Chilterns Cricket League Division 2: Emmbrook and Bearwood 2nd XI (321-5) drew with The Lee 2nd XI (224-7)
Emmbrook and Bearwood put in a stunning batting display in a high scoring encounter which saw them come away with a draw.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening pair of Stuart Fairhead and Will Wells batted tremendously to get their side off to a fantastic start to the innings.
The Lee had to remain extremely patient to take their first wicket as Emmbrook’s opening partnership displayed a fine innings at the crease together to help their side to building a good platform to build on. The breakthrough finally came when Oliver Cupit bowled out Wells on 53.
It wasn’t long before The Lee took their second wicket as Cupit claimed his second of the innings to remove Andy McNabb for a duck.
The Lee eventually removed Fairhead after his superb batting display which saw him contribute 106 runs to the total.
Iwan Parry then provided a healthy innings of 34 but with Ravi at the crease, The Lee had another issue with a big hitter at the middle.
Ravi Balakrishnan smashed 102 runs and remained not out as Emmbrook managed to post a huge total of 321 from 47 overs.
With a massive total to chase, The Lee needed a strong opening pair to put them on their way and they started relatively well as Fraser Chapman scored 22 runs alongside his opening partner Mark Channer who totalled 31 runs before being dismissed.
Michael Cooper then knocked a stunning innings for the visitors as he smashed 16 fours on his way to scoring 99 runs, however the wickets continued to fall as Geoff Marsden picked up two after Paul Hunsdon dismissed Charlie Line for just two runs.
Having fallen short behind the challenging run rate set by Emmbrook in the first innings, The Lee held on desperately to try and hold the game to a draw.
With seven wickets down, James Sharman and Sam Harris managed to keep their cool as they guided their side to a stubborn draw as they avoided from being removed despite not being able to match the superb batting score that Emmbrook posted.
The Lee ended their 43 overs with a score of 224-7 as the game ended in a frustrating stalemate for the hosts after such a convincing batting performance.
Emmbrook and Bearwood batting: Fairhead 106, Wells 53, McNabb 0, Balakrishnan 102, Parry 34no, Parab 14, Bamra 1no, Kingston dnb, A Mcnab dnb, Hunsdon dnb, Marsden dnb.
Emmbrook and Bearwood bowling: Kingston 0-30, Bamra 2-43, McNabb 1-34, Hunsdon 1-33, Marsden 2-25, Balakrishnan 1-21.
