Rolleston proved too strong for another team in division 7s to leave the willowers right up there with a chance of promotion.
The cap’n rung the changes from last week’s performance; with Jake Edwards and Richie Bryan returning in place of Adam roe and Keith widows.
On a cloudy day, Ady won, yes WON, the toss and decided to bowl first. Opening the bowling were Jake Edwards and the ever improving Sam ford. Both got variable shapes with the ball, with Jake getting that extra bounce and fordy getting some to keep low. In the 2nd over, Edwards removed the very nervous looking Dalton for 0. Both continued bowling well and a massive appeal for a caught behind off the left handed opener was turned down. It seemed the only person who didn’t hear it snick of the bat was the umpire! (Or should I say his bat of batting tape!) The new batsman survived a few ‘jaffa’s’ from both bowlers before falling LBW to ford for 1. A belief was starting to grow that the division 7s strugglers could be skittled out for under 100. Mr. Capello then replaced ford and almost got rewarded with an LBW decision that looked a dead cert for the finger; only to be refused once again. Edwards continued to bowl accurately but the umpires decided to play division 1 rules and give anything down leg side wide! Another shout for a caught behind was refused as the left hander swung wildly at one down the leg side and middle it to the impressive Bellm, only for the umpire to call ‘over’. Dolby replaced Edwards just as the rain started to fall. Etwall then took to the banana swing and looked to score boundaries off it. Cowell continued to bowl accurately in which he then removed the top scoring batsman for 41. After drinks, the rain began to get increasingly heavy and the captain replaced Dolby with burrows, who struck with his 3rd ball by taking out the opening left hander’s off stump. 2 new batsmen were in and spirits were high again. Some good running by the batsman and some poor running by the slip fielders meant that the runs gradually increased before burrows struck again in his next over. He chucked a steak and kidney down only for the batsman to misjudge it and play on to his stumps. Burrows and cowell bowled well in tandem with each other before burrows, who struggled with the ever dampening ball threw down a full toss in which a warning was received. His next over produced 16 and a dropped catch by Cooke at mid on. The captain then replaced burrows with the in form Cooke. Cooke bowled tightly and produced instant results by taking 2 quick wickets in his 3 over spell. Cowell at the other end was rewarded for his bowling with another wicket. Ford then replaced the impressive cowell and took 2 wickets in 2 balls to wrap up the Etwall innings. All out for 154.
After tea, the captain decided to shake things up a bit and promote burrows up the order to bat with the returning Bryan; a decision that proved out to be an excellent one. Bryan faced the fast bowler and after fending off the first 2 balls, his off stump was removed from what seemed a quicker ball for 0. In came Denis widows, in which he and burrows decided to bat this innings in ‘shawshank redemption style’ by ‘helping each other along the way escaping from the pitch victorious before the rain came’. Burrows took to the pace bowler well and took a few singles before being dropped at deep cover; a decision that proved very costly in the game. As widows started to get settled, he opened up his arms and played some lovely strokes off the back foot against the slope. He and burrows began to work well together and the partnership began to increase. Widows was then undone by a Yorker length ball which found its way under the bat and removed middle stump. Widows leaving with 12. In came W/K batsman Bellm, who on his first ball ran a quick 3, with burrows completely forgetting about the accident which kept him out of last season. Bellm began to get forward to the pace bowlers but followed closely behind widows by also being bowled by the impressive Etwall bowler. In came the captain Statham who looked to help the confident looking burrows through the innings with words of experience along the way. Burrows took to the newly introduced medium pace bowler and started to find the boundary more frequently. The next over almost was his last as an attempted cut was miscued and went shooting in the air but fortunately the bowler called for it but completely misjudged the flight of the ball when the keeper was better placed. A few more words from Statham calmed down the young opener and he began to find it more comfortable once he was settled. Shots were played that burrows didn’t even know he could play and the ‘banter; that was being given to burrows only fuelled the determination to prevail in this battle. Statham then opened his arms and played some lovely drives in which were then contradicted by a beamer which caught him flush on the chest. Burrows played his way towards 50 and finally reached the milestone with a beautifully times on-drive which found its way to the boundary. This, the youngsters first competitive half century was recognized by team mates. Etwall then changed the attack and bought on a Steve dolby-esque bowler who kept the ball slow and low. Statham and burrows both ran well and helped Rolleston achieve the 100 run mark. Statham then faced the new medium pace bowler who decided to chuck down wides for fun in his first 4 balls. Statham then put him where it deserved and hit to nicely times drives to the boundary. The score continually increased and with burrows and Statham both scoring runs, it was only a matter of time before the game came to a close. In the 28th over, a game of Chinese whispers occurred as burrows’ score crept round the team. Burrows was in his 80’s and as he looked confident, he looked like the triple figure mark could be achieved. But in the penultimate over, Statham decided to capitalize on some poor bowling and; with only 16 needed to win, smashed a beautiful straight drive for four and then pulled out of an off drive which managed to clip the bat and run away for four. Statham then got a single to allow the impressive burrows to hit the winning runs back over the bowlers head and complete another victory for the willowers. Statham finishing on an excellent 35* and Burrows finishing on a PB of 95*. Rolleston – 22pts.
With momentum being gathered quickly, the green army looks forward to a tough game away at abbots bromley next Saturday in which a victory could take them to second place.