Pacific continued to enjoy a successful season(w11 d13 l4) in beating arch Islington rivals Washington for only the 2nd time in 20 matches.
Washington 171-7 dec. Swords 36, R.Minian 42no, M.Alexander 4-31
Pacific 172-4 J.Davies 72* M.Ralph 46, C.O'Grady 25* T.Tidey 9-1-30-2
Pacfic's 1st home game against washington since the infamous Oxford game in 98, the Dame Alice Owens pitch had been well prepared if a little slow but there was plenty of bounce & the better bowlers extracted good seam & swing.
In an exciting game Pacific reached a challenging target of 171 with 7 balls to spare. This was primarily due to Matt Ralph and Jim Davies who flayed Washington's dis-spirited bowling to all sides of the ground. By the end, even anchor man Chris O'Grady joined in on the act with a couple of sweetly timed boundaries. Man of the Match Davies ensured a target of 120 off the last 20 overs never looked in doubt while he was at the crease. He gave only one chance, a routine skyer dropped by Wash Captain Dave Walker (capping a terrible day for the wash Captain who scored a duck from his 2nd ball & losing the toss), but by then, with only three overs to go and wickets in hand, the match was in the bag.
When Washington posted 171 there was some doubt too tough a target had been set. Washington had struggled early on (they were 6-2, 39-4, 50-5) against new ball bowler Mike Alexander who took 4-31, in spite of having to switch to around the wicket to avoid running on the pitch. Matt Ralph took a record four catches, (the 7th time an outfielder has taken 4 cathces in an innings & the 1st time for 5 years) in the slips (plus one off a no ball), including one blinding one hander over his head from a hard top edge from Wickers (6). Washington gradually began to reassert themselves with both Swords and Minian hitting towering sixes. When Wash Captain Dave Walker declared he surely thought his team had scored enough. How wrong he was.
Pacific Skipper Nigel Wilkinson said after the match, "It was an impressive victory for us. I was particularly pleased for both Jim and Matt who are playing in their first season with us. It was good to see the team showing so much fight. With key players missing today, it gives me great hope for the future strength of this club."
P: P Hollman M Ralph P Alexander C Jones J Davies C O'Grady D Roberts T Vassell M Holliday+ N Wilkinson* M Alexander
