GARGOYLES CRASH TO EARTH COURTESY OF STROLLERS

After a run of convincing victories, Alstonefield St. Peter’s Cricket Club more than met their match against a wily St. Anselm’s Strollers XI on Sunday.

Choosing to bat first, the Strollers launched their innings with an aggression which took the Gargoyles by surprise. Opener Gregory set the tone with eight boundaries in his 42, with Hepper and Cardwell following suit with their 35 and 50. At the halfway stage, the Strollers were scoring above seven per over in spite of some accurate bowling from Amrit Singh, Mikey Allen and Phil Bagshaw.  In the second half of the innings, the Gargoyles fought back, with John Salt and Ian McKay able to quell the run fest and take seven wickets between them. At tea, the Strollers had set a target of 194 to win at 5.5 per over. Well within the Gargoyles’ recent firepower.

But not this time. Superb seam bowling from Horsenal and Wood had the Gargoyles at 43 for 5 wickets and any chance of victory back in the village hall over the scones. John Salt with 22 was the only recognised batsman to show the confidence and skill needed. The tail wagged and showed what might have been, with Alan Hayes notching 10 runs, Graham Salt 9, John Clarke 11 and Finlay Allen impressing with some elegant cover drives. 99 all out and defeat by 95 runs. Not the performance to put fear into the Ladies XI in this Sunday’s fixture.