"100 Runs, but the Pitch Needs Sun": Shelton CC v. Quatt CC, 28/06/08

Points are hard to come by in the Marston’s Shropshire Premier Cricket League. Shelton Cricket Club hosted Quatt on Saturday knowing they needed all the points they could get – with quality all the way through the league, even one bad day is punished.


After a week of uncertainty over the weather, Shelton’s pitch definitely benefited the bowling side, and the home captain Andy Wigginton decided to capitalise on this by bowling first. It was another good match for Wigginton, who took four wickets to confirm his status as one of the county’s most-feared pacemen. Shelton’s players and supporters were also pleased to see Ishan Radotra get in on the act, taking three wickets for 24 runs. Conditions were summarised well by another Shelton bowler, Sam Griffiths, who commented, ‘it’s quite easy to bowl on the pitch, because it’s very up-and-down. But if you’re a batsman, you can’t get into a groove.’ In spite of this, and Shelton’s effective attack, Quatt managed to grind out 111 runs in their 45 overs.


Shelton felt the variable bounce when batting as much as Quatt had before the interval. The standout home batsman was, as so many times in 2008, Rhett Williamson. When asked for an appraisal of his play, spinner Mark Davies gave him ‘twenty out of ten. He’s the best Aussie we’ve had.’ Williamson’s patient spell in the middle looked like it might last through to the end of the innings, however a marginal Leg-Before decision put an end to his day on 48. Shelton batted out, taking 100/9 and a share of the points, as well as taking positives from a close match.



Another positive came with news from the Premier League Reserve Division match at Quatt, where Harry Jones, one of Shelton’s rising stars, took 83 runs.



[Pictures from the First XI match taken by Richard Martindale: Ishan Radotra and Rhett Williamson in action against Quatt]