Caught off the Cobb – Effingham top the table

East Horsley 1st XI .v. Effingham 1st XI

Sun.13^th August 2017 – Village County League – Division 2

On a pleasant Sunday afternoon in Horsley, Effingham won the toss and elected to bat. A couple of quick wickets reduced the visitors to 8-2, but things improved following stands of 57 and 58 for the 3^rd and 4^th wickets, respectively. The two major contributors to this improved score line were Joel Stroud with an excellent 45 off 48 balls and Harrison Green with a patient 83 not out from 100 deliveries. The departure of Joel Stroud at 123-4 brought Josh Farrell to the wicket and he played his part in a 61 partnership before being bowled for a swift 24 off 19 balls. Another speedy 16 from Elliott Godwin and 11 from Joe Roberts helped lift the Effingham total to 248-8 from their 45 overs.

East Horsley set about their target with an assured opening partnership of 61, but this soon turned to 69-2 when 12 year old Tom Cobb claimed his first wicket of the afternoon. After a couple more wickets had fallen and with the score on 153-4, the run rate was rising slowly, making it difficult for the home side to overtake Effingham’s challenging total. Nobody could have predicted how quickly the game would end, partly due to bowling credits for Elliott Godwin (2-7 in 4 overs) and Simon Fuller (2-27). What followed was a period of play, including five brilliant close catches, which would have graced any cricket ground. An outstanding spell from 14 year old Tom Cobb, with a well-deserved 6-36, sent East Horsley’s total crashing and they lost their last 6 wickets for just one run, finishing on 154 all out in 35.2 overs. Effingham picked up valuable points with this 94 run victory, to take them to the top of the table.

Ray Pritchard