We lost the toss and Papplewick & Linby CC elected to bat first, on what looked to be a great track and in glorious weather. The team got together and, like every week, decided to apply their philosophy of just going out with smiles on their faces and enjoying it.

Opening our bowling, Jasper Dennison (7 overs 1-11) and Dan Fotheringham (6 overs 3-23) got us off to a great start. Dan bowled their opener with his first ball, got their other opener with an outstanding catch from Matt Lyon in his second over, and with the very next ball he got his third wicket, thanks to a superb slip catch from Evan Bownes. Unfortunately, the hat trick wasn't to be, but as said earlier this excellent bowling display got us off to a great start - reducing Papplewick & Linby CC to 17-3! Jasper then bowled their number 3 batsmen, applying further pressure to the opposition at 23-4. At this point, we were clearly in the driving seat and couldn’t believe it after thinking we were in for a long afternoon of chasing leather in the heat!
Our first change bowlers, Callum Edwards (8 overs 1-33) and Tim Beer (8 overs 1-23) bowled well and were able to pick up a wicket apiece. At the halfway point, Papplewick & Linby CC were at 62 runs with 6 wickets down. Their middle-order batsmen started to steady the ship, batting really well and getting their score up to 106 before the next wicket fell. Matt Lyon caught one behind the stumps off of Finlay Allison's (4 overs 1-14) bowling - a crucial wicket as he was picking up runs. Coming on at the end, Evan Bownes (2 overs 1-7), Tom Paintain (2 overs 0-10) and Darren Edwards (3 overs 0-12), also all bowled well. Papplewick & Linby CC finished on 143-9!
It was tough in the heat, but we worked well as a collective to limit the opposition to a reachable target as long as we batted with focus.

This plan didn't work out, as our innings didn't start as we'd have liked. Our opening batsmen, Matt Lyon (0) and Steve Sleight (1) didn't hang around in the middle for long as the scoreboard displayed 2-2. Now, the target of 144 was looking a long way away...
Dan Fotheringham (7) and Evan Bownes (17), fresh from their 50s last week, stabilised our innings by taking us to 27 before Dan was caught out. Charlie Shelton (44) took to the crease and played absolutely brilliantly, performing well in front of his on-looking family. Evan was the next to fall, followed by his replacement Jasper Dennison (10). Callum Edwards (9) and Finlay Allison (6) hit three nice boundary fours between them but were unable to get into double figures. At 87-7, Papplewick & Linby CC were the favourites and we felt as if we were in trouble.
Darren Edwards (19*) joined star of the show, Charlie, and together put just shy of 30 runs on to the total before Charlie was bowled for an outstanding 44 runs. At 115-8 with about 10 overs left, Tim Beer (12*) joined Darren and confidently said that between the two of them this is achievable. By playing very sensibly and just punishing the bad balls, they did it!

A fourth win on the bounce for the 2nd XI puts them up to second place in the division four league table. This is down to the entire team, who play for and support each other, which is shown in the performances.

There is no fixture for the 2nd XI next weekend, so their next game is at home to Waleswood Sports CC in a fortnights time on the 26th of June.