Eaton Bray (215-6, 40 overs, Ashby 2-39) beat LILLEY (103 all out, G Tompkins 31) by 112 runs
Emphatic it sounds and emphatic it was as Lilley crumbled to their third consecutive defeat with an inept display in almost every department.
Lilley won the toss and chose to field in the limited overs game and started brightly. Ashby (2-39) picked up two early wickets and bowled well with GT at the other end bowling his socks off. Tompkins bagged a wicket too and with the home side 23-3, Lilley were in the driving seat.
The introduction of the change bowlers prompted what can only be described as some of the most ludicrously bad fielding of all time…Brad Tompkins dropped one of the easiest return catches ever, and that was the tip of the iceberg! Philo, GT, Dodgy, Eyres, Ashby…the drops just kept coming! Mis-fields added to the pain, as Bray made hay while the sun shined and Lilley floundered. The home side eventually wracked up 215-6, after Clarke, Eyres and a run out accounted for other wickets to fall, but that was probably 50 more than they should have had.
All said, the wicket still looked reasonably good – but that theory soon left in the first over when Doug Tomsett was bowled by the grubber from hell. To make matters worse, Brad Tompkins was bowled round his legs moments later, leaving Lilley 2-2 in the first over. Ashby (6), Horner (2) and Qureshi (4) were all soon back in the hutch, and despite his attempt to dig in for the visitors, Rogers then went for 14, leaving Lilley 56-6.
Gareth Tompkins and Phil Clarke made a tidy partnership of 28, before GT was adjudged leg before by umpire Qureshi after the weakest of appeals for 31. Clarke did his best to muster some life from the tail, but his demise for 19 was the beginning of the end.
Lilley finished up 103 all out and deserved to be soundly beaten. Steeple Morden next week will provide a stern test and changes no doubt will be made. Steve Eyres and Peter Rogers are unavailable, so two enforced changes will have to be made.
