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2nd XI
Matches
Sat 02 Aug 2025  ·  Division 5J
Petersfield Cricket Club
2nd XI
169/7
250/7
Kerala (Portsmouth) CC - 3rd XI
Another disappointing display

Another disappointing display

Dave Squires12 Aug - 08:57

Rich Stephens 49 & 2-43 Georgie Russell 22 & 1-38

On paper, five defeats on the bounce for the Second XI and visitors in the form of Kerala who were chasing down the title of league champions, this would be a tough afternoon for Petersfield… But could a return to Heath and some faces back in the fold set the foundation for an upset?

Billed as “the most pointless toss in history”, with Kerala a “bat first” side regardless of the conditions, and a Petersfield captain with a desire to bowl first… Still formalities did take place, and it was Steve Gibson who won the anticlimactic flip of the coin, electing to have a bowl. Tosswatch, Steve beating the odds with 8 wins from 13 attempts (although, the futile nature of this toss means it should maybe be stricken from the record…).

So, 1pm sharp and action gets underway, with Petersfield openers Steve Gibson (0-27) and Adam Kidd (1-29) took the new ball to face up to the visitors’ opening pair of Midhun (30) and Chirag (29). Petersfield did well to contain Kerala in the opening stages – tidy bowling and some good efforts in the field keeping the aggressors at bay. Kerala did eventually begin to up their run rate, and it wasn’t until Tom Horwood (1-28) and Nathan Barlow (1-40) came into the attack that breakthrough came. First, Barlow removed Midhun caught by Gibson, and then Horwood removed the dangerous Chirag shortly after, caught by Derek Kelly. Horwood bowled through eight overs and kept the Kerala middle order tied down successfully (unfortunate not to take more wickets), but runs began flow nonetheless… Petersfield debutant Oscar Bartlett (0-37), his mother watching on with recording gear in full force, came into the attack to replace Barlow, but struggled to find his areas after a five-year hiatus from the game…He did, however, take a wicket with him to, removing Anilkumar (44) at an important point in the game. Georgie Russell (1-38) and Rich Stephens (2-43) came in to the attack – another day both would have had more than luck… The Kerala middle order swinging hard and with a combination of some impressive lusty blows and good fortune, took the score past 200. Russell did clean bowl one batter, with Stephens clean bowling another and having another caught well in the deep by Horwood. Kidd returned to close out from his original end, hitting a good “death length” for most of the return, taking one batter with him before Kerala concluding the innings with a boundary to end on 250-7.

Lots of toil in the field for Petersfield was made all the easier by the promise of a Barlow Tea – suffice it to say, it came with all the expected trimmings and enjoyed all round. A combined 20 stone heavier after the feast, it was time for Petersfield to take to begin their pursuit of the imposing total…

Petersfield openers Tom Horwood (14) and Steve Gibson (22) wandered out to the middle to take on Chandran (2-48) and Shaji (1-15). It was Horwood to settled quickest, hitting some eye catching drives before being remove by a short ball that didn’t bounce and clattered into his stumps a third of the way up… Gibson looked to stead the ship, but lost another partner in Stuart Kidd (8) who spooned a lofted drive straight to mid-off who made no mistake… Ned Kelly (14) also came and went after a couple of boundaries, chopping one onto his stumps, before Gibson would then removed, caught behind. That paved the way for the most promising partnership of the innings from Georgie Russell (22) and Rich Stephens (49), who added 75 together, both looking solid and playing some attractive shots – Stephens in particular pouncing on anything on the wrong length. Russel’s resolute defense was eventually breached to be bowled, with Stephens following not long after, caught well behind the stumps. That left Derek Kelly (14*), making his Second XI debut for the club, to knock off a few handy runs, rotating the strike well with Suraj Sashidharan (2), before the latter was caught behind, to leave Oscar Bartlett (0*) to face the very last ball of the innings, but sadly couldn’t opening his runs account for club, with a dot ball to finish the innings. Petersfield finishing on 169-7, with Kerala winning by 81 runs.

Sadly, the most likely result did emerge, with Petersfield now in a relegation scrap with four games to go, having lost the last six on the bounce… That said, the Second XI only have fellow relegation scrappers left to play, so have their fate entirely in their own hands. The task of climbing back away from peril begins next week away at Bedhampton Mariners

Match details

Match date

Sat 02 Aug 2025

Start time

13:00

Meet time

11:30

Competition

Division 5J

League position

1
Kerala (Portsmouth) CC - 3rd XI
8
Petersfield CC - 2nd XI
Further reading