Match Reports 2014 (continued....)

V Reggies Ealing Engineers. Can we follow on from last years epic 2-1 series?.. No...game cancelled...pitch confusion...(i.e...the home team didn't book a pitch...)

V Superstars. With SS needing 2 off the last ball to win, they hit and ran 2. We were all watching the ball come in when the umpire signaled 1 short. So, indeed a Super Tie. Extremely sporting on behalf of the oppo umpire, playing in the true spirit, man of the match, the rest of his team not too happy with the offending batter. HL batted first after a delayed start (gates locked, no boundary ropes) and scratched our way to just 117, kept in check by good bowling, and a slow out field and wicket. SS were 60 off 10 and with each over getting a few more nearer, HL were kept well on their toes. Going in to the last over with 8 required for a SS win, just 7 were made, for a gripping, competitive and sporting tie. 25no for Shaz and 2 wickets for Ian and Dipesh. 117/6 v 117/4.  There's always another side to the story....

http://www.superstarscricket.org.uk/fixtures/hounslow170614.html

V Beechams. From Rick: What a great evening's cricket in the sun. We've lost the last 10 or 12 to Glaxo Smith Klein Beechams and it didn't look great tonight with them 60 odd off 6 overs! A double wicket maiden from skipper Paul (3/5) stopped them in their tracks and somehow we bowled them all out for 131 as they have big hitters all the way down to no 11, I took the last wicket with the last ball for my 3-20 off four. A decent batting performance from our top 4 (Noman 53, Ash 38, Paul 21) saw us win by 8 wickets wuth 11 balls remaining. It's been a long wait. (Eds note: Since 2000, played 15, won 4, last won 2009...)

The longest day 2006

Its been 8 years since Hounslow Leisure witnessed something quite special, so worth mentioning every once in a while. Ealing CT came to Sunbury on 21/6/2006, a very hot sunny evening, to play 2020. 120 balls later, ECT had racked up an incredible and daunting 198. HL felt doomed, so what the hell, Wendel was asked to open. In a blink of an eye, 12.2 overs later, amazingly we had won. Wendel knocking up 140 not out, off just 38 balls (27 ball ton), including 14 6's and 9 4's, one over going for 34 (do the maths..the ball that didn't go for 6, fell just a yard short). He faced just 1 dot ball, his first.

We don't like to go on about Wendy too much, we try not to, its not good for him, but that was an innings to behold. Just for a couple of moments, on that first day of summer, the longest day of 2006, we could actually see the sun shinning out of his backside...