Hampshire S.W Regional Div 2

HYTHE 2nd XI vs TOTTON & ELING III

Saturday 4th July

Hythe Fall To Defeat Against Totton & Eling

Russell MOORE 3-27	Pete STEVENS Snr 4-44

Hythe second eleven players left for tour disappointed with their final performance in a game that they really should have won.

Despite the previous wet weather the teams started the game in hot, sunny conditions with the pitch once again superbly prepared. Unfortunately for Hythe they lost the toss and the Totton and Eling boys were given the first use of the pitch.

Opening for Hythe was the returning Russell Moore alongside Ian Prentice and the pair gave the Green caps the early breakthroughs they were looking for. It was Prentice who struck first when he clean bowled the opener and then soon after Moore made his breakthrough when the third batsmen was caught behind.

Hythe began to tighten the screws with two wickets in two balls when firstly Moore clean bowled Totton’s captain, then secondly, Prentice had the other opening batsman caught by Luke Mills. When Moore picked up his third wicket Totton were 59-5 but a drop at slip in the same over proved costly as left hander Cooper began to hit out.

Cooper and partner Metcalf then put on 73 for the next wicket as change bowlers Richard Bunce and Pete Stevens struggled to take control. Eventually the partnership was broken by Stevens with a catch from Ian Prentice to dismiss Cooper for 66 and from then on wickets fell at a steady rate with Stevens picking up four to finish with the best Hythe figures. When Metcalf fell as the final wicket for 42 Totton and Eling had recovered to post a challenging 180.

In reply Hythe needed a good start and they got it as Sean Tongs and Mike Bowman steadily opened up the innings. It wasn’t until the fourteenth over that the Green caps lost their first wicket with the score on 46 when Tongs was caught at gully for 33. However, that ended up being the highest score in the Hythe innings as the middle order all moved into double figures yet no-one passed the 20 mark.

The Green caps lost wickets at regular intervals and rarely looked like troubling the mark set by the visitors. Sure enough, Hythe fell comfortably short of the total having been bowled out for just 148. The day summed up by the final wicket when Stevens was comically run out from a direct hit.

Innings of : TOTTON & ELING III 180 All Out (36 Overs)

(P.Cooper 66, S.Metcalf 42, W.Mooney 25 )

Hythe Bowling

Catches - E.Bell 2, I.Prentice 1, L.Mills 1, S.Tongs 1, G.Howe 1

Run Out - R.Bunce 1

Innings of : HYTHE 148 All Out (38.4 Overs)