The School 312-3; Pilgrims 299-9 (C Golding 75, T Talbot-Williams 63, T Allers-Hankey 62). Lost by 13 runs
On a sun-drenched Upper fate dealt us a blow for we lost toss and were put in the field to bowl at well organized batsmen in good form bent on scoring fast runs.
Charlie Wills and Rupert Thomas opened the bowling in contrasting style with good energy and control. Despite their wholehearted efforts, the friendly batting surface frustrated them although Thomas, with his late swing into the right-hander, was often threatening .
The breakthrough came with the introduction of Stevens, who extracted some extra bounce to force an edge—smartly taken by Archie Mackay James, albeit somewhat unconventionally nestled under the arm.
Chances were hard to come by on a true surface, and the only other wicket in the morning session came courtesy of Reynolds, who induced a leading edge that was well held by Talbot Williams.
The Pilgrims lunched expansively on chilli con carne and so were suitably re- charged for the fray but the afternoon session was hard indeed and involved a lot of foot pounding as the talented School batsmen largely untroubled by the bowling scored freely all around the wicket.
The reintroduction of Thomas brought control back at one end, although some leakage continued from the other. A key moment came with the dismissal of the School’s number four in the high 80s, preventing an already strong total from becoming a monumental one.
The School closed their innings on an imposing 312 for 3 from their 50 overs—there was some excellent batting on view but the easy conditions and fast outfield suggested that we were in with a chance.
Talbot-Williams led from the top with a composed 63 off 66 balls, striking 10 boundaries in a fluent knock. He anchored the innings through the early overs and looked in excellent touch before being stumped advancing to the spinner, bringing a promising innings to a close.
Golding played the standout knock for the Pilgrims, crafting a well-constructed 75 from 92 deliveries. With nine fours and two sixes, he kept the scoreboard ticking, rotating the strike smartly and punishing anything loose. His dismissal — bowled by Livingston-Booth — marked a key turning point, just as he looked set to push on. At 195-5 there was a lot of work to be done. Reynolds and Allers-Hankey then settled in for a strong 50-run partnership, flying the flag for the 2024 Green House Vintage. However, when Reynolds fell, it opened the floodgates. 240-5 became 288-8 very quickly, as is often the case. We also found ourselves perilously behind the required run rate. One beacon of light remained as Allers-Hankey remained at the crease; pleasingly, he looked in superb touch. His brisk 62 off 50 balls injected some late momentum into the innings, with clean hitting, striking eight boundaries whilst protecting his lower order in a counterattacking display.
Hankey fell agonisingly close to a heroic comeback. And with his wicket also went hopes of the game . We finished their 50 overs on 299, a mere 13 runs shy of the required total. All in all, this was a terrific contest and a super advert for Pilgrims cricket to the outgoing members of the School XI.