Swindon CC are off to the ‘Home of Cricket’, Lords, after making the last four teams in the Country in the ECB Indoor Knockout Competition – the report below tells the story of how we got there. A gallery of images from the day (thanks to Andy Wilson) is HERE.

Saturday 7th May the indoor first team travel to the Indoor Cricket Centre at Somerset CCC, Taunton to continue their run in the ECB National Indoor Knockout Competition.

The first game saw the lads take on Ryde Cricket Club in the last 16 stage. Ryde, who had made the trip from the Isle of Wight, won the toss and elected to bowl first – a common tactic when playing in a new hall. Swindon got off to a flying start as openers Aubrey and Kill found the gaps, despite the new ball swinging prodigiously for the Ryde bowlers. In the forth over Morgan made the breakthrough for Ryde as Aubrey was caught behind. From there forward, it was near one way traffic as the Swindon batters adapted well to the hall and swinging ball, picking the gaps and regularly hitting the back wall for four runs. During this period Alex Kill, Conor Taylor and the evergreen Liam Tucker all retired on reaching 25. This meant the last three overs were frantic as Swindon added 43 runs (including five off the last ball!) with everyone playing their part in posting a mammoth 139-4. Batsmen - Aubrey 18, Kill 32, Taylor 27*, Tucker 30*, Tucker (A) 15 and Williamson 6. Ollie Morgan was the pick of the Ryde bowlers with 3-0-20-1.

The chase didn’t start well for Ryde, who found themselves 0-2 off the first over as Conor Taylor bowled sharply to create two catching opportunities. Ryde batsmen Oatley (24) and Goldsmith (27*) then steadied the ship, but with the Swindon bowlers all using the swinging ball well they found themselves quickly fall behind the required rate. Captain Tucker decided when 33 runs an over were required he would come on for a bowl – and delivered 2-0-13-1! Eventually Swindon ran out winners by 76 runs. Bowlers - Taylor 2-0-10-2, Aubrey 3-0-13-0, Kill 3-0-17-0, Tucker A 2-0-8-0, Tucker L as above.

The players and group of Swindon CC supporters were then treated to some excellent catering as the second last 16 game took place. This was won by Cheltenham Civil Service who won a tight, competitive match against Redruth CC. Well fed and warmed up, the players took to the hall again in pursuit of the win which would see them to the Lords Finals Day.

What followed was one of the most clinical indoor cricket displays this writer has ever seen. Batting first Swindon took the first two overs to get going, but then the scoring rate skyrocketed as Aubrey, Kill, Taylor and Liam Tucker all retired on reaching 25. This allowed Adam Tucker and Marc Williamson the freedom to keep accelerating – which they duly did! With 101-0 on the board after 9 overs this became 117-0, 131-1 (A Tucker run out) and 156-1 at the end of the innings. A massive score in any game, but to do this in such a big game was impressive. Batsmen – Aubrey 44*, Kill 25*, Taylor 27*, Tucker L 25*, Tucker A 11 and Williamson 13*. Steve Bridge was the pick of the Cheltenham CS bowlers with 3-0-34-0.

The clinical display continued with the ball. Taylor (again bowling sharply) was rewarded with a first over wicket. In the following overs Cheltenham CS were scoring runs, but the scale of the chase meant they had to take risks. This led to two run outs and a wicket for Killer and a five over score of 47-4. While CSS battled well, Swindon squeezed them and when Liam Tucker brought himself on in the 10th over a catch and run out sealed an emphatic win and A DAY OUT AT LORDS! Bowlers – Taylor 3-0-12-1, Aubrey 2-0-15-0, Kill 2-0-16-1, Tucker A 3-0-23-0 and Tucker L 0.2-0-1-1. Brad Atwood was the pick of the CSS CC batsmen with 31.

Following the matches Chris Fortune made a short presentation and handed captain Liam ‘Tim’ Tucker the tickets to the Lords Finals Day as the South West Champions for 2020! We have been drawn against Bromsgrove CC in the National Semi Final on 29th March. The final follows the same day.

Swindon CC would like to thank the ECB for the overall organisation, Chris Fortune for his work on the day, Somerset CCC for hosting (and providing excellent catering), the umpires and scorers. We would also like to wish our opposition all the best for 2020 and thank those that traveled with the squad on the day – your support from the balcony was a great boost to the players.