Shere 30Jun02

Kings second match of their tour was played at the picturesque ground of Shere CC and on a cloudy afternoon with a brisk wind blowing across the ground Kings won the toss and asked their hosts to bat first.

The early overs saw an inspired spell of imaginative bowling from Nick Tighe but despite his best efforts he was unable to get a breakthrough. At the other end Sones also had no luck, with one chance just falling short of 1st slip and another put down at gully. Mears and Pipe took over the bowling but once again thefielders failed to support the bowlers as more chances failed to be taken by Kings. The cause was not also helped by some very unlike Kings fielding, which saw runs conceded from over throws. Finally with the score on 58 the breakthrough came in a fortunate way. Pipe bowled a dipping full toss which Whittle ducked under only to see the ball drop onto his stumps. However Shere's Maguire continued to live a charmed life as Kings continued to let chances pass and having been dropped on 48 he went onto complete his fifty.

Finally with the score on 88 Kings got their act together, Pipe took a good an excellent caught and bowled to dismiss Richardson then Bygrave finally managed to remove Maguire, caught by Sones in the gully (95-3). Pipe claimed his third wicket when Sones took his second catch to dismiss Knapp (102-4). The focus then fell on Bygrave who quickly ran through the late order batting, to claim the season's first 5 wicket haul, bowling two and having catches taken by Pipe and keeper Smith. Perry claimed a wicket with his first ball before the innings was declared at tea with the score on 138-9.

With Perry carrying a slight injury Murphy opened the batting with Miller and for the second day running Kings posted a century opening partnership. It was a partnership that was dominated by the inform Miller who dominated the bowling from the off. Meanwhile Murphy for the second game running struggled to find any rhythm and played a supporting role. Miller successfully completed his second successive fifty and seemed well on the way to carrying his bat. However in the 23rd over, with 113 on the board Murphy was stumped for 21. Pipe then came in and blasted some huge shots before with the score on 130 and with victory in sight Miller was caught behind for a magnificent 71, off just 77 balls and containing 10 fours and 1 six. It was left to Perry and Pipe to see Kings canter home with plenty of overs left.

This win extended Kings unbeaten start to the season, and also their unbeaten six year record on tour. It was also a fine way to celebrate for Kings Captain Rob Young to celebrate his 150th appearance as Captain.