In the heat of the
afternoon Northleach Town 1st XI recorded a massive
win, by 258 runs, over their OCA Division 4 rivals
from Oxfordshire. Strong hitting by Josh Barrett
(56) in the early overs saw the score race to 81
before he was lbw to a straight ball. A chirpy knock
from Mark Larner (19) was followed by the power and
confidence of Glen Crompton (64) as the run rate was
increased again. The flurry of wickets in the latter
few overs did not take the shine of this batting
performance, as the Rams racked up a huge 339 for 6
from their 45 overs. It was a pleasure for all
present to watch the graceful Neil Ferreira pile on
the runs, as he amassed an unbeaten 156, through
fine strokeplay mixed with some cheeky deflections,
plus some powerful hitting. Neil's score is the
highest for a Northleach batsman in a league game,
and included 18 fours and 3 sixes.
Facing this huge
total proved to be too much for the Rescue batters,
as they attempted just to bat out their overs, but
against the aggression of Flammy Wellman (12-5-39-3)
and artistry of "Doctor" Phil Webb (12-4-30-4) they
never stood a chance. It was left to Crompton and
Larner to wrap up the final wickets, and it was a
confident and impressive fielding display from the
whole 'leach team.
Northleach won the
game by 258 runs, and collected the maximum 30
points, but it will be Ferreira's masterful batting
display that will remain in the memory for those
lucky enough to be there.
