3rd July 2010
The coin was tossed and the Manor ended up in bat first for the 3rd week running. Graham and Ali opened up, and soon found that the going would be tough with one of the best bowling attacks we've seen this year and a very dry Manor track looking to pop or skid on rare occasions. Runs ticked along, mostly due to some energetic sprinting between the stumps. Graham eventually however, got a bit frustrated and drilled one straight to cover for an easy catch. Naz joined Ali and continued to keep things ticking over before he also got out and brought Stevie in. Stevie looked solid and hit a couple of rare straight boundaries but eventually got bowled, allowing Damo to try and continue his run of big scores. An early shout for caught behind was quicky followed by an LBW decision and Nobby Snr was next up. Nobby and Ali worked the ball around for several overs, all the while pushing the fielders stealing extra runs at an increasing rate despite the sweltering heat. Ali began to find his stride more and more with some lusty shots and they had a significant partnership before Nobby finally middled one......straight to the bowler, for 42. At this point Craig ambled out for his first bat in a while, and with 7 overs left, were looking to scrape as many as they could to add to the 180 we already had. Craig timed some beautiful shots to the ropes, making himself 30 odd runs in the process, but the story of the innings has to be Ali 'One Man Army' Cheyne. In an explosive last few overs he creamed the ball for some obscenely long air time on several occasions bringing up 60 runs off the last few overs and a superb knock of 145*, having batted all the way through. The Manor had set 266 and looked to defend it in similar style to previous weeks.
Jammer and Damo started the defence as they have done all season, continually beating the bat and keeping runs to a bare minimum. Jammer looked even more threatening than the previous week, but again didn't get the rewards he thoroughly deserved. With the opposition quickly falling behind the run rate, Graham and Ali, knew they had to keep it tight and pile even more pressure on. They both bowled excellently and it wasnt long before Ali had the opposition in trouble. Wickets came thick and fast, Ali taking 6 in total. Guess it was Cheyne's day. Nobby took the last wicket with a rank wide to bowl Portsmouth out for 66 and seal another maximum points.
Man of the Match - Ali 'Glory Hog' Cheyne
Marvellous
Up the Manor !!
Nobby Snr