Fletcher, Christian Bring Home the Bounty

Once again Park took to the field in grim conditions opting to bowl in a steady drizzle down at the South Bank University grounds in Dulwich. Paul Moss and Craig Partridge opened the bowling, but for once there was no early breakthrough as both opening bats looked very comfortable, driving confidently to the boundary with a foreboding regularity. A change in length by the wily Moss though, resulted straight away in a wicket, edging behind to stand in keeper Gannon to have the Old Joe's on 52 for 1. Not to be outdone young Craig then clean bowled the other opener with a beauty without another run being added. Unfortunately this was to be the only wicket to fall for another 74 runs as OJ's number 4 set about the Park bowling, peppering the square leg and straight boundaries with class shots. Change bowlers Dave Partridge and Terry Shannon attempted to stem the tide but were let down by some poor Park catching with Gannon, Moss and O'Mahoney all guilty, although the constant rain were making the ball more like a bar of soap at times. After threatening a couple of times, Shannon finally trapped the no.3 bat plumb LBW. and Old Joes were on 126 for 3. The breakthrough did not halt the run rate though and another 81 runs were added before Joes no.4 was finally out, bowled by Craig for 99, letting Gannon off the hook who'd dropped him on the previous ball. Josephians promptly declared a few balls early on 207 for 4 off 39.5 overs and the weary Park fielders went off for a well earned cup of tea.

Once again needing to score 200+ to win, Park opened up with Alan Horton and Christian O'Mahoney looking for the positive start that was going to be needed if they were going to get anywhere near the target. The tactic paid off from the word go with Chris hitting the first ball for 4, and proceeding to drive and cut the openers for boundary after boundary. Alan was also going gung ho at the other end, finding the boundary regularly and pushing the singles into the gaps. This superb opening stand was only ended when Alan was caught still trying to push the pace for a cracking 24 and Park well set on 80 for 1. Big Boy Kenny Robotham came in at no.3 to maintain the aggression and was soon into his stride too hitting some powerful fours. All the while Chris was maintaining his assault on the Old Joes bowlers and driving the fielders to distraction with one day style running. Needless to say the weather had totally cleared up when Park came into bat. Kenny eventually popped a return catch to the bowler to depart for an excellent knock of 23 and Park were now looking good on 152 for 2. Dave Fletcher came in at an unaccustomed no.4 and looked like he'd batted there all his life. I think Dave had had a look at all the quick running going on in the middle (and the state of Al Horton when he came off !) and decided to just hit boundaries instead, as he set about a superb display of pinch hitting. Christian duly collected his maiden Park century with aplomb, to rave applause from the Park bench. Chris was finally bowled for a brilliant 118, and left Park in the unbeatable position of 199 for 3. Dave Robotham replaced came out att no.5 but was unfortunate to be brilliantly caught in the deep for a duck, giving Park the jitters at 200 for 5. A nervous Paul Thompson went out into the classic Prospect Park hiding to nothing position and he and Fletch saw the team home with two overs to spare. Park making 208 for 4 off 36.2 overs, with Dave Fletcher 27 n.o. and Thommo 7 n.o.

Despite once again getting the worst of the conditions, and having no answer to some very strong Old Joe's batting, Park hit another big score to win against the odds. Although one player dominated each innings Park batted well in partnerships, the first three of which scored 80, 72 and 47. Park could probably have done with one extra bowler to share the load but stuck to their task even though heads went down a bit in the field.

Only one man in the mix today, Christian O'Mahoney for a superb display of power hitting and aggressive running. he attacked the Old Joe's bowling right from the start to ensure that Park stayed up with the run rate, and all the other batsmen took their lead from him. Congratulations on a first Park century Chris!