Match Report

The foul, cold, rainy July weather took enough of a back step to allow this vital relegation battle to go ahead and what a nail biter it turned out to be on the soggy grasslands of Flowery Field. 

The uneven nature of the pitch meant it would never be a game of the greatest quality, but it made up for it in excitement after the hosts had posted what looked to be an above par 192 in the conditions. 

Batting first, Finn was unable to continue his June wicket fest into July and it was left to Ollie to prise out the first two with just 20 on the board. His third wasn't to come until 71 runs had been accrued, then the introduction of Ben saw three wickets tumble in quick succession. A second 50+ partnership made the fan base a tad edgy as the tail grafted its way to 192 with Mason's 4-33 doing the business.

The reply was a stop/start affair with an opening stand of 51 settling the nerves before both partners were back in the hutch on 56 to set the nerves jangling again. Sam and Matt V-D added 46 to take the score to 102-2 before wickets started tumbling at regular intervals as the pitch appeared to deteriorate as Matt grafted away at one end. Eventually, with eight down and 22 still needed, Mason arrived to show the bowlers the maker's name on his bat allowing Matt to carve his way to a match winning 69 with overs to spare and put the fan club out of it's misery. 

Sadly despite leapfrogging the hosts and dumping them in the bottom three, Royton managed to jump two places by virtue of their six point win, leaving Sam's young warriors in the same spot as before, but that bit nearer to the teams above.