Good day, good spirit, good pitch, great tea, fantastic batting.

West won the toss and, on a flat deck, decided to bat.  That looked to be a good decision as West cruised to 51 off the first 10 overs, with Skeemer  (57) in particular playing some great shots and using the pace of the ball well.  The introduction of Boddington and Bess slowed the scoring rate, but at 85 for 2 with 28 overs left the West looked poised for a big score on a fast scoring ground.  But Bess (4 for 18 off 10), House (1 for 16 off 6), Bolt (0 for 19 off 5) didn’t allow West to push on, with Bess bowling great lines and lengths to claim 4 wickets.  The reintroduction of Ziegler Evans and Dawe saw wickets fall and a little cameo of 2 for 6 off 2 overs by Gater saw the West innings close on 138, with West having lost 10 wickets for 74 runs.

Maunder (92 no) and Powell (42) – the two wicketkeepers - both batted fantastically, with plenty of singles and fours, and didn’t give the West a chance in their opening stand of 136.  Powell hit the ball really well behind point and nudged intelligent singles; Maunder just hit gaps all around the park, hitting 17 fours and two sixes (a total of 72 in boundaries) during his unbeaten innings.  His clips for four off his legs, a 6 over square leg and the 6 to finish the game were most memorable.  Singlehurst (24 off 5) bowled well and Boase (41 off 5) caused some trouble with a little extra pace occasionally, and it was surprising that the spin options weren’t introduced until the game was pretty much over.

Maunder and Skeemer deserved their man of the match awards.