Some summer days are just perfect for cricket. The Upper this Saturday, I would argue, is one of the best places to be at work on a Saturday afternoon. The combination of beautiful weather, a great cricket wicket, a fast outfield, a gentle breeze, with the Upper pavilion as a backdrop, lends itself to a cracking afternoon of the greatest sport known to man.

Blundell’s arrived nice and early and rather shattered this bucolic scene, playing some hideous music through their boom box. Fortunately, their coach read the room and told them to turn it off! After the usual cricket admin, the boys were primed for the fixture and Jamie G made the right decision to bat first, the aim to grind their opponents into the dust by posting a big first innings score. This certainly seemed to the case as Jamie and his opening partner Myles BH put on 32 in no time at all, until Jamie got the ball of the day from the rather wayward Blundell’s bowling. It is very difficult to bat against bowling that is both ill disciplines, yet capable. Jamie got one that swung in and then cut away, hitting the top of off stump. A lack of foot movement didn’t help his cause, but this was delivery that would have got many a fine player out. Miles looked set for big score, and we’d talked in the changing room about one player really settling in for a big one. Having hooked the quick bowlers for a six and three fours, he inexplicable spooned a long hop to mid on to depart for 25. Another rank delivery accounted for Al P for 12, hitting a full toss to deep backward square, having looked entirely at ease from ball one. Arthur D and Felix G restored some sanity and battled away against a decent attack, Felix taking his time to get off the mark before hitting some powerful boundaries, particularly square of the wicket. Arthur was looking fluent, as only left handers can, before attempting a sweep and being adjudged LBW for 13 before a rush of blood from Felix saw him get bowled when looking well set on 25. The innings then petered out despite Harry S battling away at number six and then the lower middle order contributing some useful runs. However, when Ollie M was last dismissed, the feeling was that 166 all out in just 32 overs was at least 50 runs shy of a decent target.

After a lovely tea, and with the boundary filled with a good number of spectators, the boys set about defending their target. Ollie LB started with his miserly seamers from the pavilion end and should have had an early wicket, but the chance was spurned at first slip. However, Oz P broke the opening partnership, the Blundell’s opener launching a good length ball into the clear blue sky for Freddie B to take a neat catch. Ollie LB’s luck continued to avoid him as the dangerous Blundell’s number three was dropped on nought, cutting hard to backward point where the catch appeared to be taken, only to get spilt as the fielder tried to hold onto the sharp chance. This proved to be a worryingly costly spill as the batters built on their luck and begun plundering anything loose. A stand of 53 was slowly tilting the game towards Blundell’s until the introduction of Will W from the road end. Bowling fast and straight, Will tided up the Blundell’s opener and then bowled him as he tried to relive the pressure created by tight lines and length. When Freddie B claimed the scalp of the hard hitting number three for 43 a few balls later, after getting some tap from the aforementioned, the match swung back to Sherborne. The introduction of spin, once Will W had claimed another wicket to finish with superb figures of 5-1-14-2, really turned the game Sherborne’s way. Bowling in tandem from the pavilion end, Al P and Arthur D were on it from ball one and gutted the lower middle order. The batters were clueless against Al’s variety and were pinned back by Arthur’s accuracy. In the twelve overs they bowled, Blundell’s lost 5 wickets for just 32 runs, Al bagging 3 to finish with 3-21 off his 6 overs and Arthur 2-11 off his. It was left to Ollie LB to claim the last wicket, settling the nerves as the last wicket put on 22 and began creeping towards the Sherborne first innings total.

A 27-run win was a fine result considering the boys felt they were short of a par total in the first innings. The discipline in the bowling was excellent, with only 4 extras conceded, compared to the 56 of Blundell’s. If we’d have held our catches, it would have been a more emphatic win, but these are where teams develop and grow in strength and character. It was a lovely afternoon and Tom Punchard, and the grounds team, should be credited for producing another great wicket and outfield, that created the conditions for a superb day’s cricket.