Petersfield 3’s v Otterbourne 3s

Petersfield 3’s v Otterbourne 3s Saturday 18th May 2013 Venue - Penn’s place Petersfield fielded a very young team in the match against Otterbourne with only 5 players over 15 because of call ups to the 2s. Petersfield lost the toss and on an overcast afternoon were asked to bat first. The innings got off to a nightmare start as John Windebank was hit in front of middle stump by a low full toss from Ben Miles (1-22 off 10). The rebuilding of the innings was slow and steady as James Stratford-Tuke (31) and Rob Anscombe (24) kept out some accurate bowling from Miles and Captain Alex Docking (1-34 off 10) while knocking the ball around. As the less experienced bowling came into the attack the scoring rate picked up until just before drinks James took an almighty heave at Zack Miles to lose his off stump. Ben Anscombe (15 not out) came in to join his father Rob and then watched as his father went for a quick single (which was not there) and was sent back ending up a good 2ft short as he turned back. This left Petersfield on 62-3 having lost two wickets in the space of 2 overs. Young Ben was then joined at the crease by fellow U13 district player Ben Turk (13) and it became the Ben and Ben show as they put on 23 for the 4th wicket before Ben Turk mistimed a drive to cover. Dan Parry came and went as he missed a straight one from Paul Emery (34-1 off 10) having not troubled the scorers. Joe Mayall (21) then came to the wicket and proceeded to smash the Otterbourne bowlers to all parts as he played exactly the innings the team required before he was out bowled by Alex Docking who had changed to bowling leg spin from fast bowling. Dave Squires (5 not out) then came in and pushed young Ben to some very quick singles to push the score up to 125 off 42 overs. With 7 of the team making their league debut and 6 of those playing their first senior league game it was a good effort to get to that score given the tight bowling at the beginning of the innings. Petersfield set about the task of defending the 125 they had scored with Ben Turk (0-19 off 5) and Sam Howe (1-33 off 9) opening the bowling but with Otterbourne’s openers Glen Warren (52 not out) and Mike Balcombe (21) knocking the ball around and taking quick singles they got off to a perfect start putting on 41 for the opening wicket before Balcombe was bowled by a low full toss which swung past the bat by Dave Squires (1-27 off 7). Ben Miles (8) smashed a couple of 4s off young Alex Squires (1-19 off 6.4) before he was superbly caught by Ben Anscombe at mid off. The game then turned into a battle between Rob Anscombe (24-4 off 7) and the Otterbourne side as Rob bowled superbly backed up by some superb catching from John Windebank, Sam Howe and our sub fielder. The good running between the wickets kept the scoreboard ticking over (something Petersfield could learn from) although there were a few run out chances with Petersfield missing the stumps by a matter of inches. Wickets continued to fall but Paul Emery (8 not out) and Warren saw the away side home in a hard fought contest which could have gone to either side. Moment of the match - John Windebank’s diving catch off Rob Anscombe which is likely to give John the fielding award again after just 1 match. Man of the Match - Rob Anscombe who is showing he is going to be a valuable asset to the 3s this season.