Result:  another glorious victory

Score:  Alts 169 for 7.  Phil Manning XI 129 for 7 Alts win by 40 runs

 

Manning Laws : Law 1, all players must resemble Paul Weller or Woody Allen, or preferably both

 

 

This fixture was played once again to the unique cricketing rules devised by Phil Manning. LBW is banned in this 30 over contest, every player has to bowl at least two overs and batters must retire on scoring 30.

The Alternatives batted first and struggled at the start losing two early wickets on a slow, stodgy wicket. The opposition bowling lacked firepower or menace but the dibbly-dobbly accurate deliveries proved difficult to punish. Gradually runs were accumulated, with Boden (36 n.o.) taking on the anchor role until he was forced to retire.

 

This brought the mesmeric duo of Stenner and Thompson together who happily continued the heroics from the last victory. Runs gathered at an increasing pace with the highlight being a magnificent leg-side swipe for 6 by Stenner. Both were retired on reaching 30 with 10 overs remaining, and the innings was well placed for a final onslaught.

 

The middle order stalled slightly. Goodwin showed remarkably precise judgement in deciding to leave a ball that passed between his stumps without hitting anything. Most on the field were stunned to see the bails intact but not Goodwin. He had calculated the unintended large gap between the stumps and, by spotting the error, must have known the ball would just slip through.

Unfortunately, despite this fine judgement, wickets tumbled. But then a late rally, led by Olliff (21) with some hearty blows, took the score to a tidy total of 169-7.

The opposition openers began steadily but struggled to keep scoring to a good pace. Mainprize took over the gloves behind the stumps and gave away no careless extras. Tight bowling, led by Gahan, and tidy fielding maintained a steady grip. At the midway stage the respectable opening stand was split asunder by Olliff (1-16) and Thompson (2-10). The inflating required run rate started stretching the game out of Phil Manning’s reach.

The middle-order tried to keep the game alive with some decent hitting, but as the batting became more desperate it played into the hands of the Alternatives. The part-time spinners Robertson (2-16) and Chappell (1-7) lobbed the ball heaven-bound and the wild slogging brought them a flurry of wickets.

The coup de grace was delivered by Mellowship and some smart fielding. Swooping on a ball like an unusually tanned osprey, he picked up and hurled down the wicket, leaving wooden splinters littering the crease and an unhappy batsman was run out without facing a single ball.

The game meandered to its inevitable end. Phil Manning defended his prized wicket over the final overs but neglected to score more runs. By the end, the victory was comfortable as the opposition finished well behind on 129-7.

So, what a season. Unbeaten after four matches and with soaring averages (Stenner tops the batting statistics with a mighty fine average of 69), the next game is eagerly anticipated.