Country Capitain Jock Haynes won the toss and elected to bat. After some early showers the sun came out and our opening bowlers faired well in muggy conditions as Spud struck early.

From there, the bowlers were tight, creating a plethora of chances that eluded the grasp of our fieldsmen by mere millimetres on numerous occasions.

Although frustrating for us it was also lean for the batsmen with Country reaching 70 for the loss of just one at drinks.

After drinks it was Ash who struck, completing his best spell of the season with a wicket.

Also of note was Jay's 3 overs of leg-spin which earned him a well deserved wicket thanks to our classic catch of the season from the man who earned the bragging rights for that exact achievement in 2021, Clint.

These two spells gave us a great platform to put the foot down with our strike bowlers in the final overs.

Bob struck with his first wicket of the year and Trev was also rewarded for some solid toil. Next thing we knew Bob had 5 in a man of the match performance.

Country were all out for 149.

It should be mentioned that although wicketless, Tep did much of the heavy lifting, bowling 10 outstanding overs for very little runs. His accuracy at pace forced the country batsmen to try and score of the other bowlers resulting in wickets.

Despite losing Nath early to an excellent delivery from Country strike bowler Sean, Clint and Elliot steadied the ship with a decent partnership before Clint was adjudged LBW to Sean.

After looking good for his 18, Elliot was dismissed in the 9th over after edging an out-swinger to 1st slip.

Bryce came to the crease as wickets continued to fall around him. It was not until Bob came to the crease at 7 down that Bryce found a partner who could stay with him.

After drinks Bryce was finally dismissed for 28 with Bob following shortly after. When Ash was caught at Point our innings was over, falling 55 runs short.

Points for Country went to Sean, Heath and Haynes, whilst Bob, Bryce and Elliot were amongst the points for Lyndhurst.

Its a hard one to take with a strong batting line up but Country were the better team on the day.

There are learnings to take on board. With 7 dismissals bowled, we know what we need to work on.

The disappointment of the result was proceeded by a lovely evening at the Royal Hotel Lyndhurst where the food was good, the taps flowed cold and hard and both teams enjoyed each other's company in good spirits.

Although a second straight victory for Country over us, in a strange bout of coincidence, our spirits were lifted when word of Milthorpe's result reached the players

We go again lads!