This was a game that very nearly didn’t happen, but if we have a better one this year, it’ll be one for the ages. The weather was highly unpredictable, as evidenced by the wide variety of contradictory finger-in-the-air pronouncements from all the numerous apps, websites and radars. The pictures below were taken an hour apart before the game, and it pretty much did that all day.
We all arrived in heavy rain, but we were playing by quarter past one. The outfield is in good order and dried quickly. The covers made the game possible, and the pitch was dry and hard and played remarkably well with decent carry. There were the odd couple that leapt or skidded, probably more courtesy of our friends the rooks than anything else.
Our innings was interrupted a few times by showers, and we were 80-3 at 20 overs, just back on after drinks when the big downpour came and the covers went back on. A 20 minute wait plus an early tea and we were back. We lost another quickly after the extended break, and then had a couple of partnerships that got us into the 160s before wickets fell steadily towards the end, but we got to 183, falling a bit short of the max points 200.
The lost time meant a reduced reply of 34 overs, with a Duckworth Lewis adjusted target of 168.
We bowled well and felt in control from the start, a wicket falling early to a great run out from Rob. They were up with the rate though, and beginning to look comfortable. Two catches went down, but they were very sharp, and we stayed on it and finally got rewards when a clutch fell in succession. In fact, when Howard got 2 in 2 at the start of his second over, we were all excited for the hat trick ball, until the incoming batsman pointed out that the previous wicket already was the hat trick – all 11 of us, including Howard, had failed to notice that he’d got his first with the final ball of his first over. So the feat failed to receive its usual rapturous reception. Undaunted, he continued his excellent rhythm this season and went on to a well deserved five-fer, one of which was a lightning catch from Tommy at his customary short cover.
We squeezed well and the rate crept up. They were 30 adrift with two overs left, when their number 10 produced the shot of the day, fetching Howard’s perfectly good ball from outside off and losing it several gardens over beyond cow corner, then hit two fours from my final over despite the spread field. It blemished the figures a bit, but the target was too far out of reach, and they finished 9 short.
A tremendously fun game with two very evenly matched sides played in excellent spirits without a single cross word, it would have been a great game whoever won it. We are now fifth in the league, behind the four sides at the top who have yet to lose.
Full PlayCricket scorecard here
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