Irving knock helps 2s survive Tye captaincy debut

Bravery comes in many forms at Reigate Priory cricket club-whether it is Brickers declaring early in the hope for rain, Matt Packham challenging the politics of the club with JB, or even Fraser Macdonald trying to rugby tackle Phil Davis in the clubhouse, nothing will compare with the decision made Saturday to make Henry Tye captain. This brave decision came from Ali Raja, who was no doubt nervous at this choice as it may impact on his agreement to “play twice a season and still captain” contract negotiated with the club, but it without doubt paid off.
After consulting everyone bar the wicketkeeper of the side on what to do if we won the toss, Henry quickly announced that we were batting first on a tough green wicket. Wise words followed from the skipper, “if you do try and hit it, make sure you don’t miss”, before leading by example and snicking off to first slip shoulder height, not before of course challenging the fielder to whether he had caught it or not. Quick wickets followed which brought Irving to the crease. Taking guard, he was driven to make sure he was going to attack any signs of West Indian fast bowling and did so by cracking a few through the covers whilst also playing some very delicate shots behind square, which was commented on loudly by the opposing player. On Saturday however, he scored 71 with some useful contributions from Leck, Coyle and Tiley to help the score to above 180- more than par on an uncovered wicket.
Out we came to field with Tye leading the troops by example, abusing their opening batters haircut and screaming at debutant Oli Simms for misfielding, keeping us on our toes. Some good bowling from Hutch, Simms and Tiley kept Spencer needing a big chase before an astonishing spell from Oli Thilo, bowling with great pace and control dismantling the middle order. To finish off an excellent team performance, an excellent catch was taken by Rory Haughton jumping off the floor over his head to reach heights nearly as high as his brother has done this season. All in all a very enjoyable game with a young llama side with a very impressive captain (honestly!) go into next week’s league decider with bright prospects.