Whitchurch Wayfarers 2nd XI v Stoke Gabriel 2nd XI AFTER winning the toss, visitors Stoke Gabriel were invited to bat first. As with most of the season, dropped catches and wayward bowling cost the team dear. A total of nine dropped catches and 51 extras helped Gabriel to a total of 247-8, their Australian professional, Samargis, making a superb 154. He was dropped when he had only made one and was dropped another four times. Those chances cost Whitchurch an easy victory. The pick of the Whitchurch bowlers were yet again Heatley,1-38 from 10 overs and Daymond 3-70, whose figures do not do him justice. In reply to chasing down this total, Whitchurch made a great start with the ever steady Hodge (45) and the fluent Heatley (73) dispatching the bowling to all parts of the ground. They shared an excellent stand of 107. When Heatley was out it seemed the chances of winning had gone with him, but Smith (21), Daymond (22no) and Tamblin (21no) had other ideas. After some aggressive shots and great running between the wickets, five runs were required from the last over. Gabriel brought back their professional who bowled a tight last over, only letting a single run come from it. Whitchurch ending on 243-6, taking 11 points and Gabriel 14. This Saturday, Whitchurch make the journey to Thorveton, hoping to maintain their recent good form.
