Drayton v Great Witchingham 'A' 18th July 2007

Great Witchingham 'A' 218-5 Drayton 193-7 On a decent James Kay wicket, with some pace, Drayton made a brave effort to chase down Witchingham's total. Had they taken their chances in the field, the result could well have gone the other way.

The accepted wisdom about Sam Dacre, Witchingham's opener, is that he hits the ball hard and far but gives chances. Even so, his attempt to pull Lee Cornfield in the opening over seemed unnecessarily reckless. Dropping him from the resultant skier and again, several overs later, proved expensive. Despite some big shots, accurate bowling from Cornfield and Gary Foreman (his 12-1-34-3 clearly the day's best figures) gave skipper Phil Soanes some early control. Eventually Chris Coupland caught Dacre off Foreman from another skier and Cornfield removed the leg-stump of Baker one ball after he had reached a composed 50.

The absence of Michael Mario-Ghae was sharply felt, particularly since there was little in the wicket for spin bowlers on either side, but Gary Smith, on his 600th appearance for the club, with 8-1-30-1, played a useful hand for his skipper. Eventually M. Atkinson, who finished on 56 not out, accelerated. A combination of aggressive running and occasional big hits saw Witchingham to a challenging but not ungettable 218-6.

Some of Drayton's poor early-season results stemmed from batsmen's lack of confidence, so it was encouraging to see the way openers Philip Wright (30, with one effortless straight six from a length ball) and Andy Denny (13) set about their task against impressive opening spells from Reynolds and particularly Ian Mears, who beat the bat with movement through the air and off the pitch.

Andy Hawes (27) and Smith maintained the momentum, but some accurate bowling meant that the asking rate increased steadily, to seven, then eight. Smith, who finished on 69 not out, continued to run hard between the wickets and strike some glorious big shots, but at the other end batsmen lost wickets trying to force the pace in the gathering gloom. The fifth batting point, which had looked in reach, just eluded Drayton, who now go to Winterton next week, where a win may not be enough to secure safety, if three teams end up being relegated. Thanks to Richard Taylor for the report once again - PJW.