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The sun was
shining on the virtuous Palmers side. A Chailey
outfit who had upset them in the cup the week
before, and should have been brimming with
resultant confidence, arrived to the
intimidating sight of the Palmers fielding
drills- beware the injured mouse...
At last I
managed to lose a toss- the omens were looking
good- Chailey wowed by the trademark Thomas
track chose to make first use of it. James Dawes
and Buckle led the attack superbly, the purpose
and discipline which had been lacking the
previous week were there in abundance.
This enabled 7-2 fields to be set, and
few gaps could be found by Chailey's top order.
Experience tells us how vital it is to make full
use of the new ball on the abrasive recreation
ground surface- this can last up to only 10
overs before even the fervent efforts of Will
Dawes and his furious rubbing can no longer get
much shine from the battered cherry. But at
barely 30 for 3 after this crucial period
Chailey's middle order, who had been so
destructive in the previous fixture, were forced
to play with more caution. Tight bowling was
supported by some impressive ground fielding,
and when Russ Perkins kept his composure to run
out the previous week's match winner, you could
sense the momentum swing, and see confidence
returning to the home side. Russ capped an
impressive debut in the field, after dancing
mesmerizing under a steepling catch, he
eventually settled himself to make a tough
chance look relatively simple.
Tom Scotcher
joined the attack, a young player who has really
made the step up this season. He maintained
impressive lines to both the left and right
hander, and he was also deservedly rewarded with
a breakthrough. The work we have been doing on
our fielding really showed through, in these
crucial middle overs Chailey simply couldn't
accelerate their rate- they turned down 2's
where there should have been comfortable ones
(two's that is?!), and grew increasingly
frustrated as they failed to pierce a tight
field, and when Russ Ferrier tempted them to try
and hit over the top of his bizarrely yet
brilliantly set field, he too was rewarded with
a burgeoning wickets column- a particularly
intriguing battle with a determined looking
Chailey skipper resulted inevitably in another
Ferrier victory.
With them
struggling to get the slower ball away Will
Dawes joined the attack, and he visibly grew in
confidence as the tight lines, of which John
Wilson himself would have been proud,
restricted Chailey's batsmen. Palmers were able
to complete the innings with this two-pronged
spin assault, and while the last 2 wickets never
quite came, neither, more importantly, did any
significant run rate increase. A total of 160
for 8 was well below par and is a real tribute
to an excellent all-round performance from the
bowling and fielding unit, led by the energetic
and tidy performance of Stuart Burgess behind the
stumps and skipper Hugh Salter who's hands took
a repeated battering in the covers. A unit
notably strengthened by the inclusion of
promising youngster Fisher Beatty and returning
maestro Rich Potter, both of whom will surely
get more opportunities to influence games more
directly than the impressive energy they brought
to the field, as the season progresses.
Palmer's,
aware that only half the job had been done, set
about the run chase with determination. Nick
Buckley showed his class, demonstrating
forcefully why his omission the previous week
was a wrong decision... or did this decision add
steel to his undoubted talent? this is a
fruitless and hypothetical question, but either
way if he continues to bat in the same vein this
season, he will be vying for the batting cup
that not so long ago was a permanent fixture on
his mantelpiece. There will be stiff competition
for this particular trophy, notably from the
imperious looking Jon Burnill, with deft sweeps,
reverse sweeps and switch hits added to his
repertoire, he showed there is more to his game
than exaggerated leaves and bludgeoning drives.
Stu Burgess even found time to boost the
confidence of Palmer's future as a young
Palmer's off spinner (disappointingly wearing
the colours of the opposition) took a couple of
notable scalps.
Overall a
dominant victory over opposition who a mere 7
days earlier had beaten an arguably stronger
Palmer's side. A good demonstration of how
excellent concentrated fielding can give bowlers
the backup and confidence to bowl in disciplined
areas, which can visibly grow until it
culminates in the match winning display
witnessed at Hove Rec. on Saturday. While this
is very much a 'work-in-progress', this
performance must vindicate the methods of task
master Chris Green, and bodes well for Palmers
who have been let down by too many errors
previously in the fielding department.
Apologies
again for the length! It's brilliant to get
carried away about something more positive.
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