Three wicket loss for Jesters & Guesters in low scoring Middleton Stoney encounter

Jesters CC 126-9 (J Williams 40)

Maidenhead & Bray 127-7 (Wilkinson 3-30)

Lost by 3 wickets

We slipped to a three wicket loss with three overs of the final 20 left despite a great opening spell by Jake Wilkinson. In our innings it was fantastic to see James Williams return to Jesters ranks, top scoring with 40. A general lack of availability combined with three last-week dropouts meant that the Jesters’ skipper had little choice but to make midweek contact the opposition regarding the viability of the match. Middleton Stoney came to our rescue, providing four players (described as 'Guesters' on the Middleton Stoney website!). taking us to ten and enabling a match to be played.

We lost the toss and were put into bat on a slow surface. The wet summer led to a lush, but slow, outfield which limited the scoring rate of both teams significantly and made the judgement of viable runs challenging. We struggled to score freely and lost wickets regularly. At one stage we were 65 for 7, which included two run-outs. James Williams – playing his first Jesters game in four years – was joined at the crease by Hon. Secretary Nick Mumby. They worked out how to score on a tricky surface, both playing big shots which were not well rewarded by slow outfield. James became our third run out dismissal for a well-crafted score of 40; Nick compiled a boundary-less 26 despite exhibiting aerial prowess. 127 was below par, but probably only by 20-30 runs, and we had won previous fixtures at Middleton Stoney with fewer runs on the board.`

Jake Wilkinson and Andy Mortimer opened the bowling, and both bowled well. Andy was unlucky not to secure an early breakthrough. Jake claimed two early wickets, both ably caught by the opposition skipper, Tim Riley, at mid-off as our eleventh fielder! Jake added a third, and guest Seril Shah teased out two more wickets with his one-step slow bowling. Andrew Short, bowling through the pain of back injury, claimed a further two wickets, rendering the opposition 81 for 7 with all results possible. In the meantime, Tim Riley had changed role from fielder to batsman and was joined at the wicket by Mike Simpson. Nick Mumby bowled well without making a breakthrough. Riley and Simpson batted superbly, guiding the home team to a well-earned victory without fuss with three overs of the twenty to spare.`

Middleton Stoney exceeded their usual high hospitality standards, providing no fewer than three rounds of catering, including a pre-match barbecue following the Women's World Cup Football Final. This is a great fixture and we hope more Jesters will commit to it in future years.

Jesters X: Murphy (c), Lumb (wk), Wilkinson, Ford-Langstaff, Lancaster, J Williams, Murphy, Shah, Mortimer, Mumby, Short