Result

In the 10th game of the tour, Australia 9 for 251 off our 45 overs c.c defeated Shropshire 8 for 236 off their 45 overs, in a very good game of cricket.

 

The Ground and Preliminaries

The game was played at Oswestry Cricket Club, on a warm day with some threatening clouds; a thunderstorm was predicted later in the day. Oswestry cricketers were playing cricket in the early 1820s and formally established as a registered club in 1855. Dare I say again, a magnificent ground, well prepared pitch and a picturesque setting with stately clubrooms overlooking the ground. Many of the town’s locals arrived and set up chairs on the boundary to watch today’s game. The curator advised before the game ‘it’s not a Perth pitch but it’s the closest to a Perth pitch you’ll get in England’.

 

Match Report  

We have a few niggling injuries, most manageable; Greg Quinn captained today’s Australian team. Shropshire was captained by the England captain and opener John Foster.

 

Australia scores aggressively to score 9 for 251 off its 45 overs.

Best batting performances: Simon Lyon 57 n.o. off 54, Greg Quinn 53 off 49, Wayne Stokes 30 off 31, Kevin Lanigan 38 n.o. off 31. The batsmen confirm that it was a ‘road’ with not much for the bowlers.

 

Run rate required 5.6 an over.

 

Shropshire came out of the blocks from the first over. After an early wicket at 22, England opener (and captain) John Foster and number 3 Elwyn Jones put on 131 at close to the required run rate. However, despite their retirement the run rate remained around 5 an over. Frankly the Australian bowling at times was a bit wayward and it came down to needing around 6 an over for the last 10 overs. It ended up being a good pressure game for the Australians with them coming out on top and everyone enjoyed the close tussle.

Best Australian Bowlers: Phil Drescher 9 0vers 1 for 27,   Rob Henry 1 for 36 ….. M Harrison 7 overs, 4 for 33, Simon Lyon 3.3 overs, 1 for 12.