After back to back victories, the Ramblas were brought back down to earth with a thud, suffering a heavy defeat to a strong Vishwa CC side.
Initially due to host Petts Wood but when they were unable to field a team, fixtures man Steven Fitch found a new oppo and the weather cleared up in time to ensure there would be no dramas.
Skipper Matt Rudgyward won the toss and elected to bowl first, with James Dilley and Chris Thomas once again tasked with opening the attack. Thomas struck first for the Ramblas thanks to a catch from Luke Sheridan in the covers, in the second over.
Mark Loughlin and Michael Cooper came on in place of the openers and it was Loughlin who nabbed the second and third wickets of the match, courtesy of fantastic catches from Thomas and Johnny Stocks. Both fielders held their nerves to hold on to balls that seemed to be in the air for an eternity.
Some big hitting from Vishwa’s middle order saw both Loughlin and Cooper get the treatment as they took the score past the century mark. Loughlin was replaced by Duane Hall but it was Cooper who made the breakthrough, the recipient of another excellent catch, this time from Tom Howgego.
Hall then bagged himself a wicket, and Cooper claimed his second wicket of the day before they were replaced by Loughlin and Stocks respectively. Stocks’ brief three over spell saw him clean bowl Vishwa’s number eight before he was replaced by Thomas, who picked up his second wicket of the day with a plumb LBW.
Loughlin and Dilley sealed the innings with a wicket apiece at the death, the former clean bowling the batsmen with a peach, the latter thanks to a sharp catch at backward square leg from Ben Sheridan. The Ramblas restricted the visitors to 201 all out thanks to another strong display in the field.
After a quick turnaround for tea, the Ramblas set out to knock off the target with Stocks and Seth Clifford opening the batting. The chase was made all the more difficult by the strength of the visitors bowling attack that saw wickets fall at regular intervals and the Ramblas succumb to a 124 run defeat.
In a humbling innings there were some highlights; Rudgyard (16) and L. Sheridan (18) batted well, and it was great to see B. Sheridan back in action. Cooper forgetting to wear his box and getting a full toss in the knackers, and being bundled out for 77 were definite lowlights however.
A minor blip in an otherwise successful season so far, the Ramblas will dust themselves down and look to get revenge on Chevening next Sunday.
Ramblas MVP: Honourable mentions to everyone for their efforts in the field – the catching on display was up there with the very best. For his 2-26 to go with a fantastic catch in the field, this week’s MVP is Chris Thomas.