Not enough runs

Losing the toss is becoming a bit of a habit for Liphook, and Grayswood put the home team into bat first. Captain for the day John 'Curtly' Strong scored 16 with his usual flair and elegance before being out LBW, but he found support at the other end hard to come by as Tom Evans (0) and Ross Seavill (2) came and went. When Strong was out, Liphook were 26/3 and the warning bells were ringing loudly and clearly. Liphook were 33/4 when Mark Gilder was out for 1, and it was the Grimes twins who were to add some respectability to the scoreboard with Liphook's highest partnership of the game. Richard was out first for 22 and Jordan Henderson added another 15, but Liphook suffered a collapse as Henderson (7), Andy Grimes (20) and Charlie Cuervo Moraga (2) were out, taking Liphook from 84/5 to 90/8. The tail wagged briefly with Frank Tickle and Will Longlands both scoring 8, but even with 23 extras, Liphook's score of 109 was never going to be enough. Daniel Plummer (2/8), Richard Rigden (2/7) and Simon Beckett (3/14) were the standout bowlers for Grayswood, but the bowling team gave very little away and kept Liphook tightly under their thumbs. In reply, Liphook briefly thought they might have a glimmer of a chance when two wickets fell with the score on 23, but Richard Rigden (44) , James Howard (21) and Will Cresswell (20 not out) saw Grayswood reach the target in the 27th over for the loss of four wickets. After the previously successful start to the season, we can see why John was sacked as Captain a couple of years ago, and Skipper Al will be hoping for a better performance next week when Mr Tickle will be expecting to move up the batting order.