After planned matches in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled, due to Covid, a BDPCL Invitation XI, finally, took the field against a Birmingham Bears XI in a Twenty20 challenge match at Kenilworth Wardens. Played in the early evening, following an afternoon’s coaching with local club junior boys and girls, where all members of the Bears squad, including internationals Carlos Brathwaite, Dom Sibley and Chris Woakes, were in attendance, BDPCL skipper Neil Pinner won the toss and invited the Bears to bat.

Most of the Bears side that took the field have played, regularly, for clubs in the League, this season and the first wicket to fall was that of Berkswell’s Dan Mousley, for 12, who was caught in the deep off Ollie Currill, who struck, again, shortly afterwards when he bowled Knowle & Dorridge’s Ethan Brookes for 28. The rest of the innings was dominated by Rob Yates who was seventh out at 161 for a blistering 86 from 45 balls. The Moseley product hit seven fours and six sixes and was so dominant that K & D’s Henry Brookes (14) was the only other Bears batter to reach double figures! Leamington all-rounder Currill finished with 4 for 36 and Smethwick’s Gurinder Singh took 3 for 26 as the Bears closed on 182 for 9.

Despite the early loss of K & D opener Alex Phillips, the League side began, brightly, but the loss of Wardens Ali Zaryab at 44 for three, after a sparkling 27 from 15 balls, signalled a collapse. At the end of the power play, BDPCL were well placed on 62 for three but three balls later thay had stumbled to 63 for five as Kidderminster’s Pinner and the home club’s Harry Johnson were both caught, in identical fashion, by Aussie Nathan McAndrew at long on, off the bowling of K & D’s Amir Khan. Singh (20) and the lower order tried hard to bring BDPCL back into the game, but wickets continued to fall until they were all out for 128 in the 19th over.

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