1st XI Draw, as Somerfield scores 169 Not Out. 2nd XI continue to struggle.
The 1st XI nearly pulled off the win of the season at Irthlingborough on Saturday. Winning the toss Isham put the home side into bat who got off to a flying start. Opener Somerfield struggled bowling down the hill and slope of the Windmill Road ground. After swapping ends with Law who was also taking time to settle in Boro found themselves on 50 after 5 overs. Somerfield was replaced by Patel who bowled well up the hill and at the other end Law got over the shock of bowling downhill with the wind and made the breakthrough getting Hills caught behind for a quickfire 22. Youngster Flemming joined skipper Butt. Both batsmen were attacking the bowling and finding regular boundaries but both also gave faairly simple chances which were put down by some poor Isham fielding. Butt had advanced to 40 and gave his second chance which Will Chudley held. White joined Flemming and both built up a partnership that would eventually be broken as Flemming was stumped of Long for 80 - his maiden half century at this level and a great knock from the 15 year old. White cariied on and with 5 overs left went from 50 to 100 with some huge blows and a total of 7 sixes! Boro finished their innings on 296 for 5. Isham will reflect on the firts 5 overs and the final 5 which combined went for over 100 runs and probably cost them a win.
Chasing such a huge total was always going to be hard, especially with opener and top scorer Reid missing. Patel and Somerfield forged the new opening partnership and got off to a steady start seeing off the new ball. The breakthrough came from Childs who swang one back into the left handed Patel and bowled him. Harrison came and went without troubling the score which meant a partnership of some considerable size was needed if Isham were to get any where near the total. Will Chudley joined Somerfield and after a few initial scares settled down and began to play some lovely drives. Both batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking over and the 50 partnership soon became 100 and then 150 as Chudley reached his 50 and Somerfield who was batting superbly made his first County League 100 with a chanceless innings. Chudley was eventually bowled by Brown for 55. Skipper Court joined Somerfield and played the support role as Somerfield was now in full flow. By now Irthlingborough had sensed they were going to struggle to bowl out the visitors and were in danger of losing. The field was spread and with 10 overs left Isham needed 100 runs - game on! The 50 partnership had been passed and both batsmen were trying their best to keep up with the run rate. Court was eventually undone for 20 trying one shot too many and was trapped infront by Butt. Robinson joined Somerfield and instantly joined in the run chase. With virtually every fielder on the boundary it was never going to be easy. Both batsmen were striking the ball well but with the boundaries protected the run rate was climbing and more manufactured shots had to be tried to hit the gaps. Robinson was eventually caught on the ropes trying to go for a maximim hit, ending his quickfire run a ball 14. George Chudley joined Somerfield and also found boundary fielders with every shot. The final over started with Isham needing a huge 23 to win. Chudley and Somerfield did their best but the ask was too much and Isham finished on 281-6, 15 runs short of their target. Somerfield carrying his bat and finishing unbeaten on 169. A classy, chanceless innings that will go down in the Isham history books as one of the highest individual scores for ICC in the County League - possibly a question for Radders next time someone bumps into him?
The breakthrough came from Childs who swang one back into the left handed Patel and bowled him. Harrison came and went without troubling the score which meant a partnership of some considerable size was needed if Isham were to get any where near the total. Will Chudley joined Somerfield and after a few initial scares settled down and began to play some lovely drives. Both batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking over and the 50 partnership soon became 100 and then 150 as Chudley reached his 50 and Somerfield who was batting superbly made his first County League 100 with a chanceless innings. Chudley was eventually bowled by Brown for 55. Skipper Court joined Somerfield and played the support role as Somerfield was now in full flow. By now Irthlingborough had sensed they were going to struggle to bowl out the visitors and were in danger of losing. The field was spread and with 10 overs left Isham needed 100 runs - game on! The 50 partnership had been passed and both batsmen were trying their best to keep up with the run rate. Court was eventually undone for 20 trying one shot too many and was trapped infront by Butt. Robinson joined Somerfield and instantly joined in the run chase. With virtually every fielder on the boundary it was never going to be easy. Both batsmen were striking the ball well but with the boundaries protected the run rate was climbing and more manufactured shots had to be tried to hit the gaps. Robinson was eventually caught on the ropes trying to go for a maximim hit, ending his quickfire run a ball 14. George Chudley joined Somerfield and also found boundary fielders with every shot. The final over started with Isham needing a huge 23 to win. Chudley and Somerfield did their best but the ask was too much and Isham finished on 281-6, 15 runs short of their target. Somerfield carrying his bat and finishing unbeaten on 169. A classy, chanceless innings that will go down in the Isham history books as one of the highest individual scores for ICC in the County League - possibly a question for Radders next time someone bumps into him?
