Four is a magic number and the only number that has the same number of letters in it as the value of that number.
This was the Brigand's fourth match of the season and we hosted Hampshire Seniors for their first visit to the cradle of cricket. The side featured four Daves and the Chairman’s welcome speech was truncated to just four minutes. Hampshire batted first and never got the better of the soft pitch, the attacking field (four slips, obviously) and it was only thanks to four drops that they managed to keep the (lovely new) scoreboard ticking.
Ed Hands contributed the first wicket and the “bowl in the channel Dave” line, whilst David Hemsley and Mike Bath bowled 16 accurate overs that featured four maidens. The introduction of Dave Turner to the attack proved pivotal as the dangerous Geoff Beale holed out and sparked a middle-order collapse. Turner was on a hat trick for the second time in two games and had bagged four wickets in his first four overs. Magic.
A lovely Flewitt tea preceded a blitz from the debutant David Mann and well-coached Adam Jay who set about the target of 154 with purpose. Jay in particular played like Ian Bell in his prime and both batters passed their fifties.
That left Henderson and Wyld to nudge the Brigands over the line and a victory by 7 wickets. A total of 31 boundaries were hit (including a maximum from Peach that went out of the ground) and in a final mathematical nod to the day; runs off the bat were scored at exactly 4 runs an over.
