Lodsworth CC v The President’s Xl at Lodsworth 19th July 2009
Lodsworth 232 for 6 (Matt Hall 50 retired, Jon Clifford 43, Dave Clark 27 not out, Paul Phillips 24 not out, Josh Cowell 22; Brown 5 overs 3 for 30)
The President’s Xl 125 all out (J Walker 48, A Mills 24, N Pearman 14, Jake Taylor 9; Oliver King 2 overs 3 for 5, Josh Cowell 1 over 2 for 0)
Lodsworth CC won.
The cancellation of the Lodsworth Six-a-Side Tournament, left space in the calender for a new fixture against a President’s Xl assembled by George Bristow, that hopefully could become an annual event. Lodsworth fielded a strong team that saw Bob Powell relegated to 12th man, while The Presidents Xl was a mixture of doyens of the village game and senior school boys from Wellington College skippered by South African hit man Rod Taylor (visiting from Muscat) backed by his son Jake,
In the spirit of the friendly encounter Lodsworth captain Andy Long reversed his batting order sending out Jon Clifford and Josh Cowell to open. Both did well, Clifford making a season best 46 and Cowell 22. Long made a lively 36 and the middle order weighed in with useful contributions as Lodsworth finished on 232 for 6 off 35 overs.
The President’s men started well with the openers J Walker (48) and A Mills (24) creating a solid platform. There were other useful contributions notably by Jake Taylor (9) before a collapse that saw Ollie King claim 3 wickets for 5 runs off 2 overs and Josh Cowell bowl just one over to take 2 wicket for 0.The Presidents Xl were ‘blown away’ in the westerly gale for just 125.
A jolly afternoon of cricket ended on a convivial note with a barbecue at the Hollist Arms where we were able to observe, what appears to be the village scaffold being erected in the car park.
Man of the match John Clifford
