A devastating hour post-lunch was enough to earn The Philanderers victory over a strong Free Foresters side in what was otherwise an extremely closely contested declaration game.
Faced with a scorching day at The Perse School it was no surprise that the Foresters chose to bat first on winning the toss and advanced to 94-2 in the first session. The Philanderers neither bowled nor fielded particularly well, with several drops and the odd miss field, however The Foresters, hampered by a slow wicket and slower outfield, failed to capitalise. Your correspondent struggles to fully explain the collapse that then followed. Conditions were seemingly good for batting but a series of bad shots, good balls and a suicidal run out resulted in the Foresters falling to 125-9 after 41 overs. The final pair batted on for another 10 overs to take the final score to 171-9 declared, The Philanderers perhaps tiring somewhat in the stifling heat. All the bowlers contributed with the standout pair Davidson, an economic 1-10 off 8, and Sir. George Pearson, 2-31 also off 8.
Though an under-par total, it was certainly not plain sailing for a much-vaunted Philanderers batting line up, which at one stage was 123-6 with 10 overs before the close. At this stage all four results looked possible and a Philanderers victory was probably not favourite with the bookmakers. These bookmakers however reckoned without Mihir, who has been in remarkably good form with the bat this season, and debutant Angus Balfour (full-time cousin of Rory Davidson, who had previously bowled excellently without reward). A mere five overs and the pair had added fifty runs, with Balfour having smashed 28 quick runs before perishing with the scores level. Mihir ended a match winning 56 not out with skipper Davidson, not required to face a ball, at the other end.
George Dean
At play on the Perse School ground
Savouring victory