Thatcher continues batting form as Wisborough rescue a draw

The seemer hit an unbeaten 57 to top score for the third week in a row as Wisborough hung on to post 146-9 in their chase of Crawley’s 216.

Spinner Raj Maru had again led the bowling attack for Wisborough claiming 6-63 after the hosts won the toss and opted to bat.

Kunal Kapoor (42) and Saeed Ahmed Khawaja (45) made the top contributions as the visitors eventually bowled them out in the final over.

Wisborough skipper Jamie Self backed his side to chase down the total, but after another stuttering start saw them at 30-4, the lower order saved the draw.

Dan Vickery hit 22 and Daniel MacDonald 14 after Kapoor (5-47) did the early damage, but Thatcher and Maru (12*) guided Wisborough to a draw in their 47th over.

Self said: “Coming off the back of our first win last week, we came into this weekend full of confidence. From last year’s encounters we knew that Crawley can be a very dangerous side and they’ve enjoyed a good start to their season so it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Having lost the toss, I felt that we controlled the pace of their innings well up until the 30 over mark. Raj once again bowled brilliantly and was able to frustrate a number of their batsman. However, some aggressive batting from their middle/lower order put them in a good position with 215 on the board at the half way stage.

“I must say that I was very impressed with the guys who really kept working hard in what were tough conditions; and we got our rewards, bowling them out in the final over.

“On what seemed to be a good deck, we certainly didn’t feel like 215 was out of reach; we just needed to make sure we provided ourselves with a stable foundation that would enable us to attack later in the innings. Unfortunately, we once again put ourselves behind the 8-ball and at 30-4, we knew we were going to have to work hard to get something out of the game.

“Once again, Ben Thatcher came to the fore and the credit goes to both him and the lower order for really applying themselves and ensuring that we walked away with a draw.

“It certainly wasn’t our best performance this weekend, but I’m really proud of how the lads showed great determination to walk away with a draw.

“It really epitomised the willingness of the side to continue to work through what has been a tough start to the season. I know what we are capable of and I’m sure that if we continue to work hard then we will keep moving in the right direction.”

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