Tight bowling stems runs in club's birthday celebration

The representative X1 were a selection of Herefordshire club players, as the senior side were playing Lincolnshire in the National Counties one day competition.

The game had a poignant side as it was dedicated to the memory of club captain Andrew “Woko” Watkins and all proceeds of the day was to support St Michaels Hospice who had cared for Andrew in his final weeks.

The ground was a picture and the pitch was well protected from the persistent rain of the day before.

Herefordshire won the toss and invited the MCC to bat.

They began a little circumspectly with the outfield being still damp and to score quickly was a challenge which is very unusual for Brockhampton.

However after the loss of two early wickets, A. Adeesha constructed a very handsome 60 which really the backbone of the MCC innings, he was supported in part by the very accommodating MCC Captain Tom Percival.

The Herefordshire bowlers stuck to their task and Greg Leighton took two good wickets in his opening spell from the pavilion end. Iolo Bubb ably assisted with two smart catches.

Herefordshire did well to bowl the MCC out for 210 and that set up an opportunity for a reasonable run chase.

Herefordshire came out and from the onset played with a forceful tone to their game.

However, the constant loss of wickets, made it difficult to establish many partnerships of note, though Tobias Van Den Heever made a solid half century.

Lots of players stared well and the chase look a real prospect of being reached, but the constant loss left Herefordshire 50 odd runs light with a number of overs still available.

The game was played in the right spirit in an entertaining and busy manner with good bowling really the star of the day that restricted both teams to big scores.

The ground was full and the hospitality which was outstanding was a tribute to those who work behind the scenes to make these occasions work.

The day raised somewhere in the region of £15,000 for St Michaels Hospice.