Ten
minutes later the innings was over, with Barnes not out sixteen, for
seventy-nine.
Wrykyn had then gone in, lost Strachan for twenty before lunch, and
finally completed their innings at a quarter to four for a hundred and
thirty-one.
This was better than Sedleigh had expected. At least eight of the team
had looked forward dismally to an afternoon's leather hunting. But Adair
and Psmith, helped by the wicket, had never been easy, especially
Psmith, who had taken six wickets, his slows playing havoc with
the tail.
It would be too much to say that Sedleigh had any hope of pulling the
game out of the fire; but it was a comfort, they felt, at any rate,
having another knock. As is usual at this stage of a match, their
nervousness had vanished, and they felt capable of better things than in
the first innings.
It was on Mike's suggestion that Psmith and he went in first. Mike knew
the limitations of the Wrykyn bowling, and he was convinced that, if
they could knock Bruce off, it might be possible to rattle up a score
sufficient to give them the game, always provided Wrykyn collapsed in
the second innings. And it seemed to Mike that the wicket would be so
bad then that they easily might.
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