Basildon & Pitsea 3rd XI v Upminster 5th XI

Ben and I have been both promoted to the 3rd XI this Saturday. Match report to follow tomorrow if the weather is on our side...

It rained over-night, but come the morning it was fine. A little cold for so late in May, but breezy and sunny. To be honest I'd rather have played in the 4's at Langdon Hills, but the selectors had put Ben and me in the 3rds and the match was against Upminsters 5th XI.

Just after 11 we made our way to Mopsies, paid our subs and checked to see if anyone wanted a lift. No-one did and we shot home and a quick bite to eat and then made our way to the ground. The ground was a school sports field with what is an apparently new wicket, only laid in the last 3 or 4 years. Despite that, quite a pleasant looking ground fringed by trees and bushes and Lombardy Poplars on three sides and the school on the other. With no pavilion or hut on the perimeter, we had to get changed in the school changing rooms and then take all the gear out and leave it at the edge of the pitch.

I think we must have lost the toss, as we were put in to bat.

Chris Debond
2	Dave Thompson
3	Alastair Hayton
4	Ateeb Hasan
5	Ben Thompson
6	Anthony Ayres
7	Harrison Morris
8	Phil Murdoch
9	John Bedford
10	Brian Waterman
11 The team was as above with the addition of Tony Williams. .

At first glance the thing I noticed was that we were a bit short of bowlers, especially fast opening bowlers. The only recognised bowlers were Ben and John Bedford with a Harrison Morris as an all-rounder. Another bloke Tony Williams turned up but at this early stage in the game I didn't know what his specialism was, if any.