1st XI vs Old Southendian & Southchurch CC, 1st XI

Disappointed would be an understatement in relation to this performance as the 1's were easily brushed aside by the league leaders in the Southend sun.

Winning the toss, the hosts had no hesitation is trying to obtain the 25 points required to possibly extend their lead at the top of the table. Their batting was clinical as anything off the stumps was punished. The division's leading bowler was treated brutally, conceding 49 runs from his two spells of six overs in total. It was to be the first time this season that he finished wicketless. The first wicket went to Sam Bear, but that didn't fall until the 12th over with the score already on 57. Two more wickets fell for a further 12 runs, but that was as good as it got as a 93 run partnership was to deflate what already looked like a beaten team. Further partnerships of 38 & 45 comfortably took Old Souths pass maximum batting points and near to the 250 mark. Sensible batting and indifferent fielding kept them at five an over, and with opening bat Yawar getting past his hundred, the hosts completed their 50 overs with a score of 253-7. Three wickets for Tom Arnold, and two each for Sam Bear and Lesiba Ngoepe,

Application and time were needed to make inroads into the target, so following the example of the home side should have been a simple process; or so you would think. The batting proved to be no better than the bowling, with only Jack Newton emerging with any credit, top scoring with 38 from 30 balls. Bowler two Yousaf bowled 13 overs from one end, taking the first SEVEN wickets to reduce us to 101-7 and staring down the barrel. Mercifully, the end came in the 28th over as we managed to get one batting point.

This was meant to be a game between first and third. It turned out to be a game of men against boys, so poor was our performance. The team looked shabby upon arrival, apart from the youngsters who arrived in plenty of time but had to sit around and wait for the rest of the team. We just did not look like we were ready to challenge Old Souths, and our display was symptomatic of that.

Next week will define our season as we take on second placed Aztecs, who could potentially open up a 51 point gap between us should they win with only four games to go. A better performance may get us some way to being at least competitive. Gentlemen, raise your game!!!