Rottingdean Over 40s

Report by John Goodacre:

Wednesday saw the Over 40’s Martlets team driving through dense cloud, wind and rain with visibility on the roads down to just 50 meters in places, to what we all thought would be a washout at Rottingdean. However the long faces were soon replaced with smiles as this game was played in a great spirit by both sides.

This was a good toss to win (probably the best thing I did all day) as we could all shelter in the pavilion whilst Paul Walker and Ian Jones opened the batting, soaking up the damp and taking the shine off the new ball.

The weather slowly improved and with 20 overs on the board, the Martlets found themselves with a meagre 86 runs on the board for 3 wickets. However Paul Walker, grasped the opportunity to open the batting with both hands finding the boundary regularly and in partnerships with Ian Jones and Alan Newman, went on to score 92 with a 115% strike rate before slashing a full toss down the throat of cover point. That cost him a jug or two as it was deemed by the committee of one on the day to be deliberate “jug avoidance”. Cheers!

Neil Bushell (not out 21 and Adrian Berendt (not out 30) took us to 201 for 5 off our 40 overs. The sun then came out. And we had tea – excellent.

Rottingdean did not get off to a good start.

After the Martlets opening bowlers of Andrew Cantrell and Deepak Kapadia had each bowled their allotted 8 overs, the opposition were 30-2. Cantrell ended with figures of 8 overs, 4 maidens for 7 runs. Stunning. Kapadia 8-1-22-2 wickets. This included the crucial wickets of the 2 star Rottingdean batsmen. The control of the ball shown by these 2 bowlers was fantastic to watch. The batsmen were hopelessly outclassed.

The pressure on the batsmen increased as Jeremy McGahan tightened the screw conceding just 23 runs off his 8 when the big hitters were in. At the half way stage Rottingdean had mustered only 50 runs.

Requiring 151 runs off 20 overs, the middle order became desperate and Evette Burton capitalised, bowling 7 overs for 34 runs taking 3 wickets.

Our guest celebrity on the day Guy Keeling, who was only invited to play at the 11th hour, bowled with pace and at a good length ripping through the lower order taking 3 for 16. Welcome Guy. A fantastic addition to the squad. Adrian Berendt showed his class bowling 2 overs of left arm spin, a maiden and a wicket maiden, to leave Rottingdean well and truly beached on 133 to maintain the Martlets Over 40’s side unbeaten run.

So what looked like a washout ended in bright sunshine and with Paul Walker taking us all through his innings in slow motion replay in the bar. When his score had reached 23 we all made our excuses and set off in convoy for a trip to the fish and chip shop on the sea front. Great views! Large Gulls. Neil Bushell was last seen running along the beach desperately swatting away the seagulls in a vain attempt to protect his chips. Hopefully he will be back in time for our next fixture against Cuckfield on the 26th.

Facebook report by Alan Newman:

Well it ended in a win for the Martlets Over 40s against the Rottingdean Over 40s. Batting first we managed 201-5 off 40 overs built mainly around 91 from Paul Walker, opening the batting, helped after a mini collapse by useful contributions from Alan Newman, Adrian Berendt and Neil Bushell. In reply, Andy Cantrell and Deepak Kapadia (2 wkts) kept it tight for 16 overs before Evette (3 wkts) and late call up Guy (2 wkts) weighed in. Deepak ended with 3 catches as all wickets fell from the sea end. RCC ending on 133 all out.
Some then finished the day with fish and chips on the sea front, pictures to follow …

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