STOURBRIDGE were in danger of missing out on their tea after overwhelming Water Orton by 10 wickets in a completely one-sided Birmingham League Division Two clash.
The match lasted for less than 20 overs after Water Orton were dismissed for just 32 runs.
Water Orton had no answer to the seam bowling of Matthew Bradley and Ali Shah who polished them off in 15 overs.
Bradley bagged bowling figures of 5-16 off eight overs, five of which were maidens.
Shah was equally effective when taking 3-12 from seven.
Stourbridge opening bats Alex Bingham and James Lawley then took 25 balls to knock off the required runs.
Stourbridge skipper Richard Bradley said: “The match was over by 1.35pm. I think Water Orton were left shellshocked while we were a bit bemused ourselves.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played in a game quite like it.
“Both Matt and Ali bowled exceptionally well and got the ball to swing. Water Orton didn’t help themselves and approached the game all wrong with some indisciplined batting.
“They were complacent and kept hanging the bat outside the off-stump.
“We soon got them at 12-6 and I told the players to be ruthless and nail them down.
“I didn’t want to give them any chance of staging a recovery.
“By the time we went out to bat, I don’t think Water Orton knew what had hit them.
“We approached it professionally and soon knocked off the runs.
“It was all a bit strange really. We stuck around for a while afterwards, had a beer and they rushed to get tea ready.
“Then most of the players went back to Stourbridge and watched the seconds — it felt as though we’d had an afternoon off.”
Stourbridge entertain Whitchurch this Saturday at the War Memorial ground.
Bradley said: “They’re the only side to give us a good beating this season, so we know we’ve got a tough game ahead.
“We have to put Water Orton behind us and treat it as a freak result.”
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