Match Report

The second annual charity cricket match between two young Gordonians and Salesian line-ups saw a repeat of last summer, as the Gordonians came out on top – but this year was a much closer affair and proved to be gripping until the very last ball.

It all started the same as last year, with captain James Somerville winning the toss and choosing to bat first again, albeit in much harder conditions than last year. Brothers Gordon and Alex Leeks opened up, with the former falling early before Ed Hillman came in to put on a strong partnership with A. Leeks. By the time Ed had fallen, the Gordonians were sitting comfortably on 72-2, going at a good rate. Salesians then fought back as a flurry of wickets fell, starting with a unique incident which saw the captain, James Somerville, fall for 5 after hitting his own wicket. Jack Franklin and Gareth Bevan put on some important lower order runs whilst Alex Leeks stuck around for the majority of the innings, before falling one short of his half-century for 49, which would turn out to be the top score of the match. The Gordonians were bowled out for 137, two overs short of close. The score felt as though it were par and the bowling standards would have to be high to ensure a second consecutive victory.

Salesians started very strongly with the bat as their openers put on a 50 partnership. Alex Leeks continued his exceptional day by taking the first wicket, before Jack Franklin came on to take the wicket of their key batsmen for 34, leaving Salesian 54-2. A superb bowling display from Ed Hillman saw the Salesian middle order collapse to 96-7, with 3 wickets going to Ed in his 2 over spell, along with one each for Hamza Rubbani and James Somerville. Still needing another 42 with just 3 wickets left, the Gordonians looked to have the game wrapped up. However, Salesian put on two solid 8^th and 9^th wicket partnerships to need them leaving just 12 runs to win with two wickets in hand. A crucial wicket from Gordon Leeks put the pressure back on Salesian before his brother and Man of the Match, Alex Leeks, came on to take the all important final wicket, ensuring the Gordonians retained their crown and won by just 8 runs.

Aside from the victory, we raised £500 in bar sales for the cricket club, in a year which has been incredibly difficult for them, as well as raising £360 for NHS charities who have worked so hard throughout the COVID pandemic. I speak on behalf of our entire team when I say we are incredibly grateful for all the efforts of key workers this year and we hope this small gesture goes some way to helping move past this year. We hope to see you all next year for the 3^rd event, on Monday August 30^th 2021!