 40.3 overs (Rizwan 15-4-44-3, Josh Williams 15-2-38-2)
PICKWICK WON BY 4 WICKETS
Pickwick elected to field and were soon rewarded when Kings Heath stuttered to 128 all out. Rizwan was caught at short midwicket without scoring, Bernard O’Connor, opening the batting for the first time in the absence of a second opening batsman, resisted for a short while before edging a low catch to first slip. The ball appeared to have bounced before reaching the fielder but Bernard dutifully took his word and departed the crease. Aaron Oliver accrued 13 runs but was bowled by a straight delivery that kept low, undone by a lack of footwork. Later in the season Aaron would change to a wider batting stance in order to compensate for the lack of foot movement. Tom Salliss was out lbw, the ball hitting on the back leg but probably going on to clip the top of the stumps. There was resistance from the lower order: Gregg Arrand and Dan Armstrong put on the biggest partnership of the innings; Armstrong was in his usual mood of trying to smite every delivery received for four, while Arrand showed more restraint. Some aggressive strokeplay from the lower order dragged the Kings Heath total up to 123. The Kings Heath skipper decided that when defending such a low total, he wanted to Pickwick batters to face as most deliveries from the best bowlers, in order to make the run chase as difficult as possible. Rizwan and Josh Williams opened the bowling: Josh kept the scoring down to around two runs per over from his end, the pressure allowing Rizwan to make three breakthroughs with Josh collecting two wickets. At the 25 over stage Pickwick were 60 for 5 and the pressure was on. However soon both bowlers had completed their 15 over allocation and the change bowlers were unable to exert any pressure, allowing the Pickwick batters to score freely all round the wicket. Armstrong delivered several wides and was generally erratic. Wahid bowled relatively accurate medium pace, however bowled several front foot no-balls, which is criminal in a tight run chase. Jag Patel was introduced to ‘purchase’ a wicket with flighted leg spin, midwicket is a crucial fielding position for spinner and Salliss was placed precisely by the skipper. This bowling change soon proved fruitful as a full toss was hit firmly straight at the fielder and subsequently caught. There were elements of luck to the dismissal but Kings Heath claimed careful planning had gone into the wicket. By this time, Pickwick had creeped up very close to the target and Adam Badger was introduced into the attack. Unfortunately he bowled several leg side wides (a la Harmison) and the winning run came from a front foot no-ball.
