The Saturday 2s enjoyed the experience of playing in front of the magnificent backdrop of Belton House, however this does bring with it it’s limitations. As the house is a National Trust property, Belton Park are not permitted to have covers or sight screens – given the recent wet weather this always meant the toss was going to be crucial as the pitch would be difficult to bat on. Skipper James Biggs correctly called heads and asked Belton to bat first, and the assumption around the pitch was soon proven to be correct.

Opening the bowling was Biggs and Banthorpe, and it didn’t take long for the wickets to fall. Banthorpe claimed Belton skipper Brewer in his first over (the second of the match), being caught behind by David Platt. Biggs struggled to find his length, but given the pitch conditions this proved to be effective as he claimed his first wicket with a short-pitched ball that took off stump! He second wicket came thanks to a smart catch from Robbie McIntosh, who made good ground to comfortably take the catch. Banthorpe continued to prove difficult to face, but was unable to claim any more wickets. Replacing the opening bowlers were Josh Slade, making his second XI debut, and Charlie Biggs. Slade struggled with his line but was able to claim the wicket of Paige with a lovely delivery that just clipped the top of middle stump. Meanwhile Biggs was doing everything except take a wicket he deserved. Some excellent bowling saw Biggs beat the bat plenty of times, and two edges were not taken from his bowling either as he finished his 5-over spell without reward. Ahsan Azhar was brought on to bowl in place of Slade and was soon making the most of the pitch. His second delivery gripped and turned and went straight through the Belton opener Hitchcock who had proved stubborn. Azhar was able to claim two more wickets, both bowled again, with some assistance from the pitch and his typically ragging deliveries. From the other end the leg-spin of Harry Armstrong had been introduced and he too was able to benefit from the pitch. Some of his deliveries span past the bat at extreme angles, and when he did find the edge his father Chris was able to take the grabs. Harry was able to claim three wickets from his excellent spell, with the third being a stumping as Ward ran past one. The final bowling change of the innings saw Robbie McIntosh replace Azhar. McIntosh’s line and length was inconsistent, but when he got it right he challenged the batsmen and was unlucky to not take the final wicket with a catch being put down by Banthorpe. A strong performance in the field resulted in Belton being dismissed for 38.

Although the target was small, the pitch had shown this was not going to be a straightforward chase. David Platt joined Chris Armstrong to open the batting, but his stay was short lived as he tried to cut a short delivery and was caught behind. This brought Jim McIntosh, but unfortunately his stay was also short as he departed for 1 after chipping an easy catch to cover. Ahsan Azhar was next in and was quickly shown how difficult the pitch was as he had a big inside edge early on that nearly crashed into his stumps. Meanwhile Armstrong was able to pounce on bad balls to score runs, but was also a bit too enthusiastic with looking for quick singles, being sent back several times by his batting partners! In the end Armstrong finished on a well made 20* and Azhar 15* to claim another 20-point victory for the 2s.

This match was sponsored by Bradshaw Electric Vehicles.