Alton chase down St Cross in Winchester

Looking at the score card the victory for Alton on a sunny afternoon in Winchester looked a carbon copy of the return fixture in Alton at the start of the season. Restrict St Cross to a par score and then bat around Amelia to reach the total with some to spare. And in reality that was the theme of the game. What happened between the lines though was the real story. The Brewer’s strong point is their bowling – having picked up more bowling bonus pints than any other team and on Sunday this was demonstrated in droves. Abi and Gemma L opened with 6 maidens from the first 7 leaving the St Cross openers reeling on 1 run after 7 overs! This caused the inevitable panic in the batting ranks and an early collapse starting with a run out of Maisey from a direct hit. When the change bowlers came on they maintained the high standard and reaped the rewards of the controlled start. Molly picking up the dangerous Beth Clarke and then Gemma P trapping Alex Avoth lbw. The experience in the St Cross line up was needed and (as in the home fixture) a senior player stepped up to the mark, this time it was skipper Kirsten (43) who steadied the scorecard with some great support from PJ (35). St Cross eventually scored 151/8 in the allotted overs. The batting response from Alton never looked in trouble despite losing a wicket in the first over. Amelia showed her class as Gemma H (29), Sara H (8) and Julia (15) all stayed with her to build partnerships. The chase was completed in the 36th over with Amelia unbeaten on 84. Well played ladies!!