Izzy: the saga continues...
Sunday's match against Not Quite XI led by the formidable Izzy was an interesting affair. Skipper won the toss for once and elected to bat (or rather to avoid fielding in tropical temperatures). The bowling was a little erratic at first, but with the ball swinging around, early wickets fell to leave the Strollers reeling on 37 for 3.

This quickly became 43 for 4 and then around 50 for 5 as Matt ran Graeme out and Graeme returned as umpire to raise the finger to K*****. With the Strollers' 8th wicket falling on just 114 with about 15 overs to bat, all looked lost until Simon B joined his captain at the crease. He helped put on 51 for the 9th wicket without managing to score a run himself but demonstrating a formidable defensive game. The Strollers finished their innings on 171 for 9 having somehow managed to bat the overs out. Matt ended up 61 not out, and Huw made another good contribution to the cause coming in at 9 and scoring 17. Extras of 57 was second highest scorer.

Unfortunately, Izzy's batting proved too strong for a depleted field and, without managing to take his wicket, the Strollers never really threatened. Izzy retired on 68 (giving him a batting average of nearly 200 in the two Strollers games in which he's been involved, one for us, one against) and Not Quite XI romped home for the fall of just 2 wickets with 10 overs to spare.

To relieve the stress of being outclassed by the opposition, Graeme ("Scary" Stroller) decided to make a second attempt on K***** ("Baby" Stroller)'s life, by substituting a mustard pot for a cricket ball. If we could channel some of our aggression against the opposition rather than each other, we might win a game this season.

Matt Morgan
13.07.05

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