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Portslade V Kings CC 05 Jul 08 |
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The second day of tour saw the weather deliver a cloudless sky and bright summer sunshine, if somewhat breezy. The venue was Portslade and the ground which sat in a slight valley was located just alongside a local Supermarket. However the pitch was ideal for batting with a fast outfield. The hosts, who have a very strong colt structure were most welcoming and fielded a side with a mixture of ages. Much to the relief of some of those suffering from a night on the beer Kings won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening overs were cagey and Kings struggled to make headway against some tight bowling from the Portslade bowlers of Glover and Packham. In was during this spell that Kings opener Dave Miller was dropped off what was an easy chance at square leg. It was to prove an expensive miss by the home side. Yet it was Miller's partner Nick Tighe that really got the innings underway. A series of fine attacking shots soon saw the scoreboard rattling round as Tighe dealt virtually exclusively in boundaries. Miller also soon found his form and also started to find the boundary on an outfield that rewarded the batsmen as soon as they got it through the field. Tighe seemed well set for a half century was he swung across and straight ball from Hills and was adjudged leg before for 49 (93-1), despite the ball striking him very high up the leg. With 9 fours and 1 six, 42 of Tighe's runs had come in boundaries. The fall of the wicket brought Richard Warne to the crease and he played with an aggressive freedom from the start. Dominating in a partnership which was to add 139 for the second wicket Warne punished the bowling, including successive sixes to the leg side boundary. He soon passed Miller's score and reached his Kings maiden fifty. Miller played a more sedate role but he also soon reached fifty as the runs flowed on a warm afternoon and the home side rang the changes with their bowlers. Warne was now closing in on a century and it was a total surprise when he was bowled behind his legs by Jones having made a superb 94, containing 15 fours and 3 sixes (232-2). In the same over Jones struck again as Pipe was caught behind without scoring (232-3) and with three overs to go Skipper Young was caught at cover (243-4). There was still time for a late flurry from Miller and Reedman as Kings started to close in on their highest ever score, however the innings finished on 268-5, with Reedman, dancing down the wicket, being stumped off the last ball. Miller finished 85 not out, with 16 fours, and completing 80 overs and 206 runs in his last two innings without being dismissed. Portslade's reply got off to a terrible start, they lost Jones, bowled by Miah without scoring (4-1) and then Bygrave accounted for Robins (12-2). However if Kings thought this was to be a walk in the park they were wrong. Wainwright's arrival at the crease signalled a distinct change in fortunes for the home side. Using Miah's pace he soon laid into some superb drives with a technique that was straight from the coaching book. Likewise, with superb timing he would work Bygrave into gaps in the field. Kings were soon forced on to the defensive, Sones replaced Miah, which brought some control, but still fielders were needed back on the boundaries as Wainwright, and his partner Lawrey, more than kept up with the run rate. Some relief came Kings way when Bygrave picked up his second, and 300th career wicket, when he bowled Lawrey (74-3) and not long afterwards Glover lifted Sones straight to Reedman at mid wicket (81-4). However, a stubborn, solid and attacking partnership between the Wainwright brothers followed and kept the home team up with the pace. At the halfway stage of the game Portslade were looking good to successfully chase the total. The turning point came with the introduction of first Gordon Young and then Simon Pipe. Pipe made a mockery of what had gone before; he cut off the scoring and claimed the two wickets Kings needed most. Both the Wainwright's fell to him, with good catches being taken by Tighe and Reedman as the home side slide from 143-4 to 153-6. The game as a contest was all but over now, and with the run rate now starting to climb rapidly Young got in on the act bowling Case (153-7) and soon after Packham (159-8). Pipe's third wicket came when Hills edged behind and Warne, in his first game behind the sumps for Kings, claimed his first Kings dismissal (169-9). It was all over when Mears speared in a vicious Yorker to trap Hanson leg before wicket. Kings winning margin of 99 runs may seem to indicate an easy victory, which ultimately it was, but in the middle overs of the game Portslade were making Kings sweat and the dismissal of Wainwright for a superb 88 was the key, had he batted through the result may have been different. For Kings, the outstanding innings of Warne and Miller, plus the explosive batting of Tighe - along with excellent bowling from Pipe were the highlights on what was a superb afternoon's cricket against most welcoming opponents KINGS Dave
Miller NOT OUT 85 Glover
8-1-52-0 PORTSLADE S.
Jones Bowled b. Miah 0 Joel
Miah 4-0-27-1
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