With both sides coming into the match with 3 wins from 3, skipper Laud won the toss on a glorious day at Watery Lane and looked to show some intent by choosing to bat on what looked like a great pitch. The decision initially appeared to be the correct one as Earlswood got off to a flyer at 60-0 off 8 overs, with Narotra and Laud continuing recent good form with some excellent shots all round the wicket, the highlight being the back foot punches through the covers from Chief. Laud fell to Hussain for 18, and things took a rapid turn for Earlswood. Narotra and the new man Maynard had a huge mix up which saw Chief ran out, and Gary was caught at point the next ball to take Earlswood from 60-0 to 70-3. Johangir Khan and Arron set about rebuilding, and were making steady progress before J appeared to pull up and looked like he could not continue. Much to his credit, he did his best to carry on and Chief returned to the field as a runner. They managed to push the total up to 115 before Snipe steered a low full toss to backward square, and Snipe had barely taken off his first pad before Craven joined him in the changing room having nicked off for a duck. Khan’s innings also came to an end, with Weir following soon after. Earlswood had suffered yet another mini collapse. Colby and Callum gradually rebuilt, batting patiently and disposing of the bad balls before Colby was bowled for 19 by Aziz. George joined Callum and the pair continued that good work, managing to keep nudging the score along. Earlswood were eventually bowled out for 187 which, after being 125-7, was a great effort by the tail, but the team felt as though they were around 40 short on a good pitch.

In reply, Marston Green’s opener Masrat set about his innings with very positive intent, looking particularly strong off his legs with Khan happily watching from the other end. With the score on 37-0, Masrat had 30 and Khan 2, often mirroring how it is when Narotra and Laud open together for us! Bowling changes brought about no joy for Earls as Masrat raced past 50, and only when a mix up caused Khan to be run out did a small crack in Marston’s armour appear. However, this was firmly sealed up by Shah at number 3, who dispatched all loose bowling to the fence with minimal fuss, reaching his own rapid 50. The Earlswood attack bowled far too many bad balls on the day and were duly punished. Hassett returned to take the wicket of Masrat for 79, offering a small consolation as Marston Green reached 188-2 off 32.3 overs to seal a comprehensive win.

A day to forget for the team, and one they hope to bounce back from with a trip to an unbeaten Kenilworth Wardens next week.

https://earlswood.play-cricket.com/website/results/5188187