We won the toss and skipper Jack Bramwell elected to bat first. James Gaunt and Tom Pike took immediate control of the bowling and began to score freely around the ground. When they were both retired, Cameron Garbutt made a brief appearance before Nick Leach re-asserted Query control of the game. He too was retired at 53, leaving the few final overs to Jack Grant and Nick Lind to add another 60+ runs before our 30 overs was up. We had closed on 241 for 1 with 3 retirees. After a light tea, Rupert Bagnall and Henry Cox opened the attack with the new ball. Only one Urchfont batsman troubled the Queries and arguably if he had not been retired at 50, he may have caused a few worries. However after he went Jack Grant bamboozled the batsmen [and the keeper] with his leg spin: Cameron Garbutt was very economic with his off spin: Nick Lind spent 4 overs trying to remember what he used to do – and finished with a wicket maiden: and Nick Leach dominated the batsmen with 4 overs for four runs. At their close after 30 overs, Urchfont had reached 121 for 5 and Queries had won by 120 runs.
It is a lovely place to play Sunday cricket: the hospitality is great and the meal in the local after the match was very welcome. Many thanks to Alex Hiscock and Urchfont CC for a very enjoyable afternoon’s cricket.
Nick Lind discusses with Rupert Bagnall: Jack Grant on the drive: Brian Thompson played valiantly to cope with the extraordinary bounce: and James Gaunt is in deep thought !
After the match Brian Thompson announced to a few that this would be his last Queries match. He had already brought his MCC match career to a close and would be playing his final game for the Wiltshire Senior side later this week. After a family match next week, he is intending to stop playing cricket altogether. This will mean an end to at least 56 years of MCC matches, and some 25 years of Queries matches – a fantastic record for a very popular player. Jack Bramwell, an ardent fan of Brian’s, is determined to keep him playing but if Brian does hang up his boots it will bring a close to a remarkable career in cricket and he will be sorely missed.