Legendary Badger Andy Thorpe was denied a victorious send-off by Riverside CC, with the black and white heroes from Battersea crashing to a 9-run defeat. In his final game before moving to the Middle East as a beer and sausage importer, Thorpe’s runs, wickets, catch and dives were unable to prevent a narrow loss to these first-time opponents.
However, as one star fades another is born, and new boy Hawksley chose this game to announce himself upon the scene. Arriving at the crease inside the first ten overs with his side already four wickets down, he used a child’s bat to steady the ship before changing to a new piece of willow and unleashing destruction upon the Riverside bowlers. Discovering that it’s easier to reach the boundary when you aren’t using a bat intended for a 13-year-old, he peppered it with sixes and fours before finally succumbing on 69.
Earlier in the day, Riverside had begun in cautious fashion, nurdling and manoeuvring but not scoring at any great pace. Although the run-rate increased as the innings progressed, the Badgers were able to keep the score down. Tight work from the fielding side, including a razor-sharp shy just millimetres wide of the stumps from Barker, meant that Riverside ended their 40 overs on a very gettable 215.
Despite the early wickets in the Badger innings, a period of consolidation followed by plenty of lusty blows kept the target very much within reach. Morse added valuable impetus but when he and Hawksley fell there was still plenty to be done. 27 not out from Thorpe kept the Badger fans interested but it was too little too late as they fell a tantalising 9 runs short.
Spirits rose when Hawksley mentioned his sister was returning to the country, but even that ray of sunshine could not mask the sadness of Thorpe’s imminent departure. Best of luck Thorpey. There will be a large gully-shaped hole in the team until you return.