Deaf XI defeat Merstham

Reigate Priory Deaf batted first and the opening pair of Steven and Andrew started well despite losing a wicket in the first ball. Stephen made up his loss of wicket with 5 fours on the leg side. Second pair of Helen and Hilary made some nice running between wickets for singles but made two errors of judgement and ran out twice. Later on Peter racked up the runs with strong hitting including a six, with good support from Ed who used soft hands and scored a single every ball he faced. At the end of innings Reigate Priory Deaf made 276 runs with loss of 6 wickets.
Merstham CC made just two runs in the first two overs without loss but made runs from the second pair with added extras from wide bowling. But Reigate Priory Deaf made 3 wickets during the second pair including a passionate two-handed diving catch from Stephen C. The runs from Merstham were ticking along without loss of wickets during the third and fourth pair.
Reigate Priory felt the tension during Merstham’s good hitting from the fifth pair (Alec & Ben) particularly Ben’s accurate hitting towards the leg-side boundary that quickly added into the total.
Thankfully for Reigate Priory the overs ran out and ended the innings with Merstham scoring 260 with a loss of 6 wickets. It was an enjoyable game from both sides despite the ground being a little wet, and the enjoyment was carried on afterwards in the clubhouse with drinks, sandwiches and cakes.
Both Reigate Priory Deaf and Merstham CC will look forward to other 3 contests with each other during the summer at alternating grounds. The next game will be at Merstham CC on Wednesday 22nd or 29th June, date to be confirmed soon.