Hampshire South West Regional Division 2

BASHLEY RYDAL IV vs HYTHE & DIBDEN 2nd XI

23rd May 2009

Magnificent Guru guides Hythe to first win

Sean TONGS 117*

18 Fours

A much improved team effort by the Green caps earnt them their first win of the season on the Astroturf at Bashley, but it would have been nothing without a sublime innings from Sean Tongs who carried his bat for 117.

Hythe made the trip to Bashley on a beautiful sunny day in order to improve both their season’s record and their record on the Astroturf, which has been poor in recent years.Bashley won the toss and decided to bat but were quickly made to regret it as Mike Edwards and Russell Moore started impressively. Edwards delivered the first over and with the first ball of the second Moore took the first wicket with Ewan Bell taking the catch.

A couple of overs later Moore removed the other opener when he was trapped LBW having backed away following the bounce that was being created from the pitch. A recovery was required from Bashley and Figgins was joined by his captain Bettle as they rebuilt the innings from 5-2.Mike Edwards bowled through for his spell of ten at an impressive economy rate of only 2.3 and was replaced by Ian White while Lee Powell replaced Russell Moore. It took a long time for a breakthrough though as the experienced pair at the crease put together a century partnership before Figgins was caught by Effeny off of Chalkey.

Pete Stevens then came on and bowled equally well as Bashley were never allowed to free their arms. The final six overs saw Wayne Effeny come on and Russell Moore return for his second spell and both picked up a wicket despite some catches being dropped in the field. Bashley finished on 184-5 with Bettle unbeaten narrowly short of his century while Moore returned the best figures for Hythe with 10-1-33-3.

In reply, the Green caps started off at an electric pace. Sean Tongs and Tom Porter took the score to 42 in the sixth over before Porter was dismissed. However, the combination of inaccurate bowling from a youthful Bashley attack and Sean Tongs playing impressively from the beginning meant that Hythe continued their good start.

As usual it was not the end of the story though. A middle order collapse started by a questionable LBW decision against Wayne Effeny saw Hythe lose three quick wickets as the captain Mike Bowman and in form Ewan Bell also departed cheaply. At this point Hythe were 91-4 with the impressive J Donnelly bowling out for 10-2-22-2. Mike Graham joined Sean at the crease and the two secured the innings with the run rate not an issue. When Mike was finally dismissed for eight the pair had put together a vital 48 runs that put the green caps on the verge of victory.

It was left to Tongs and new bat Mike Edwards to complete the win and they eased Hythe comfortably over the finish line with Tongs bringing up his century with an on drive for four before delivering the winning blow with a crushing straight drive to the boundary. 117 not out an innings which consisted of 18 fours.

Although the win was comfortable at the end a lot must be said for the 30 wides that Bashley bowled that gifted Hythe crucial runs.

Innings of : BASHLEY RYDAL IV 184 For 5 (42 Overs)

(M.Figgins 36, G.Bettle 92*)

Hythe Bowling

Catches - W.Effeny 2, E.Bell, S.Tongs

Innings of : HYTHE 2nd XI 187 For 5 (39.1Overs)

Bashley Rydal : J.Donnelly 2-22, N.Ninehan 2-47, M.Figgins 1-34