A truly excellent replacement fixture & a truly crucial toss won by Nigel Wilkinson. Pacific down to 9 due to the absent Msrs Roberts & Korniek were relieved to hear that Nigel had won the toss & opted to bat on an oppressively hot afternoon.
On a 2 paced, up & down pitch, batsmen's patience was tested & shot selection almost as crucial as luck. Jim Davies as ever made his own & rode it. There was only 1 50 run partnership in the match when an excellent innings by Duthie (45) supported by Hollman (9) came to an end when Duthie was lbw on 45. Davies' chanceless unbeaten 57 was worth its' weight in gold as no one else reached double figures. Also to be mentioned in despatches - Nigel Wilkinson (2*) who with Jim put on a vital unbeaten 34 runs for the last wicket. Asith Qawi was the pick of the bolwers, his wicket to wicket bowling along with the variable bounce was the hardest to get away & to miss a straight was an inevitable dismissal.
The Horizontals' openers came out postively but partnerships were hard to come by. The first wicket fell to the impressive Shane Mundie, thanks to an excellent one handed catch behind from Matt Holliday - who kept well on a difficult pitch. The solid start continued, however at 38-1 Burgess was needlessly run out by Purcell's long flat throw & Duthie's alertness. Again the change bowling did the trick as Wilkinson rolled back the years with 4 wickets, 3 bowled by the wiley veteran's off cutters. The Horizontals were lead by the unshakeable Barry Needham (27*) as he rallied brief flurries with the tail - the run rate of 6 an over was only briefly sustained. But Davies' shooter dismissed Scally & with Qawi failing to make his ground back when backing up, Bastin's alertness finished it off with a direct hit - thereby giving the 9 a victory over the 11!
"A really good game and a really good win" said star skipper Nigel Wilkinson afterwards "And I think we have found a great new opposition to add to the fixture list." he concluded, before departing to buy a chateaux in France in readiness for hosting next year's tour!
IX:- Rob Bastin, Jim Davies, Adrian Duthie, Matt Holliday, Peter Hollman, Sammy Purcell, Nigel Wilkinson*, Jon Webley, Shane Mundie.
