Belmont and Edgware Cricket Club (BECC) kicked off their season with the now-traditional curtain-raiser – an intra-club game.
Braving the mid-April chill, a team led by club captain Adam Morris faced off the Second XI led by David Kay.
Kay won the toss and elected to bat. Left-handers Uriel Lev and Mark Spanjar shared a solid opening partnership, the latter reaching 50 in just 40-odd balls, before retiring not out.
Contributions came throughout the order, but it wasn’t until Aron Davis entered the fray at number six that the innings gained proper impetus. He smashed an unbeaten 62 off just 50 balls in an innings that included one six and 12 fours.
But despite this onslaught, Morris’s side took wickets consistently. Debutant Josh Webber picked up his first scalp for the club, while Guy Shipman nabbed two, and Morris also claimed a pair of wickets.
But the pick of the bowlers was young Gavi Lowinger who took 4/37 off his eight overs, with all of his victims clean bowled.
Set 193 to win in 40 overs, Team Morris got off to a slow start, thanks to some very tidy bowling from Zack Feingold and Josh Reynolds, and a slow, wet pitch.
Michael Blasebalk and Jon Goddard were dismissed with the score on just two, while Joel Azulay fell before the total reached double figures.
Elisha Lev steadied the ship a little with Maurice Lowinger, before Lev junior fell with the score on 25/4, playing on like his brother.
Lowinger came together with newly elected vice-captain Dan Humphrey, and gave the innings some stability. With the rain continuing to fall, Team Morris made the fielding side toil for wickets. Captain Kay made the breakthrough, however, dismissing Humphrey, before taking a spectacular catch at mid-off to dismiss Lowinger Snr.
As the run rate crept toward ten per over with eight to go, Morris hit some lovely fours, while Lowinger ended on 36 not out, before Aron Davis bowled a tidy spell to wrap the innings up with two wickets, meaning as the final wicket fell, Team Morris were still 25 runs short.
Morris said: “Despite the inclement weather, it was a really great way to kick off the season. We got to see how some people have really utilised the winter to good effect, and there were some performances that show people are improving all the time which was so great to see. Everyone got a decent game and now everyone’s blown the cobwebs away, we can’t wait to properly get going next week.”
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