2009

EYMET v CATUS AT CATUS   21st JUNE 

Report by Terry Bishop

Eymet on a Roll

On Sunday 21st June, the longest day of the year, the Eymet XI set off to play Catus. After the last two storming victories against St.Aulaye and Bordeaux the Eymet team were feeling in confident mood and determined to keep the results rolling on. Winning the toss, captain David Horlock decided to bat first and opened with Tim Smith, a left / right combination, against the pace of J Patras and the long run up of S Coldrick. Smith soon got fed up with the waiting around as the bowler ran in and departed early on without troubling the scorers.

Sam Harrell coming in at 3, gaining in confidence after his early season head injury, soon took the initiative and got the scoreboard ticking over, then disaster struck. A Catus change of bowling, Horlock not concentrating, clips one of his pads and is caught casually one-handed on the square leg boundary by Ken Sutton for 29. In strides the evergreen Marcus Swift and in 20:20 mode soon starts putting bat to ball, and the ball over the boundary rope into the nearby stream. After another long search for the ball, Marcus tries another big hit and is bowled for a quick fire 32. Sam Harrell soon followed him back to the pavilion, playing on to a Sutton delivery again for 32. What followed was a mini crisis for Eymet, from 95-3 off 20 overs to 107-7 off 30, with the help of a few wides and some lusty blows from T. Bishop the Eymet innings closed on 129. The last seven Eymet batsmen only making 25 runs between them.

With the pressure on them to perform in the field Catus took to the crease; spring chicken Alan ‘The Cobra’ Coombes opened the Eymet attack and had S Coldrick caught behind with a fine diving catch down the leg side on his 5th ball. I Philby ably supported the big hitting J P Patras and in fine stlye they soon put on 45 runs for the second wicket. JP, attacking the bowling and hitting the ball straight back down the ground, made the Eymet target very achievable. With some astute field placings by captain Horlock JP holed out to a fine running catch in the deep and this altered the complexion of the game. After 8 overs Catus were 49-3, then a change of bowlers and Bishop and Swift slowed and stifled the Catus run chase. Both bowlers opened with wicket maidens and restricted the Catus batsmen to only 24 runs off their 14 overs, this backed up by keenness in the field. The opening bowlers, Coombe and Vince Morgan returned and blew away the Catus tail - Catus had had their own batting collapse from 49-3 off 8 overs to all out for 75 off 26 overs.

For Eymet                                                                       for Catus
S Harrell 32                                                                 S Coldrick 8-1-30-3  
M Swift 32                                                                  D Worsfold 8-1-22-3
D Horlock 29
T Bishop 15 *
A Coombe 7-0-24-4                                                         J Patras 32
V Morgan 6-0-27-2                                                            I Philby 12
T Bishop 8-5-16-2     M Swift 6-2-8-2