2nds battle bravely in hot sun

Another hard-fought game in which Outwood 2nds just failed to get over the finishing line. Losing the toss on a hot, sunny afternoon (the West Farleigh ground with it's thatched pavilion looked an absolute picture) didn't seem so bad after the Outwood opening attack reduced Farleigh to 7 for 2 after 4 overs. However, their 3 and 4 then set about repairing the damage with a patient but solid partnership of 146. Outwood toiled hard in the batsman-friendly conditions and Farleigh never really dominated the bowlers despite an excellent wicket and lightening-fast outfield. With wickets in hand the batting side could afford to take chances and if a couple of chances had been held the total could have been substantially less. Three wickets in the last two overs demonstrated Outwood's fighting qualities to the end and Farleigh's total of 230 for 6 was no better than par in the conditions.

Outwood needed a solid start and unfortunately this was not to be in the face of accurate bowling. Despite a bright and breezy 19 from Nat Hiscocks the innings struggled to 37 for 4 after 12 overs. Keith Hall (75 no) and Max Evans (24) started the recovery before skipper JH joined Keith in a 142 6th wicket partnership to take Outwood over 200 but with 9 Farleigh fielders on the boundary for the latter half of the innings it became increasingly difficult to hit the boundaries necessary for victory and the chase ended 13 runs short with 6 wickets down.

The 2nds are still well placed for promotion but it is clear that with games against the top teams throughout August it is going to entail good availability and a tough fight to achieve this goal. Are we up for it?