U17: Horsley v Woking & Horsell match report

Horsley pile on the runs and then pile on the agony against hapless Woking & Horsell

Horsley: 215 for 3 (20 overs)
Woking & Horsell: 53 all out (14.2 overs)

Horsley won by 162 runs

For the first time this season Captain Collett won the toss and on a surface that looked true he had no hesitation in electing to bat. Hafiz and Stewart are beginning to forge a formidable opening pair and it was not long before W&H were to see why! Had it not been for some good early fielding runs would have flowed from the off. Both batsmen had a slice of luck early on in their respective innings but quickly putting that aside they soon started to find the middle of the bat and would make W&H pay handsomely for their errors. A delightful straight six from Stewart set the tone for the fireworks that was about to ensue, this was to be followed almost immediately by a gloriously timed drive through the covers for four. Not to be outdone Hafiz drove through the covers for four in text book style and followed this by another straight drive past the bowler. ‘Don’t worry lads’ came the cry from the W&H captain, ‘wickets will come’; well how wrong he was. After a series of boundaries these two teased the fielders with some clever running between the wickets; taking cheeky singles where the chances allowed. Having made a wonderfully entertaining 53 off only 36 balls Stewart went off to a rapturous ovation – well done Michael. If W&H thought there would be a respite from the onslaught then they haven’t met Trimming. It took all of two ‘sighters’ before Trimming found the boundary with a nicely timed flick down to the fine leg boundary. Hafiz was still making hay the other end and it was somewhat of a shock when he was caught trying to guide one down to the leg side boundary – 43 off 34 – well done Yusif. This brought Captain Collett to the crease, another who likes to get on with the job. Having hit a glorious straight drive, which nearly took me with it, Trimming enjoyed a slice of luck when the deep-mid off fumbled the chance. Oh how they would pay – crash, bang, wallop; captain Collett could only look on and admire as Trimming let loose a series of blistering shots. The scoreboard could scarcely keep up!! Trying his luck Captain Collett played early and looked back in horror at the dancing bowler who had managed to find a way through and bowl him. Hunt joined Trimming but not for long as the latter was about to reach his 50 in only 22 balls, indeed a four followed by a two saw him past the magical number and it was ‘Chau, Adios, I’m done’! Off he walked to appreciative applause – good to see you back Luke. Tim Stewart settled immediately into his stride and a sweetly timed drive for four followed by a leg side boundary meant there was going to be no let up for the fielders whose heads had dropped and by now could seemingly not stop the ball. Meanwhile Hunt who had cut two balls for four was looking for the big one over mid-off but could only to get a thick outside edge and see cover take the catch. Hernandez joined Stewart and his first ball signalled that this was another man in form. Indeed both Stewart and Hernandez looked in fine fettle as they caressed the ball around the ground and in the process mixed boundaries and singles with ease. The shot of the day came from Hernandez with a beautifully timed straight drive for four which like me he clearly enjoyed. These two added a further 26 taking the total to a magnificent 215; certainly the highest total I have witnessed for a 20/20 game at H&S…

Rose and Coppen shared the new ball with former bowling the uphill and the latter downhill. A tidy first over from Rose paved the way for things to come. Coppen, with a shorter run up, was immediately causing problems and on two occasions beat the bat and only narrowly missed the stumps. However with his sixth delivery the opener popped the ball up for an easy caught and bowled. Another tidy over from Rose saw the already high run rate start to climb but things were about to get worse for W&H. With the first ball of his second over Coppen brought the ball back into the lefthander and clean bowled him. It could have been worse still had a sharp chance at mid-wicket gone to hand. The impressive Rose was given a third and with good reason as with his final delivery he removed the number four batsman with beauty to dislodge the bails. The W&H innings was in disarray at 21 for 3. With Rose and Coppen out of the attack W&H may have thought there would be a chance to get on top of the bowling – how wrong they were! Isaac coming down the hill was extracting some exciting turn which had the W&H batsmen in a complete ‘spin’! W&H needed to do something to stay in the game. A few streaky boundaries helped but nothing to threaten the required run rate. Misra kept them guessing at one end whilst Isaac was playing with then at the other end constantly probing and teasing them with cleverly flighted deliveries and letting the spin he was extracting do the rest! A needless run out courtesy of some good fielding from Hafiz was followed by a deserved wicket for Isaac when Hunt took the catch at mid-on. It was but over and the next 5 wickets were to fall in rapid succession with Hunt and the impressive Tim Stewart bagging a brace each and Hernandez turning his arm to spin wrapping up proceedings in the 15 over.

It transpired to be a very one sided affair but what impressed most was that Horsley never took their foot off. Much of the credit for this should go to the Captain, Dan Collett, who again marshalled his troops well throughout and ensured all had a chance to make their mark on the game whilst providing the necessary support and guile when required.

Another good team effort – well done boys

Thank you to Jane Hunt for scoring and to Clive Stewart for his help both before and after the match and of course to you for your support.

That’s it.

Nigel