After Four Ducks, Hawkes Efforts In Vain

After six overs everything was going well for the Second Team with 32 on the board. But there was a big collapse with four ducks and when rain enforced a break in the 22nd over the score had crumbled to 67-8. As play was about to resume captain Toby Wastling said to Paul Orton ‘See if you can get it to a hundred to give us something to bowl at.’

That seemed like a very optimistic prospect. So the match resumed with James Hawkes on 15 and Orton yet to score. Hawkes clearly knew it was his job to see the Second Team out of the mire. He sensibly took singles towards the end of overs to retain the strike, defended when it was needed and when the bowlers drifted down the leg side he showed what a good onside player he is.

But he demonstrated that he has other shots too as he produced a number of pleasing off drives. Orton played has part, taking nineteen balls to get off the mark and helped see the score passed the target set when he was out with the total on 104.

That brought Australian Nick Grant to the crease; three league innings in England and two runs scored. Surely the end was in sight. But when Hawkes couldn’t keep the strike he defended valiantly, pushed the occasional single and eventually cut the ball backward of point for two.

He unleashed a very stylish looking off drive to find to his obvious disappointment that it was fielded at mid off and score nothing rather than the four the shot deserved. He kept Hawkes company for an hour to see the score to 160 and utilize the maximum entitlement of 52 overs, a scenario that seemed way beyond the horizon two hours earlier.

Even though there had been an heroic rearguard action, 160 was obviously a sub standard total to set with a rate of 3.35 an over needed for victory. The openers progressed slowly against a good opening bowling spell from Lawrence Snookes and Nick Grant as they scored just 20 from the first ten overs.

But the vital early breakthrough didn’t come and the first wicket was not until the seventeenth over when Orton got one to nip back and bowl Barney Atkins. Two wickets fell in consecutive overs as Wastling had David Ramsden caught at mid off by Jake Seagrave and Snookes bowled Lewis Abbott.

But with only 46 needed from just over 16 overs the writing was on the wall. There were a couple of late wickets for Grant to bring up a third bowling point but the inevitable happened as Kew won with nearly four overs to spare.