Firsts get off to a winning start
Posted by Nobody on 3 May 2021
Having been invited to bat by Sparsholt skipper David Banks, Andover posted a seemingly above par 195-8 on a London Road pitch offering significant assistance to the bowlers. A crash bang start to the innings was halted by two wickets in two balls, both caught by ‘keeper Josh May off Tom Ley – one regulation, the other a blinding one hander. Wickets fell regularly after that, with Liam Doran taking 3 for 34, as Andover declined to 124-8. Matt Hooper (40*) and Roman Duckworth (24*) then showed their teammates the benefits of a more prudent approach to shot selection to achieve respectability at the break.
Sparsholt’s innings also got off to an aggressive start, built around a typically belligerent 44 by Stuart Taylor, who put on 75 with debutant Dan Sumner (21). The ball continued to move around under heavy skies, and Babu Veettil in particular was unlucky not to return better figures than his 2-30. The early fireworks took all the pressure off the scoring rate, allowing Liam Doran to score a fine 53* to steer Sparsholt home by 6 wickets with nearly 9 overs to spare. He was ably assisted by the team’s second newcomer, Ashley “AC” Collinson with an assured 23 not out.
