For 16 years FZY/MAL players, family and friends have headed west to tour, originally for 3 or 4 matches, but they're now down to one token match without next of kin, just to keep the tradition going. This year they played a single match on a picturesque postage stamp of a ground with a view of Glastonbury Tor to the west (how joyous to see a Tor on Tour!).
Skipper Steve ‘Clint' Leven negotiated the toss and Edgwarebury took the field with an all-Lederman bowling attack which did well against two aggressive openers. Both bowled with little luck until the elder Lederman removed the more belligerent of the two with the final ball of his spell - a snick taken comfortably by Anthony ‘Teflon' Levy. Thereafter things got a little hairy as the usually reliable Anthony ‘Mamba' Wise was systematically hit all over the county of Avon until he was mercifully removed from the firing line after just three overs of carnage, but a relatively tidy spell of dibbly dobblers from the occasionally reliable David ‘Skid' Marks, supported by debutant Mark ‘Toffee' Landau stemmed the tide somewhat; Marks removing the other opener following a particularly raucous lbw appeal. Thereafter the ‘occasional' bowlers ran through a tail that didn't quite wag and Butleigh declared on 245-7.
Following an excellent tea which included the obligatory scones and also one very unusual fairy cake, Edgwarebury set about chasing down the total, but the skipper perished early, caught spectacularly -well, sort of - one handed in the gulley. However Landau - fresh from the Maccabiah trials earlier in the week - was then joined by Elder Statesman Jonathan Lederman and they set about rebuilding the innings, initially circumspectly but later with a deal of belligerence when the spinners appeared. Landau, in particular, peppered the next field with a number of spectacular efforts and at one stage even the presence of 6 men on the leg side boundary did not deter him from clearing them all. He was the mainstay of the innings as after Lederman fell to a catch in the deep he received very little meaningful support, and finally fell for an excellent 141.
Sadly, the innings lost momentum when the opening bowlers reappeared, and Edgwarebury shut up shop with two overs to go, surviving nonetheless with few alarms but with 9 wickets down.
