Old Ranwellians v Martians 

Eaton and Hudson got off to a fine start, but soon found the Martians' attack to be the strongest they had yet to face, with tight bowling from all, and perhaps more crucially, that boundaries were hard to come by thanks to a combination of thick undergrowth and sodden earth.

A lack of pre-season practice did for Hudson (17) as a loose shot allowed him to be bowled, whilst frustration soon undid Eaton (23). Ford was ably supported by Greening (14*) who farmed the strike to Ford for him to unleash his lightning.

He rewarded his skipper with an excellent innings, watchful in the beginning, before letting rip on Karl, smashing him to all parts of the ground to bring up a fine 50.

 It usually takes him until August for such a feat, so its both a relief and a mouth-watering prospect that form has found him so early in the season.

Old Ranwellians closed their innings on what they felt was an above p ar score of 136-2, given the conditions and solid bowling.

Of the bowlers, Sid was the only to take wickets (2-20), although he was supported by Aub, Amal and Faisal who all succeeded in ensuring the shackles remained on the batsman.

Although a man short, Old Ranwellians were tigerish in the field, with mistakes few and far between. Indeed, 3 catches from 3 were taken, by Greening, Eaton and Nash respectively, the latter after a fairly horrific, bloody injury where a ball took off the astroturf before crumpling the wicketkeeper's nose.

Of the Martians' batsman, John took a liking to the bowling of Greening, striking several boundaries off him before trying one aerial shot too many. Faisal was solid for his 17, and Sid showed off a couple of strokes, including one huge six in the dusk.

Culley was the tightest bowler, in between sickly bouts of racking cough. Ford was the most dangerous, claiming two victims with his swing.

Thanks to Martians for a competitive game played in a good spirit, good luck for the rest of the season.

Submitted by Ed Greening of Old Ranwellians