On one of the most searing days on record, mighty Skipper Leon Parks lead his valiant warriors to brave both the heat and the oppo.

Leon won the toss and smartly chose to bat, opening with Hanzi and Umar. Hanzi looked in control and assured before an unlucky runout brought an impressive start to a swift end.

Umar ended up staying in most of the day laying the platform for a huge score with a knock of 92 off 84 which had grit, class and quality. The Skipper came in and anchored well with a well-paced and controlled 50 (71). You could see the advantage of having two guys at the crease with above average levels of fitness as they put on an impressive 114 run partnership.

Bowled on 92, Putney probably thought they had struck the vital blow once they got the prized wicket of Umar, however here entered Max Gumpert, who showed every bit of the quality and aggression that’s shot him up to over 2,000 club runs in incomparable speed.

Max fell on 50 bringing in Steve Britto for an aggressive, quick-fire 10 (6) to finish the innings with the Skipper, also finishing not out.

It was an impressive batting display and an acceptable score given the pitch and weather conditions.

Unfortunately, the second innings did not go as planned. It was not so much that we bowled poorly, or even fielded that badly (Max in particular was exceptional), we were just left wanting at the vital moments in the field.

A number of dropped catches along with some very costly overthrows and you know that these are the key moments that lose you a game of cricket.

The match ebbed and flowed as the Plough put on a spirited performance that shifted the balance at stages, however Putney managed to get over the line with 3 balls to spare. It was a tight game until the end and somebody had to fall on the wrong side of the ledger.

Yanni