The first game at home for the 1's saw Belhus well and truly taken to the cleaners as we amassed a whopping 427 runs inside our allocated 50 overs.
Winning the toss, skipper Dave had no hesitation in deciding to bat first in overcast conditions. The threat of rain had seemed to subside which Dave decided to take advantage of. It was a decision that had Belhus running to all parts of the ground as openers Jack Plom and Tom Arnold tore their bowling apart. Tom gave them the first chance to stop the rot with a simple catch to mid-on, having scored 20 and with the score on 43 in the third over. They say that catches can be costly and this proved to be the case.as the boys hit the three-figure mark in the ninth over, motoring along at nearly two runs a ball. The same ball saw Jack pass 50, from 25 balls, including nine fours and a six. The next over saw Tom reach 50, coming from 30 balls and including 10 fours. By the 16th over, we had passed 150, with the boys batting beautifully, matching each other run for run, shot for shot.
Tom was the first to hit a century, achieving it in the 24th over, having hit 15 fours and two sixes (65 balls) and took the team total pass 200. He gave Belhus a second chance, which they again failed to take. Jack waited till after the drinks break to finally get past the hundred mark, scored from 84 balls, with 16 fours and a six.
The first wicket finally fell in the 29th over with the score on 261 and it was Tom who was caught at the third time of asking, the catcher holding on close to the boundary line. Tom had made 116, and it included sixteen fours and three sixes (81 balls). With one wicket comes two and Jack fell in the next over, reverse sweeping a top edge to the keeper, having scored 130 from 93 balls (20 fours and three sixes). With more than 20 overs to go, this gave the rest of the side the freedom to throw the bat at (almost) everything. Caleb (49), Ronnie (41) and the returning Theo Robinson (28) paid heed to this as the rest of the side failed to get into double figures. The final wicket fell in the final over and 427 was a figure not scored by a Shenfield side in a VERY, VERY long time, if ever. Record books will be checked to see if this score has ever been amassed.
Tom felt that he hadn't had much of a game and opened the bowling with Sam Bear. Not content with scoring 100+, he then took their first three wickets in his first six overs as the visitors slumped to 58-3. A superb catch by Alex Rickenbach on the boundary in front of his adoring fans outside the pavilion saw the fall of the fourth wicket, and another returner in Charlie Haddon helped himself to two wickets, his miserly bowling only conceding 19 runs from his ten overs. Caleb celebrated his home debut with his third consecutive four wicket haul, and Jack castled the stumps for the last wicket as Belhus were shot out for a miserable 144, losing the match by a whopping 283 runs.
Three from three and top of the table. We remain at home for our next league encounter, against Westcliff. Signs are promising. More difficult challenges will no doubt be ahead of us, but this team looks in better shape than last season. Let's hope that this is not a false dawn.............................
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