Willoughby 2nd XI V Woodford 1st XI

Another glorious day down the A361 saw the 2nds take the trip to Woodford Halse in a top of the table clash.

Skipper Badj Raham called heads and won yet another toss. With a strong batting lineup he had no hesitation in asking Matt Goss and James Goodwin to stick the pads on. A fantastic start saw the team negotiate the opening pair and stroll to 47 off 12 overs as Goss (17) was stumped by the spinner Wilcox. Manny Sidu entered and looked in good form as the team raced to 91 off 20 overs as Goodwin rose his bat for a well deserved 50. Things then took a turn as Goodwin (53) Sidhu (18) Gibson (0) Ganti (1) and Hallam (1) all perished within the space of 9 runs. Wilcox and skipper for the day Baxter doing the damage. Badj Raham was joined by young Michael Deery to set about rebuilding the innings, Woodford were caught with questionable field placing as the pair put on 33 before Deery was bowled for 12. Ryan Perry joined the act and wasted no time in scoring 17 before being bowled. Sean Thornton was kept back down the order to 'go hard' in the final 8 overs and it proved a good decision as the first ball sailed for 6 back over Baxters head. Raham was dismissed for 18 and at 162 for 9 it was a below par score considering the start we had. Fergus Deery gave the strike to Thornton and over the next 8 overs dispatched the bowlers to score a fine 58* to take the score to 229 for 9 off the 40 overs. A 9th wicket partnership of 67.

After a extended tea break to watch the England game on the impressive 60 inch TV Thornton and Ganti opened the bowling. Wilcox who suggested he wasn't going to run many singles picked off the balls in a barrage of 4's and 6's. Ganti picked up 2 wickets early but K. Baxter and Wilcox were dealing in boundaries and plenty of them. They raced to 81 for 2 off 12 overs which prompted the bowling change of Deery M & F. F Deery dismissing Wilcox for 33 in his first over followed by a double of K.Baxter (32) and Terry (0) the next over for M. Deery. Woodford never recovered and as wickets tumbled and runs dried up eventually being all out for 123. Goodwin taking 3 for 5, M Deery 2 for 16, F Deery 3 for 16 and Ganti 2 for 52.