Refreshers v Hampshire Hogs
Saturday 12 June 2021
On a gorgeous summer’s day in mid June the England team threw away their two match series against New Zealand by some abysmal batting up at Edgbaston, slumping eventually to 122 all out. Recriminations flowed. Meanwhile, down in Warnford, in the idyllic setting of the Hampshire downs, the Refreshers seemed keen to show that what the national squad do, they could do better. And so, put into bat by the Hampshire Hogs on a true but lively wicket, Refreshers threw away their wickets like confetti at a wedding. Only Akhtar Ahmad (a patient 13) and Charlie Covell (a rumbustious 36) made it into double figures, with Nangle and Beresford Davies taking three each for our hosts. A total of 96 did not quite match even the England team’s score and was equally unlikely to see us home. But no recriminations followed as the spirit of the game was too good, and if the Hogs could knock off the total inside an hour, so be it.
In the event, they nearly did not get there at all. Only their opener, Fraser, made it into the 20’s (23) and some tight bowling from Leo Buscombe, Chris Bell (2-13 off 7 overs), Alex Seager (3-35 off 8 overs) and Joe Cannon (3-21 off 7 overs), together with some spritely fielding by debutant T Francis in particular, kept us in the hunt until the very end, when, just before tea, they scrambled home with 8 down.
So it was a shortish game, and we lost, but we fielded well and stuck to the task and it is such a lovely place to play, entirely within the spirit of cricket – and we have won the fixture on both previous occasions that we played the Hogs – that it didn’t seem to matter.
Team: J. Cannon, R. Godschalk, Akhtar Ahmad, J. Willatt, Sachin, L. Buscombe, S. Brady, C. Covell, C.Bell, A. Seager and T. Francis. 12th man P.Cayford.
