John Merricks Sailing Trust - Charity Cricket Challenge raises £1,055

by Mike Gerber on 21 Jul 2010 On Sunday 18th July, Hamble village pubs The Bugle, King & Queen, The Victory and Ye Olde Whyte Harte all fielded teams for the coveted Bugle Charity Cricket Challenge Cup. The annual contest is organised by The Bugle in order to raise money for the John Merricks Sailing Trust, a charity that offers financial assistance to support youth sailing across the UK.

The day kicked off with The Bugle vs. the King & Queen’s team – The Master Batters - the same fixture that started the tournament last year.

The match was a hard fought affair with The Bugle being sent into bat first and scoring a competitive score of 72 in their 10 overs.

The King & Queen’s innings began with their opening batsman Frank Gerber, getting dropped twice in the first couple of overs and then going on to score 25 runs not out. While the other more accomplished batsman Bryan ‘Skippy’ Davies went out for a Golden Duck. Despite losing a few more wickets, The King & Queen went on to win the match with two overs remaining.

With the sun making an appearance and the beer flowing amongst the supporters and the players, the scene was set for the next game, The Victory vs. Ye Olde Whyte Harte.

The Victory went into bat first and scored a massive 102 runs in their innings, a difficult total for Ye Olde Whyte Harte's batting lineup to chase. They started slowly but the boundaries soon started emerging and the total didn’t look all that impossible.

The Victory's tail end bowling attack, with exception to the 11 ball over from Nick Bloomfield, finally managed to secure a victory for the pub with the same name.

This meant there would be a new name on the trophy for the first time, with King & Queen and The Victory meeting in the final. However, first there was the small matter of deciding third place, with last year’s winners The Bugle meeting twice previous champions Ye Olde Whyte Harte.

First in to bat were Ye Olde Whyte Harte, but impressive bowling from The Bugle restricted them to just 53 runs. The Bugle's opening batsman Simon made a swift 25 runs, which put The Bugle in a commanding position. Despite Ye Olde Whyte Harte's best efforts, The Bugle managed to reach the target and grab third place, leaving The Whyte Harte with the wooden spoon.

With everyone filled with the burgers and beer, put on by The Bugle, the highly anticipated final was ready to take place. The King & Queen won the toss and elected to field first.

With some tight fielding and The King & Queen’s strike bowler John Vaughn impressively managing to make the ball bounce off his forehead and into the hands of George King for a catch – one of the highlights of the innings - The Victory’s opening partnership was broken.

The King & Queen’s bowling attack then managed to dismiss the dangerous middle order of Lloyd Brooks and Paul Ackland quite cheaply and limit the score to 60 off their 10 overs.

With the King and Queen requiring a run a ball, the openers started the innings quickly and got the scoreboard ticking over. A succession of quick wickets, including a comical run out, meant the pressure was on, so in stepped George King to partner Jack Inglis.

With 26 runs required, the pair batted patiently and managed to reach the total with 16 balls to spare, followed by a pitch invasion from The King & Queen team showering each other in beer!

The best bit… a fantastic total of £1,055 was raised in total through The Bugle’s Bar & BBQ, the Raffle and Team entry fees.

The Bugle’s Bar & BBQ operates on a non-profit basis and all takings are donated to the JMST. The Bugle generously donates the supplies and resources for this event. www.buglehamble.co.uk

Many local businesses support the event by donating wonderful raffle prizes namely: The White Star; Hamble River Sailing Club; The Daily Sail; Musto; Grapefruit Graphics; Rule 26; North Sails; Andark; The Bugle; The River Rat; La Dolce Vita; King & Queen; Ye Olde Whyte Harte; Yacht Catering Café; Pig Bags; The Victory Inn; Bonne Bouche; Steph Brandt Remedial Therapist; Ingrid Abery Photography; Team Origin.

For more information, please go to: www.jmst.org.uk