News & Stories
MATCH REPORT - QEFTC vs. LEATHERHEAD POST OFFICE
There was a near capacity crowd on the 9 th of August at the Leatherhead “Oval” to watch a thrilling display of what can only be described as cricketing brilliance!
QEFTC were put into bat first. New member to the team, Andy, (Domestic Appliance Servicing) got the home side off to a flying start with some awesome batting, hitting the ball so hard at one point that it sailed over the main building and landed in the central courtyard. He retired, unbeaten, on 50. The remaining batsmen also did a sterling job thrashing, slogging and lurching to a highly respectable 139 all out. This was a fantastic achievement for a side put together barely ten minutes prior to the start!
Following a swift team talk, the home side placed a defensive field with a view to luring the visitors into thinking they had the scratch side on the back foot. Leatherhead Post Office opened with a series of quick singles and QEFTC then deployed their fiendishly cunning plan - this was to appear in the guise of no one knowing exactly what to do next. The plan worked! While the visitors were hitting the ball all around the Surrey countryside, the home team were quietly getting their secret weapon ready. Bring on Steve “The Panther Pilates” (Building and Property Maintenance). By the end of the fifth over, the Panther was barely visible deep in the long grass on the boundary.
Then the best piece of cricket to have been played at the Oval since Sir Garfield Sobers was here took place. “Piston” Pete (Horticulture) came steaming in towards the nursery end at such a pace the grass was left burning behind him! He pitched a full length out swinger and the Leatherhead captain stepped forward and struck the ball fully on the meat of the bat. It was surely another boundary, but no, lovers of the great game, it was not to be. The “Panther” pounced, covering a full 35 yards in just three paces, and he launched himself majestically through air to catch the ball with one hand!
Sadly it was not enough, and the visitors went on to win.
When asked later, a member of the crowd, who looked remarkably similar to Sir Ian Botham, said:“ That was the most exciting cricket I have seen since the Ashes victory of 2005.”
The College plays both football and cricket matches with
local teams.
If you’re interested in finding out more, then please contact our Leisure Officer - Thirza Woodhouse - on 01372-841154.
