SITTING atop the rolling hills of Wiltshire, Marlborough Cricket Club is one of the most beautiful grounds in the world and provided the venue for the second match of the Awali Camels’ annual summer tour.
Batting first on a track boasting a five o’clock shadow of green, Marlborough warily and somewhat timidly faced the searing pace of young George Axtell early on but it was Camels’ skipper Doug Perrins who claimed the first wicket of star opener Andy Crabbe in the third over.
Axtell Sr, Dave, then made some hay in a flurry of three for 28 thanks to a variety of spin and medium, before ‘death bowler’ Dave Starkie produced a parsimonious spell, conceding only 19 runs for his one wicket.
The Camels’ superb fielding – most notably the gymnastic efforts of Roland Burt, who saved a number of obvious boundaries – left a reasonable target of 128 runs to win but they got off to a terrible start with the bat and lost six wickets cheaply.
Blows
Like a pack of cards, Guy Parker, Perrins, George and Dave Axtell, Roland Burt and Charlie Blyth fell to a series of less-than-lusty blows all gobbled up by the encircling fielders.
Having watched the debacle from the non-striker’s end, opener Graham Hoar started a belated fight-back with seasoned partner David Hilton and suddenly, the sly leg-side attack policy of the home bowlers looked vulnerable as fours flowed from both right-handers.
With that, the target seemed possible again but some clever adjustments to the hosts’ field placements stemmed the flow of boundaries.
An injury to Hoar with two overs remaining meant he batted bravely for an impressive 59-not out but ultimately, the visitors finished short by ten runs. With four wickets intact however, Camels’ traditional interpretation calls it a draw.
Scores: Marlborough CC 128 for 7 vs Awali Camels 118 for 6.