That Was The Weekend That Was

A belting weekend of sport saw mixed fortunes for the club’s teams. The Wigginses, Froomes and Cavendishes of the weekend were the 1st XI, Development XI and Under 12s, while mirroring the fortunes of the hapless Adam Scott, the 2nd XI had a bit of a shocker.

Stuart Robson powered through Olney Town’s 1st XI to finish with figures of 9.3-4-10-5, setting up Elstow’s seven wicket victory as he and his fellow seamers ran riot bowling out the away side for 49. Indeed, Robson’s figures in both matches against Olney this year make for impressive reading, 16-6-25-10. Olney’s tormentor with the bat in May’s fixture also ended this match as topscorer, Rob Leddy’s 23 not out helped see Elstow home with 29 overs to spare.

Luke Griffin made a welcome return to action for the Development XI following a long spell out injured. His 47 not out was the standout performance in the nine wicket win at Ickwell. Meanwhile, Cain Hamilton-Boyle and Shoaib Mohammed, on debut, took three wickets each to help skittle out the hosts for 103. Another of the game’s highlights included a one-handed wonder catch for the thinking man’s Olympian, the enduring Gary Ward. Match report to follow.

Michael Hudson’s unbeaten 31 stole the headlines from captain Jack Flynn’s impressive opening stand of 27 in the Under 12s’ demolition of Blunham ‘B’. Elstow made 122-3 from their 20 overs before bowling out Blunham for 40. Brothers Saurav and Gaurav Bhatia took two wickets apiece, exerting excellent line and length, while Jacob Bright, who led the Elstow attack with real zip, also claimed two wickets.

Sadly, the 2nd XI couldn’t complete the winning set. Bowled out for 128 in 35 overs (Mongia, 40), Elstow had Olney Town 2nds five down, but with lack of runs on the board were never really in contention. Nick Lewis’s purposeful jog from a mid-pitch huddle all the way down to fine leg to take a galvanising swig of beer from a spectator’s can, only to find it empty, rather summed up the afternoon.