Patience, Patience!
The thirds failed to make it a clean sweep of victories for theweekend after suffering a defeat at the hands of a Lakeside team, that waslargely of their own making. Lakeside have a certain way of approaching battingwhich is well documented, but the bowlers array of wide and full deliveries fedthat style in allowing, assisted by some sub standard fielding and catching,the visitors to reach 134-4 before making inroads into tail end that isregularly in evidence when playing against these opponents. That tail sawbatsmen 5 to 11 inclusive register just eleven runs with Elliot Hogbencapitalising to capture five of those scalps for 45 runs and Jordy Higham addto his weekend tally with 3-32. Earlier, Lewis Keogh had shown that a tightline and length could restrict the cavalier batting as he took two earlywickets for 17 runs at less than three an over.
The reply got off to a poor start as Steve Mac, who'sscintillating century against the same opponents last season will live long inthe memory, played all round one to be bowled without scoring. Opening partnerOwen Hogben then edged to slip, also for a duck, and at 4-2, the visitors' 174was beginning to look a distance away. When Jordy lofted one to mid off withthe score on 22, Lewis and Dan Jones came together and the two left handers puttogether a mature stand of 86 that should have been a decent platform to securevictory, but some crazy shot selection threw away that advantage as a catalogueof huge swipes at the ball ensued when only gentle pushes around the vacantgaps to pick up ones, twos and the occasional boundary was all that wasrequired. In the final analysis, defeat by nineteen runs is what will berecorded for posterity, but the feeling that the game was thrown away, stillpervades.