Hingham v Drayton 'A' 5th May 2007

Hingham 102 Drayton 'A' 103-6 A hard, tufted and somewhat unpredictable Hingham wicket made for an entertaining match, which was also graced by the first full spell of bowling by Mike Dennison for two seasons. James Kay had no qualms about inserting Hingham, who had successfully chased down a big score at Halvergate the previous week.

He and Dennison bowled accurately at a pace which allowed the ball to grip. Dennison steadily settled into his economical run-up, swinging and cutting the ball extravagantly on occasions and achieving 2 for 24 in an unbroken 12 over spell. Kay (3 for 22) got some balls to jump alarmingly, though two of his wickets owed nothing to the pitch: a good yorker and one batsman bowled when he bottom-edged a full toss. At half-way, Hingham were 53 for 5.

The variable bounce was a nightmare for wicket-keepers on both sides. Neil Chamberlain got bravely in line and took three catches, one a remarkable legside edge standing-up, when he looked in considerable danger from the batsman's massive pull shot. Hingham distinguished themselves by sportingly walking on three occasions.

Nigel Massingham gave his usual impression of Scrooge: at one point his figures were 9 runs in 8 overs. Darren Clark seemed inspired by Clark Kent. After taking 2 wickets with his leg-spin, he handed his spectacles to the umpire, lengthened his run up and bowled two batsmen out with his seamers. If we get to play at a ground with a telephone box nearby, perhaps he will pop in and re-appear with his knickers over his cricket trousers.

An improved fielding performance by the whole side also helped to restrict Hingham to 102 all out.

Opening the innings for Drayton, Graham Crowe and Massingham coped calmly with a hostile and accurate spell by Hingham openers, Edwards and Weston, and moved serenely to 31 by the ninth over. By the end of the 10th, both had been bowled. At this stage, Drayton dug in and the next 13 overs of accurate bowling (6 maidens) yielded only 16 runs for the loss of two wickets. Eventually a stand between Kay (19) and Richard Taylor (21 not out) saw Drayton almost home and Chamberlain came in to despatch the ball to the square leg boundary for the winning runs.