We returned to action at Oundle this week, confident in getting some points to take us closer to getting out of the relegation zone.
Returning to captain this week was Ben Jordan who returned to form by losing the toss. Didn't take Oundle Skipper, Matt Ingram long before he asked to Bat.
A superb opening spell from Stephen Finch and Vishal Mistry applied the pressure early. Vishal taking a wicket with his second ball thanks to some sharp keeping from Riz Alam. Horton did well to stick at it through the spells of Zane, Dan Robinson and Ben Jordan however as usual when we play Oundle, Matt Ingram kept ticking along. Quickly accelerating from 50 to a 100 he had done it again. It seems the man is a run machine.
After losing a man in the field Horton did well to restrict Oundle to 251. We knew on the solid pitch of Oundle if things went our way it was possible.
Our innings didn't start brightly after losing both openers however a superb partnership of over a 100 runs between Mike Richardson and Phil Monkman put us in a great position to kick on. Unfortunately after Phil was dismissed for a well controlled 51 we lost wickets constantly and found ourselves falling behind the run rate.
We could never quite get to the total but it was promising to see us put in a good batting display earlier on, something that hasn't happened this year.
All credit to Mike Richardson who played a superb innings scoring 104. He didn't give a chance away and controlled the bowlers. It was a pleasure for the whole team to watch. An innings which was full of both power shots and perfectly placed timed shots.
We hope we can take some momentum from our innings into our next game when we return home to face Irchester. Best of luck to all those involved.