Looking to bounce back from last week’s humbling away at the hands of the league leaders, the Second XI played host to bottom club Titchborne Park at an arid Heath. Lacking a coin, the two captains wandered to the middle to do the toss with a Wicketkeeper’s’ Glove – yes, we are that village. The visitors’ captain incorrectly called “bobbly side up”, with the glove landing “smooth side up”, giving Petersfield the choice – one that resulted in the hosts batting first. (Tosswatch – that’s now a statistically improbable seven wins from eleven tosses now for captain badger).

On to the action, with Petersfield openers Isaac Bowerbank (106) and Ned Kelly (37) wandering out to face up to James Tabrah (0-38) and Craig Jones (0-47). With a couple of Titchborne fielders an over or two late, the hosts were busy from the outset with boundaries being hit with relative ease as the ball skipped gleefully across the rapid outfield. The pair took the score past 50 without loss, both looking comfortable, seeing off the openers and making light work of the funny action of Vish Iyer (1-45) and the left-arm over angle of Joshua Wilks (2-38). It was Wilks who got the first breakthrough for the visitors – after Kelly had hit him for a hard flat six a short while earlier, he took an excellent caught and bowl with the ball in the air for a long period of time and took it just behind his head to the disappointment of Kelly. Opening stand of 80 broken, and it was over to Steve Gibson (27) to keep Bowerbank company, which he duly did, running well and putting the bad balls away, as Bowerbank brought up a well deserved half-century. Gibson fell shortly after, adjudged LBW off Iyer, bringing captain Tom Horwood (43) to the crease who immediately picked up the rate playing confident shots down the ground, sweeping and through the covers. Bowerbank and Horwood took the score past 200 at around the 30-over mark, and looked set to keep kicking on. The big moment of the innings came shortly after – after getting a little stuck in the mid-to-late eighties with tiredness kicking in on another hot day, Bowerbank’s patience paid off to put two quickfire boundaries away to propel him into the high-nineties, before showing real maturity to keep knocking the ball around to bring up his maiden century with a lovely nudge into the leg-side, to the delight of his teammates and family watching on from the side. Well batted, Isaac! That, however, was definitely where the innings peaked for Petersfield – the very next ball, Horwood was given out caught behind, and not long after, Bowerbank fell attempting to reverse sweep a slow bowler and gloving the ball up in the air for the wicketkeeper to take the simplest of catches – a tame end, but a wonderful knock to get on the Heath’s prodigious Honours Board. The innings fizzled out as James Longland (6) and Fraser Anstey (0) struggled to lay serious bat on ball (other than Longland’s one maximum!), with Anstey running himself out without troubling the scorers, and Longland then being run out attempting to take a cheeky bye off the last ball of the innings, leaving Del Kelly (2 not out) partnerless as the umpires called Tea. Petersfield 241-6 from 40 overs.

Petersfield settled into Tea, feeling confident with a score that was probably 40-60 runs above par – the rapid outfield making a dry pitch that little bit easier to get value for good shots from. Players fed and watered, it was time to go about defending the Second XI’s biggest total of the year…

Over to Petersfield’s opening pair of Steve Gibson (2-14) and Nathan Barlow (5-18) to do battle with Daniel Tabrah (7) and Grant Leonard (0). Barlow started brightly, with his first ball of yorker length and sneaking under the bat of Leonard to give the hosts and early opening. Tabrah looked confident to punch off the back foot, but was sent temporarily packing by “vicious Gibson” who managed to get one to rear from a length into his thumb… That brought Vish Iyer (6) to the crease, who wasn’t in for long, Barlow dispatching him - caught by Del Kelly at short extra-cover, bringing Tabrah back after icing his thumb – who almost immediately fell to Barlow with Stuart Kidd doing the necessary to take the ball over his shoulder at square leg. Aidan Blackman (6) and Ben Bendall (1) were brought together at the crease, but Blackman was swiftly removed by Gibson, with Fraser Anstey making no mistake with the catch. Therein began a vigil of sorts from Bendall and Kev Hiscox LP (15), the latter being a ‘loanee’ from Froxfield (go figure), that went on for what felt like an eternity… The hosts amused themselves with an array of entertaining fields, that included two gulleys, two slips, a leg slip and close catchers in front of the wicket on both sides. Eventually, it wasn’t the fielders that got Bendall, but the persistence of Gibson who finally had his man trapped LBW, plum in front. That opened up an end for Petersfield to attack, with Barlow completing a five-wicket haul, having Joshua Wilks (0) caught behind, using the ridge to his advantage, and then having Will Murfitt (0) trapped in front, not really playing a shot, to make it a duo of first-time Honours Board entries for the afternoon. Well bowled, Nath! With the visitors now 34-7, they might have hoped that the end of Gibson of Barlow would lead to some level of reprieve… Little did they know that Petersfield had plenty in the tank! The talented duo of Fraser Anstey (1-14) and Wilf Vincent (1-20) were turned to from either end, and Vincent in particular got the crowd going, bowling at good speed and looking likely to cause trouble for Hiscox LP and Rory North (0). North did in fact succumb to a Vincent short ball, not looking entirely comfortable and spooning the ball to the waiting Stuart Kidd for his second catch of the day. Anstey also had his reward, looping one up to Hiscox LP which proved too tempting, but the batter only found Gibson at mid-on despite making decent contact. That left visiting captain Crag Jones (16) to survive with James Tabah (1*), with Jones looking to hit through anything off length to batter to score to element of respectability – the score did more than double since he joined at 34-8, but fell to Stuart Kidd with only the fourth ball of his spell, being well caught at first slip above the head of Ned “only takes worldies” Kelly. Titchborne Park, 77 all out, with Petersfield winning by 164 runs.

So, a comfortable day out in the end for the Second XI, but one that involved the top order (young Bowerbank in particular) taking responsibility to really set a platform to win the game from, backed up by a disciplined bowling performance (Barlow the headline act, but well supported by all others used, and more options in the tank if had been required!) with sterling work in the field to keep the pressure up – a performance worth of the full 24 points claimed.

The Second XI remain at the Heath next Saturday for the visit of Portsmouth, looking to emulate the sort of performance that fared them so well today, and solidify glorious mid-table mediocrity!