2nds winning run comes to an end

I suppose going through the season unbeaten was always unlikely but the margin of the eventual defeat was small despite a well under par performance.

Skipper Hall (the Younger) won the toss and elected to bat on the hottest day of the year so far. Despite the early loss of James Malley to a short ball that stayed low, things seemed to be going well at 72 - 2 in the 17th over with Nat Hiscocks (36) hitting the ball hard and cleanly. However, when he hit a long hop straight to mid wicket the wheels came off and just 4 overs later Outwood were 79 - 7. OK, the wicket was slow with a bit of uneven bounce and St. Lawrence bowled well, but not that well. Keith Hall (22) and Nick Briggs (7 no) set about trying to repair the damage and had added nearly 50 when Keith was bowled by one that cut back. The tail added only 7 more runs before Outwood were bowled out for 133 in 37.4 overs.

Max Evans struck early with a quick, short ball that was gloved to the keeper but St. Lawrence had plenty of time to build their innings which they did patiently despite a tight opening spell from Dru. Apart from Dru and the skipper, all other bowlers seemed unable to stem a steady flow of boundaries and after 20 overs they were 79 - 2. Keith and Lucas produced a brief flurry of wickets and at 114 - 7 there was more than a glimmer of hope. Ellis had taken an excellent catch in the deep while Keith parried a fierce drive and caught the rebound off his own bowling. However, two difficult chances were then spilled and St. Lawrence crossed the finishing line with 8 overs to spare.

Linton Park will be no pushover and we need to bounce back strongly to keep out title ambitions on track. Perhaps a touch of batting practice might be in order on Wednesday?