Kirkley Sports v Drayton 27th June 2009

Drayton 168 (Kirkley Sports 153-9

Drayton returned from the long trip to Walmer Road with 24 points on Saturday after a spirited performance which puts them into 5th place in Norfolk League Division One. Drayton regularly visited Walmer Road in the 90s to face Lowestoft Railway and regularly came away with a heavy defeat, which names such as Lark, Cropley and Lark to the fore for the home side. Drayton were therefore delighted to be greeted by the familar faces of Terry Laws and Stuart Lark in the Kirkley Sports lineup. Drayton elected to bat and got off to a shaky start against Lark and Holmes - both openers dismissed inside the first 10 overs. Paul Eggett and James Reeve steadied the ship, but when Reeve was bowled by Cross, Drayton had reached 34-3 after 22 overs. Eggett remained typically stoic eschewing risk in order to ensure Drayton had a platform to attack from.

Michael Mario-Ghae's arrival at the crease in the 33rd over changed the course of the game as he launched into the home side's bowling. Lark, who had conceded just 15 runs from his first 8 overs saw 38 struck off his next 2 - Mario-Ghae hitting three vast leg side sixes. Phil Soanes also struck the ball cleanly - but both fell to good catches, Mario-Ghae for 42 (2 fours, 4 sixes) and Soanes for 17. Robert Reeve looked in good touch - square cutting his first ball for a sweet boundary, and there was time for a breezy last wicket stand of 13 between Ravi Dave and Fraser Dobson as Drayton closed on 168. For the home side, Caplin took 6-27 with his medium pacers.

For Sports in their reply, Laws and Lark made their intentions of trying to punish anything loose from the start. Lark was first to go in the 8th over, caught at point by James Reeve off the bowling of his younger brother - whilst Parker fell 2 overs later to a remarkable one handed catch at mid off by James Kay. By the mid way stage of their innings, the hosts had reached 77-5, but with Terry Laws looking in good touch. In conjunction with Cross the innings was rebuilt, however overs 25 to 35 produced just 18 runs as Drayton, and in particular captain Phil Soanes tightened the screw. Cross was run out by Andy Hawes as an attempt was made the increase the run rate, however it was not until Laws' dismissal by Mario-Ghae in the 41st over, for a fine 64, that the game was good as won. Sports ended on 153-9 - pick of the Drayton bowlers was Robert Reeve with 4-38 - Mario-Ghae took 2-37, Soanes 1-38 and James Kay returned a miserly 0-30. Drayton's fielding was generally solid - encapsulated by a bright display behind the stumps by Howard Davies (who had been dropping hints all afternoon about opening the bowling) - his catch, from a thick edge by a left hander, off the bowling of Soanes was the sign of a master craftsman at work.