The Gentlemen of Cambridge vs Faire 2016 - Report

On Sunday 5th June Faire played on a beautiful pitch at The Leys in Cambridge. Asked to field first by The Gentlemen of Cambridge, Ruairi Bowen and Ed de Minckwitz were fiery at the start, with Ed taking two spectacular catches off his own bowling. Ruairi's pace was causing problems, and the sizeable Faire support on the boundary were already anticipating another glorious victory. But the pitch itself didn't help the seamers, and although Olie Hunt picked up 4 excellent wickets with his wily spin, he had little support from the rest of the team as the innings went on. Catches were dropped, appeals agonisingly turned down, and long hops were hungrily dispatched. The frustration showed, and the oppo's Skipper was feasting on any poor bowling. Paddy Stobbs found some consistency towards the end of his spell, and Angus Gent bowled some useful off-spin, but the heat was also clearly having an effect on both fielders and bowlers. Check Warner did manage to pick up a wicket on her second ball of 2016, but was perhaps brought on a little too late by the captain!

In reply, Chris Stobbs (47) played some beautiful shots at the top of the order, with Dave Watkins (42) a surprisingly cautious partner, but after Chris was stumped (much to his surprise), the run rate fell sharply. Debutant Gent was caught fourth ball, and Dave was eventually bowled by a shooter. De Minckwitz was typically cavalier in his brief knock of 15, but tried one slog too many and was bowled. Rob Stephen (42*) punished a few loose deliveries towards the end but ultimately the middle order left themselves too much to do, and although we weren't bowled out, we were some runs short of their target. Huge thanks to all family and friends who came to support, and to Will Earl and Tom St Cyres for organising the fixture. Hopefully next year we'll provide a sterner test! 
----- A. B. STOBBS