Morden won the toss, fielded first and lost the match by 164 runs.
B.Sargent-Cain 22-3-59-7 P.Smith 11-1-58-0 A.Gilley 11-0-65-1
Name How Out Bowler R B M 4 6 A.Clarke Palmer 1 10 8 I.Tyne lbw Palmer 2 20 23 A.Gilley ct. Kempton Fannon 12 16 19 2 R.G.Atkins Palmer 1 17 17 B.Sargent-Cain Fannon 0 2 7 M.Coote Fannon 0 4 8 P.Bodman ct. Dixon Doig 3 15 22 N.Brooker Palmer 0 8 4 B.Patel ct. Ellis Palmer 1 5 8 M.Patel Doig 1 8 9 P.Smith not out 0 1 3 Extras 2 Total all out (17.2 overs) 23
FOW 1-2, 2-15, 3-15, 4-17, 5-17, 6-17, 7-18, 8-20, 9-22
The first meeting between these two sides was played on a flat wicket in hot sunny weather, which combined to produce the second heaviest defeat in Morden Parish history (168 is the worst).
The Morden eleven showed four changes from the previous weeks draw. Neil Brooker (aged 13) returning, and debuts for Brijesh Patel (15) and Mikesh Patel (13), plus the reappearance of Allan Clarke, making his 208th showing but his first since “Retirement” in June 2001.
Morden bowled first, with Ben taking a wicket in his 2nd over and another in his 4th thanks to Matt Coote’s first catch for the Parish. 57 were added quickly before Ben took 2 wickets in 2 balls in his 8th over. A partnership of 55 was eventually broken in Ben’s 16th over when he finally removed the stubborn opening batsman. He got his 6th wicket in his 17th over before Alan Gilley struck in the next over to reduce the hosts to 137-7. In his 20th over, Ben got his 7th wicket when Ian Tyne took a good catch at short mid wicket, which was his first catch since injuring his hand on the opening day of the season. Although, Natwest slogged some quick runs in the last few overs and no further wickets fell, Morden had bowled and fielded very well.
Ben’s 7-59 were his best bowling figures since he took 9-20 in May 1999, and are his 3rd best ever. He is now the clubs leading wicket taker this season with 19 and is 7th on the all time list of wicket takers with 171 which is just 3 behind Malcolm Applewhaite. His spell of 22 was a personal record, just eclipsing the 21 overs he bowled against Old Fulham Prims in May 2002, and is the most a Parish played has bowled in a single match since Peter Smith bowled 23 overs to Christ Church Crusaders in June 1999.
The Morden innings got off to a bad start when Allan Clarke was dismissed in the 3rd over. He had already scored his 2200 run for the Parish and now requires just 48 more to overtake Maurice Gilley and become the 4th highest run scorer in the clubs history. In the 4th over Ian Tyne had to retire hurt with a finger injury, and although Alan Gilley and R.G.Atkins took the score onto 15-1, nine wickets fell for the addition of just another 8 runs. Ian eventually resumed his innings and remained until Alan Gilley adjudged him to be lbw. The tail was quite long unfortunately and didn’t wag on this occasion, the young players being asked to make up too much ground. The final total of 23 is the 4th lowest in the club’s history, and is the lowest since 22 against Bloomfield in June 2000.
Congratulations to Phil Bodman who made his 319th appearance, surpassing the previous club record held by Tom Oulton with 318.