COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE MAN.

Wrecclesham 2nd XI vs Churt 3rd XI played at Stoke Park, Guildford on 20 June.

Almost straight off the plane from teaching English in Greece, Pete O'Sullivan gave a masterclass in No. 10 batting to earn 2 points for the Twoos when Churt appeared to be on course for a maximum.

Earlier, it had been an afternoon in the field which most of the Twoos will want to forget as Churt blasted their way to 204 for 4 off just 32 overs. Only Hayden and Mitch with a catch apiece, Mitch taking a very good one off a bottom edge standing up behind the stumps, and John Hanmer who chased everything tirelessly and worked his vocal chords just as hard, can look back on a decent afternoon's work.

Fortunately, the Twoos misery was cut short by a very sporting declaration from the Churt skipper, and an early, improvised but very decent, tea was taken from the boots of the team cars in the car park. Where the hot water came from remains a mystery.

Chasing a formidable total but with 58 overs to do it and several of the Twoos batsmen having been in good form in recent weeks, a win for the 'away' side was a possibility. However, although Bernie, Mitch and Hayden all got a start, none of the top half of the batting order posted the kind of score that was needed. In fact with the score at 79 for 8 in the 27th over, the Anglo Saxon burial mound on top of which the wicket had been prepared appeared to sum up the Twoos chances.

Enter Pete O'Sullivan. Meeting anything straight with a straight bat and eschewing the aerial route for anything that needed putting away, Pete notched up a career best 30 not out with an innings of great discipline and skill. A sumptuous cover drive all along the deck for 4 off paceman Brian Cervi was a shot to remember. Together with Steve Houghton (26 not out) the partnership put on 75 runs in 31 overs to earn the Twoos the draw with a respectable final score of 154 for 8.

It is a credit to Churt that despite this not being their usual ground and the poor facilities at Stoke Park, they did their level best to make this an enjoyable match. It must have been desperately frustrating for them to come away with a draw after a very sporting declaration and some good performances with both bat and ball, yet the game was played with sportsmanship and good humour throughout.

Match report by Grey Owl