A BUMPER crowd enjoyed some big hitting from the former Test stars of the Lashings team that graced Old Basing Cricket Club on Friday afternoon.

The t25 match was held to celebrate the village club’s bicentenary and the day proved to be a great celebration for the village club.

The Old Basing colts received coaching from the Lashings players and there was also a colts match for the big crowd to enjoy in the sunshine before the main event.

Lashings won the toss and decided to bat, but they made a slow start in the first couple of overs.

However, their opening pair, former New Zealand international Tim McIntosh and West Indian star Kirk Edwards, soon turned on the style.

They sent the ball to all corners of the ground, finding the nearby tennis courts and the beer tent with massive sixes.

The huge crowd enjoyed the entertainment as the Old Basing bowlers were put to the sword, with Test Match Special’s Henry Blofeld providing the commentary.

The hosts finally broke the opening stand worth 148 when Edwards was caught by Josh Weir at extra cover, giving Nick Cooper the only wicket of the innings.

The West Indian departed for a fine 62, an innings that saw him hit five sixes and two fours.

This however, did not slow the run rate as McIntosh carried on, bringing up his 65-ball century with his eighth six of the innings.

The New Zealander went on to hit four sixes in one Dave Smith over before retiring on 138 with the score on 225.

However, the avalanche of runs still wasn’t over, with Wasim Jaffer (29) exhibiting some superb stroke-play.

Lashings eventually made a mammoth 248 from their 25 overs.

Set the task of making 10 an over to win the game, Old Basing were always up against it, especially against the opening bowlers, Timo Best and Devon Malcolm.

Opener Greg Donaldson (28) cracked the first six of the innings as he dispatched Ron Nicol (3-22) for a six.

The home side struck to their task as they entertained the crowd with some excellent batting from Josh Weir (30) and man-of-the-match Ollie Oldcorn.

Oldcorn top-scored with 34 and hammered two big sixes off former England star Nick Compton, who ended with the worst figures of the day, finishing with 0-34 from just two overs.

By the end of their 25 overs, Old Basing had reached 131-9, but the result did not matter on a day when everyone went home happy.

Old Basing captain Dan Belcher summed up the day and said: “Everyone at the club has played their part to put this game on and we hope everyone here enjoyed it.

“For the team it is just great to play against players of this calibre and the Lashings team are a great bunch of guys.”

Paul Eckersley of the Lashings organising committee said: “I must say thanks to everyone who came to The Rec to be part of what was a highly successful, enjoyable and memorable day for Old Basing Cricket Club.

“Special thanks must go to our matchday sponsor, Champion Group, our club sponsor, Absolutely Offices, for their generosity, and of course to all the volunteers who we rely on to make such an event as successful as it was.

“From the early days of planning, we always set out to showcase the cricket club and encourage all ages and abilities to get involved and we believe we have achieved this.”