Match reporters were left scratching their heads, desperately searching for crumbs of drama to enliven their stories, as the Badgers cruised to yet another win against the New Barbarian Weasels. Three wickets for Maskell-New and an unbeaten half-century from Jinks made it four wins on the bounce for the Badgers.
Losing the toss for the fourth successive occasion, the Badgers were sent into the field and immediately made the ball talk. Despite taking a couple of hours to complete each over, Maskell-New reminded everyone of his ‘New’ ball threat, removing the Weasel openers and setting the tone for the rest of the innings. Batting progress remained slow, with most of the other Badger bowlers claiming scalps of their own. By the time Blake’s raised arms, wagging finger and cheeky grin signalled the demise of the 10th wicket, the Weasels had accumulated 121 runs and the Badgers were in confident mood.
It was a similar tale after the tea interval, with the top four batsmen all making runs. The only drama came when Jinks realised that he needed to get back on strike if he wanted to make his fifty. After a brief conversation with Shone in which he alluded to the fact that he believed he was probably approaching the milestone and there weren’t many runs left to play with, it was with some dismay that he watched his batting partner smear a full toss to the boundary. With the score now standing at 119/2, Jinks realised that it was time to run the first quick single of his career. Wrestling the strike back from Shone’s sticky grasp, he made a hash of his first delivery before driving the next ball majestically for four, sealing the win together with a classy 52 not out.
All eyes now turn to the next match, with the Badgers just one victory away from equalling the longest winning streak in the club’s illustrious history.