Page 192 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

A CRACKING GAME PLAYED IN GREAT SPIRIT UNDER A CLOUDLESS SKY WITH THE RESULT UNCERTAIN TIL THE FINAL OVER OF THE DAY. WHAT COULD BE BETTER?
Festival Cricket Week
Opening the Festival was the match against Canford School on Thursday 28th July and with honours even at a Win a-piece, the Match manager, Major Jono Mills, assembled a balanced XI that included the highly competitive bowling attack of LCpl Oller- enshaw (Army & CS) and Cpl de Freitas (Infantry). Invited to eld rst, these two reduced the school to 19 for 2 in short order before Organ and Ambrose developed a stand of 150 – Organ went on to register 108 before POC (Sep 17 RMAS Intake) Jason Roy had him as one of his two wickets. Rfn Breslin grabbed another two and Captain Kenji Ara with great athleticism threw the stumps down from square leg with the school on 245 for 7 off their 50 overs. Following tea, the Ri es XI started brightly with an unbeaten opening partnership of 68 by Captain Matt O’Connor (29) and POC Jason Roy (24) but, with the run rate in the Ri es favour, the rain arrived to stop Play. Was a Win thwarted? We shall never know but the depth of batting was strong ..... roll on 2018!
Game 2 was against the Symondians CC Presi- dent’s XI on Friday 29th July and was played with the backdrop of the Club President’s Lunch designed to launch the Fund-raising for the new Upper Pavilion (see above). Despite some excellent individual performances with bat and ball, and a couple of heartening batting partnerships, a charac- teristic Ri es batting collapse saw the team lose the xture by 18 runs.
The Ri es XI was augmented by the presence of Rob Hilliard (formerly of 2 RIFLES, and now teaching in Mumbai via Sydney and a yacht in the Baltic), who, despite nursing sore limbs and aching bones after his efforts in the match against Canford School the previous day, led the bowling attack with two indefatigable spells of accurate medium pace in which he was desperately unlucky not to secure a wicket. The team was also unlucky to lose the bowling services of LCpl Wesley Hurn (2 RIFLES) who played on gamely despite suffering a painful elbow injury which limited him to bowling a solitary over. Lt Ben Bishop (5 RIFLES) troubled the St Cross top order with his pace and line and Maj Jono Mills (1 RIFLES) accurate medium pace bowling stymied the opposition’s run rate. However, a chanceless century by a young Northamptonshire CCC squad lifted the opposition to a score of 250 for 4.
Following the marquee lunch, the quality and quantity of which was possibly to blame for the errant batting performance which followed, the RCC chase started in earnest with LCpl Hurn estab- lishing a platform before exploding into action with a number of huge sixes, one of which cleared the St
Cross clubhouse and interrupted play on the lower eld. His innings of 59 runs from 26 balls, in which he and Mark Cranley (formerly MO 2 RIFLES) put real pressure on the opposition with quick running and intelligent batting, allowed the team to race to 82 runs from 10 overs before LCpl Hurn was given out, after much deliberation, to a ball which clipped his stumps despite the close attentions of the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
Capt Si Swindells (2 RIFLES) joined the Doctor in the middle and constructed a 70 run partnership which, with the team at 155-2 and requiring less than four runs an over to win the match, created real tension in the St Cross XI. Hopes of a victory were high until the traditional Ri es batting collapse, from 166 for 6 to 200 for 9, put pressure on lower order bats. With 51 runs required from 12 overs, Rob Hilliard now arrived to support Henry Foyle (70*), the Symondians captain’s brother, and the two started to reduce the ask until, in a mad moment, Hilliard attempted an understandable but suicidal run and was caught at the wrong end and run out with the score 18 runs short.
The third match of cricket week was the eagerly anticipated xture against I Zingari on Saturday 1st July. There was a stellar line-up including both serving and former Ri emen, some with split loyalties that naturally chose the Ri es CC for the day. Having elded rst for the previous two days, the team was relieved to win the toss and elect to bat!
An exemplary performance from James Fulton (117) was the anchor of our innings, leading us to 129 for 1 at lunch. There was, needless to say, a small collapse, but other notable contributions from Mark Cranley and Theo Bosom allowed us to declare at a competitive 246 for 9.
With the ball RCC started strongly, Theo Bosom removing a couple of dangerous batsmen at the top of their order. Simon Child showed no signs of rustiness at all behind the stumps standing up to keep the pressure on the batsmen. Unfortunately they hit their stride and despite an array of efforts, they steadily chipped away at the scoreboard. Late wickets from George Curtis and Rob Hilliard (after a tireless effort throughout the entirety of cricket week that was agonisingly fruitless yet economical!) made things interesting as we moved into the last 10 overs of the day. With one over to spare however, I Zingari reached the required total. A cracking game played in great spirit under a cloudless sky with the result uncertain til the nal over of the day. What could be better?
The fourth and nal element of the Festival, the match against the Free Foresters on the Sunday was unable to attract suf cient players for either Club and was called on the Saturday. Disappointing but there is always 2018. Sadly, a fortnight later, rain caused the Old Wykehamists game to be cancelled leaving the IZ as the Final Home game of the 2017 season.
There were two further ‘Away’ games at Burton’s Court in London. The rst was the 7RIFLES annual T20 against its linked Livery Company, the Haber- dashers’ on 2nd August.
Though the wider RCC community were alerted, 7RIFLES found suf cient players from within own resources to take on the Haberdashers’ Livery Company XI at Burton Court on 2nd August.
The Ri es XI v King’s School Bruton
190 RIFLES SPORTS
THE RIFLES