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The batting was strengthened by the presence of Simon "Stan" Barrett and new acquisitions Laurence "Laurie" West and Price's friend and fellow guesthouse owner, Martin Weller. Both Dave and Michael Males refused to travel to Redlands to face Saggies, so Triangle started with 10.
The toss was duly won and this week Price decided to change things round and bat first, opening with himself and Stumpy. The skipper fell first with just a few runs on the board, undone by the nagging line of Alex Browne. Barrett was next up and got off the mark in style with a lofted cut over point which raced for four. At the other end there was a masterclass in measured hitting as Stumpy unleashed the beast with a combination of hooks and pulls, mostly off Paul Gadsby. Barrett was then out to a fine diving catch in the covers by Dave Kitely, who to his annoyance then dropped a dolly off West in the next over.
Neven hit a lofted swipe towards Alex Browne at deep cover, who dropped it and then in his frustration fizzed the ball at the stumps, running West out by a few inches as he scrambled for a second. In his defence he was called through by his batting partner with the ball in the fielder's hands. Smart briefly troubled the scorers, tempted into a charge by Mark Robinson's airy medium pace and was stumped. Morris was next in and gave Neven the strike he craved as he continued his all-out assault, though taking tactical singles to get away from facing Simon Browne at the other end. Boot-polish Browne was in rare form, though his figures of 3-10 hide his rather scattergun approach, mixing legside wides, with the odd straight one. Morris was out trying to hit him over mid wicket, but didn't quite get enough on it, offering an easy catch.
Saggies were well into the tail by now, Kempster and Gibbs were soon back in the hutch and Ashley Hallett provided some backup, before Neven's resistance was broken for a gutsy 38, possibly one of the best innings you'll see at this level, and deserved a fifty, maybe more.
Saggies opened with John Lamb and a Nigel Evans. Evans was in fine touch, taking a guard on off stump and hitting everything across the line to the legside, taking a particular liking to Price's bowling. Morris was able to tie him and Lamb down at the other end, eventually claiming his wicket when he holed out to deep mid on with a mistimed heave, though only after he'd reached his half-century.
The lack of bowling in the squad was highlighted as Grant Neven was the first change and nearly broke through Kitely's defences with some well-directed grenades, showing the fans there's more to him than just a fine batsman and top-notch wicketkeeper. Morris was left with the task of having the winning runs hit off his final over, so obliged by sending a wide down leg side to finish proceedings.
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