Charlton Down Cricket Club
Abbotsbury v Charlton Down Monday June 18th 2007
Charlton Down bow out of the Cup with their heads held high!
A lovely evening and venue greeted Charlton Down as they had their quarter-final cup clash away at 2nd division Abbotsbury. After winning the toss Charlton Down opted to bat on what turned out to be a very low bouncing, slow-paced, sticky wicket (not as bad as Plush and Winfrith it has to be said). With a slope resembling that of a ski slope, batting was always going to be difficult, and so it proved!!
The Charlton Down innings never really gathered any momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals. The low bounce contributed to the first few wickets to fall (Butterworth’s almost shooting along the ground) and building an innings proved a difficult task. There was a glimmer of hope when Coates-Dale (21) and Holdcroft (10) put together a promising looking stand, but the low bounce then accounted for Holdcroft as he was bowled. Coates-Dale should have looked to bat through the innings but with frustration of not being able to keep the strike he produced a rash shot with eight overs to go and fell to a catch at deepish extra cover. Wickets continued to fall and Charlton Down were eventually out for 72.
What pursued was a fantastic team performance in the field by Charlton Down. With a never say die attitude Abbotsbury found chasing their target as equally hard. Good tight opening spells from Fagence and Homewood restricted to Abbotsbury to 26-4 after the first 10 overs. This was backed up by some superb close fielding by Rickard and Holdcroft to prevent any quick singles from being taken, outstanding lively outfield performances from the likes of Towndrow, Bradshaw and Silk pushed Abbotsbury right to the end of the game. The home side squeezing home with 5 wickets to spare.
Overall this was a good test for Charlton Down who more than held their own in this match. The game saw Charlton Down face a challenge for the first time this season and they handled it incredibly well. Although the game was lost the captain was very proud to see such a spirited effort form his team and believes the attitude and commitment will bode well for the team in the future. With promotion looming for this young, talented team they will relish the opportunity to gain promotion to Division 2 next year and defeat Abbotsbury twice in the league!!