Runs for Jones and Champagne for all
Runs were flowing as freely as the champagne at the long-awaited revival of the Free Foresters and I Zingari fixture, and one man in particular drank his fill
John Westerby
09-Aug-2000
Runs were flowing as freely as the champagne at the long-awaited revival of
the Free Foresters and I Zingari fixture, and one man in
particular drank his fill. Rob Jones, the former Glamorgan and Cambridge
University all-rounder, made an unbeaten 200 out of the Free Foresters' 295
for 2, hitting 30 boundaries from 174 balls across an outfield like glass. I
Zingari's Nick Harrap did his best to keep up with Jones, hitting the
double-centurion for 28 off an over in his 76, but the reply ran out of
steam at 270 for 9.
The Grasshoppers had no such problems as they paced their pursuit of
Romany's 299 for 6 to perfection. They posted the week's first score of 300
thanks to Mark Turnbull's 87 and Richard Thomas' undefeated 52, strolling
home with 10 balls and three wickets to spare. Romany's Jim Chaudry had
earlier made 101, his third successive score over 50.
Another masterful chase was undertaken by the Flycatchers to secure their
first win of the week. The Gentlemen of Philadelphia thought their money was
safe as they declared at 287 for 6, with Craig Joss unbeaten on 140, but
they were bankrupted by Anthony Scammell and Miles Martin, who added an
unbroken 127 for the fifth wicket.
In a run-drenched day, few bowlers kept dry but Michael Bax of the Band of
Brothers brought his brolly. His six for 44 were the best figures of the
week to date, and proved to be instrumental in his side's seven-wicket victory over the
previously unbeaten Hampshire Hogs.
The Stage lost their third game in a row, succumbing to the Gloucestershire
Gipsies by 60 runs, although they had other matters on their minds. After
the game, they were due to treat the other 27 teams to a cricketing revue at
Keble College, with the audience dearly hoping for a better performance than
the protagonists had put up on the field.