Hot on the heels of Pete Selleck\s 203 at Wendover, Angus Porter and Paul Cooper added a club record 230 to see the 2nd XI to another commanding victory at Kew. Porter recorded his highest score for the club, 131, while Cooper (78) took on the supporting role in a memorable partnership.
At the start of the day, skipper Jeff Morris won a crucial toss, and asked Kew 3rd XI to bat. Kew had already batted out four dour draws this season, including the earlier match between the sides at Wooburn, so it really was an important toss.
Conditions were ideal for batting, with a good pitch, hot sunny conditions and a lightening fast outfield. However, Kew\s openers struggled to assert themselves early on. Ashton and particularly Armistead were generally happy to survive, and when drinks came after 29 overs, the score had reached 92-1. The only wicket to fall being the suicidal run out of Ashton.
The game changed with the arrival of Rathod, after Dave Small had removed Goudis in the middle of a wholehearted spell. Rathod had been dismissed for nought at Wooburn, but here he began a one-man assault on the Narks bowling. He employed a simple method, which was backed by a wonderful \eye\, and hammered 62 in an hour, including six fours and four sixes. Towards the end, all the Wooburn fielders were deployed on the boundary edge, a welcome relief for those under the trees.
Rathod eventually fell, as he surely had to, caught off a miscued scier by Paul Cooper. With his departure, Wooburn regained their grip, and Graham Dare and Morris kept the scoring relatively quiet towards the end. However, thanks to the efforts of Rathod, Kew still managed to reach 229-5 off their 52 overs, and they still had a total to defend.
230 looked a challenging score, despite the favourable conditions, but openers Porter and Cooper rapidly dispelled any nervousness in the Wooburn camp. The first over was played quietly, yielding three singles, but the second over set the tone. Two long hops to Porter were dispatched in familiar style, and Wooburn were off.
The innings was a curious affair in many respects. One oddity being that, after opening up with the old ball, Kew chose not to take the old one until the score had reached 118-0 in the 20th over. It was also strange that the vast majority of short balls were bowled at Angus, while most of the over-pitched deliveries were to Coops. Kew paid the price. It all worked out rather well.
There were no crisis points in the innings. A total of thirty-four boundaries and two sixes gives an indication of the number of bad balls knocking about. Angus and Coops took a heavy toll. One chance was given, a sharpish one to point, and there was one lbw shout, which Kew\s skipper, fielding at short mid wicket, felt should have been given. Nothing wrong with having a competitive nature.
The victory target was reached, amidst much talk of records, off the last ball of the thirty-fourth over. Another twenty points in the bag, but victories for Chiswick & Latymer and Teddington Town meant that our lead at the top remained 13 points.
