Whalers CC won by 84 runs
The Whalers got back to winning ways against London Rams, on
a green council pitch in Dulwich in front of a capacity crowd. Oz and Al got us
off to a flyer with some aggressive cricket, although we enjoyed a bit of luck
early on, with Al dropped off the first ball and a few edges finding the gaps.
The perils of 30 for 5 were safely negotiated, and by the time Al (30) was out
we had reached 90. Pip joined Oz and we continued to rattle along at a run a
ball, with some glorious shots especially off anything short. Eventually Oz
fell for 66 but this didn’t stop the flow of runs as Matt joined Pip and we
coasted past 200, which was celebrated in style. At 215 for 2 we looked set for
a huge total, but a collective madness descended in the last few overs (one of
their bowlers had a spell of 5-5). Matt fell for 44, and Pip
for 57 – his first Whalers fifty, which clearly meant so much to him that he
celebrated it twice. Channa missed a straight one, Khalil got stumped
off a wide, and in a moment of pure comedy Ads threw himself at the ball, took
it on the arse, then fell over and nearly knocked his stumps over, before being
stumped next ball. There was just time for Clippy to dispatch a four over the
bowler’s head, and the innings closed on 241 for 7.
With potentially a 9-man bowling attack, and the pitch
looking even dodgier than before (thanks in part to Oz digging a giant divot on
a good length on off-stump), the Whalers feasted contentedly on mini scotch
eggs, a family pack of jaffa cakes, and Mr Kipling’s pie selection. This might
have had something to do with the quality of the fielding which followed, which
was fairly woeful with some absolute sitters going down, but fortunately didn’t
affect the bowling. Khalil bowled beautifully with 4 maidens in his 6 overs,
finishing with 1-11, and Clippy and Will kept things tight at the other end. At
drinks the Rams were 90-1, but the classic tricks of the wicket-with-rank-long-hop
(Ed, 2-30) and the wicket-with-rank-full-toss (Pip, 2-27), a smart slip catch
from Al, and several attempted stumpings by Channa put the Whalers firmly in
control. Dan and Matt came on at 4th and 5th change to
polish off the tail, finishing with 3-14 and 1-11 respectively, but there was
still time for Channa to leave a wide one which went straight to first slip,
where Al could only succeed in deflecting it into his balls. After much
hilarity and having declined all offers of applying freeze spray or Deep Heat
to the affected area, Al recovered sufficiently to take the last wicket and the
Whalers had won by 84 runs. Overall this was another good team performance and
the game was played in a very good spirit.
Match Stats:
Whalers 241-7: Oz 66, Pip 57, Matt 43, Al 30
Champagne moment: Oz’s
square cut for 4
Muppet moment: Honourable
mention for Ads taking it on the arse, but this goes to Al’s ball in the balls
Man of the match: Pip