On winning the toss, the IZ captain seemed to think that the M20 had taken a turn into the deepest corner of the Kentish countryside and had no hesitation in batting. This initially looked to be a questionable decision as Ed Prest found an edge with his first ball only to see it fly benignly through the vacant fourth slip area. Piers Richardson also had a good opening spell (in spite of his recent shoulder injury) and sent their left-hander swiftly on his way by inducing a nick (expertly snaffled by Pedro Whyte) immediately after said batsman has injudiciously opted to sport a jazz cap in place of his lid. Thereafter the other IZ opener and number 3 made hay throughout the morning session, taking advantage of the very quick outfield, until Ben Regan was rewarded for some wily off spin by having their number 3 caught by Ed Prest at mid-on. At 153-2 at lunch, IZ looked well set to post a formidable total, however the BB rallied well after lunch with tight bowling from Hector Raw and Toby Marriott helping to stem the flow of runs. Toby was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets and should have had more.
At half time the IZ declared with 290 on the board, which the BB openers then set about chasing down in determined fashion. Tom Page in particular was in sublime form as he regularly dispatched their very quick opening bowler for a number of boundaries with a combination of bravery and elegant timing. Unfortunately the tea break seemed to do for Pageoire as he was triggered soon after the interval for a very well made 36. Sam Traill then entered the fray and maintained the momentum of the run chase superbly with a great display of controlled aggression, keeping the IZ fielders consistently busy leather-searching in the long grass. After an excellent 65 he was castled by a big in-swinger, bringing Ben Regan to the crease. After a customary display of belligerent batting, he was then unlucky to be given out lbw to a ball which may (or may not) have been sliding down leg. Thereafter, whilst the skipper and Toby Marriott did their best to keep the target in sight, the run rate unfortunately just got away from us and we fell 14 short with only 4 wickets down.
It had been a valiant effort by BB to get so close, particularly bearing in mind that IZ faced 49 overs to our 37, but yet again a hugely enjoyable day's cricket between these two old rivals.
Marcus Pyke
