Morden won the toss, batted first and lost by 7 wickets.
Name How Out Bowler R B M 4 6 B.Sargent-Cain Bowled Mobeen 4 14 17 1 P.Clarke run out 22 35 36 2 J.Goddard Bowled Mobeen 0 2 2 J.Davidson Bowled Mobeen 4 4 6 1 G.Burch Bowled Shiraz 0 2 5 P.Hancock Bowled Shiraz 0 8 8 N.Anwar Bowled Hassan 12 24 39 1 C.Louis not out 10 9 20 2 M.Godson Bowled Mobeen 0 1 1 P.Bodman ct. Adil Hassan 7 13 10 1 Extras 43 Total all out (21.1 overs) 102
FOW 1-19, 2-19, 3-29, 4-30, 5-43, 6-78, 7-81, 8-81, 9-102
B.Sargent-Cain 11.3-2-50-2 J.Goddard 5-0-24-0 P.Clarke 4-0-19-0 N.Anwar 2-0-9-1
Morden arrived with a robust squad of twelve for this match whilst their visitors could manage only a paltry six players. To make a game of it, the hosts volunteered to lend Merton college two players but this sporting gesture was rewarded only with a thumping seven wicket defeat in baking hot conditions.
With last week's excellent batting display still in mind, Morden opted to bat first when the coin landed the right way, but on this occasion the opening bowlers were pacier and more accurate, and in the first 8.5 overs they managed to clean bowl five Morden batsmen to leave the hosts teetering on 34-5.
Phil Clarke however was showing everyone else how it should be done, and he remained solid at one end throughout the collapse (no doubt inspired by the rare appearance of his father Allan watching anxiously from the boundary). When Phil was joined by Nadeem, a 44 run partnership made the score look more respectable, but then 3 wickets fell in the space of 9 balls, including the unlucky run out of Phil for 22 ending a stay of nearly an hour and a half in sweltering heat and up against quality bowling.
As a motley selection of footballers, damsels, and dogs continued to invade the playing area blissfully unaware in most cases, the last pair added 21 off 16 balls to take the Morden total into three figures. Commiserations must go out to Paul after his third duck in a row, and to Mark, who collected a golden duck on his parish debut. One item for the record books was the total of 43 extras, which equals the second highest extras total that Morden has received in it’s entire history (47 is the record).
When Merton batted, an early breakthrough was vital, but Morden had no luck, with some good LBW shouts refused and several airborne shots narrowly avoiding the fielders. Despite a fine spell of bowling from Ben, the visitor’s opener made 60, and with a little help from his friends, steered Merton home with plenty of overs to spare.