STONED AGAIN

25/05/03: The OLCC are still looking for their first win of the year after slumping to a 61-run defeat at Middleton Stoney.

The home side were inserted and took 50 overs to reach their total of 168 for six, which featured 4-43 for Jon Shingles and 2-25 for skipper Geoff Samuels.

The OLCC reply got off to a tragic start and it required Tom Carter's 30, Nick Wood's 10 and David Bibby's 28 to rescue the side from a disastrous 21-6 to relative respectability of 107 all out.

The match had begun at 2.30pm after skipper Samuels had won the toss and fielded, taking into account the apparently batting-heavy make-up of the side.

However excellent opening spells from Tom Carter, who was unlucky to finish wicketless from his 10 overs, and the captain himself - who removed Chich and Cripps with almost identical outswinging deliveries - allowed the visitors to enjoy the best of the early part of the match.

Shingles, who came on first change to replace Samuels, got his marathon bowling stint of 18 overs under way in style, trapping the dangerous Moorman lbw in his fourth over.

However the OLs were to have to wait almost an hour and quarter for another success as David Bibby and Chris Straw tried in vain to break a flourishing fourth-wicket stand between Picknett and Buchholz.

The pair added 99 before Shingles finally broke through again, snaring both batsmen (the first courtesy of a well-judged John Acland-Hood catch) as well as Brooks before tea arrived - not a moment too soon - with the home side declaring on 168 for six.

With an eventual 37 overs available to the OLCC an interesting run chase ought to have ensued but sadly the expected strength of batting failed to materialise.

John Crosfield and Graham Carter were both bowled with the total not past five - the latter picking up his 55th duck of the season - but a key blow followed in the sixth over when Acland-Hood chipped a simple catch to midwicket and followed the openers back to the pavilion having failed to trouble scorer Tom Gillmor.

Worse was to follow though as Ed Ball, Andrew Moss and Shingles all had their castles flattened, the score was 21-6 and the pavilion chatter was of the lowest total ever made by the club.

However Tom Carter and Wood combined attack with defence judiciously and took the OLCC innings past the all-important 55 mark before Wood was bowled by Sperry.

The OLCC keeper was to reappear though as Tom Carter pulled a hamstring and required a runner during his impressive stand of 46 with Bibby, who produced some of his favourite shots to compile a quickfire 28 off 26 balls.

But he perished to an astonishing one-handed running catch by Cripps at mid-off, Carter holed out to Sperry at mid-on the very next ball and Straw was caught at silly mid-off to complete the day's proceedings.

An excellent barbeque was then laid on by the home side and the OLs wasted no time in tucking into the steak, burgers and sausages on offer before disappearing off into the night.

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