The Llama 5s, playing in the 4th XI Premier division of the Surrey Championship, opened their season at St. Alban's Rd last Saturday but were only able to claim a few batting bonus points as Streatham & Marlborough won by 24 runs. Andy Newbold- stalwart of the VI-Kings- hit his second consecutive century and for a time it looked as though this would see the Llamas home. Sadly, the middle and lower order struggled under pressure from the opposition and underperformed. Stand-in skipper Justin Dempsey said afterwards "I was reasonably happy that we hit over 200 in the 45 overs. I think where we may have lost it was not taking our chances in the field".
Dempsey may have been referring to a couple of dropped catches and several fumbled run out chances that characterised a lacklustre day in the field for the Llamas. Presumably this means that regular skipper Owen Morris will demand a response from his side in terms of training and focus over the next few weeks.
Credit must go to Jim Harmer who prepared a solid wicket after a soggy few days leading up to the weekend.
Next week the 5s travel to Oxted & Limpsfield in a clutch fixture against the local rivals. Chris Hudson (VI-Kings captain) has intentionally not scheduled a match for his side to ensure Morris has the strongest options available to him on May 16th.