There were no dancing girls with Pom
Poms at Barn Elms to witness the opening of Whalers
2008 season. There were no frenzied fans, no coloured clothing and no global
media rights to be squabbled over. There was no danger the match would have
ramifications that would shake the core of cricket the world over. The match
had none of these things because it served no purpose beyond the simple
enjoyment of its participants.
There was a fair amount of faffing
involved in getting the game underway, including: Pip having to drive the kit
in two separate journeys because his new car could only carry one bag at a
time; two loyal Whalers turning out for the opposition (well done Ed and Nick).
My own favourite: the confusion over whether or not we were playing on the
right ground, our hosts seemed to think that they had booked a pitch a few
fields away but that it hadn’t been marked. Since we had all assembled where we
thought we had been told to and there was a pitch there that no one was using
we decided to assume it was ours, begin play and be prepared to be kicked off
by an angry groundsman / team.
So, drenched in sunshine Al and Will
marched to the crease to face the first ball of the season. The freshly cut
grass had been trimmed fairly tightly and the pitch although greenish and
slightly undulating was hard for the time of year. The two began solidly
against some accurate bowling which although not express pace was nagging and
the two opening bowlers extracted good movement from the surface. Will was
first to fall given lbw for 13 after Whalers had added 30. Si
came in at 3 but after only one scoring stroke fell to the same bowler for 4.
Al followed fairly soon after for a well constructed 20 (caught by Ed playing
for the oppo) and Whalers were teetering on 41/3.
Phil and Toby needed to dig in and occupy the crease, pickling up runs as they
came but more importantly beginning to rebuild the innings. They batted
together for some 12 overs (of 35) adding 36 and
taking the ball on the body when necessary to protect their wicket. Phil fell
for a hard crafted 17 after some textbook drives were beginning to free the
shackles.
Whalers had time now not to not wildly hit out but needed to
accelerate the rate of scoring. It was important that someone supported Toby
who had begun to look impressive at the crease and was playing the innings of
his Whalers carer to date. Early watchfulness was bearing fruit and as he
became more assured he unleashed some powerful blows including a square cut
six. Pip and Khalil both fell (4 and 5) in this
cause. Toby was then joined by Rich and the two put on 61 for the 7th
wicket from around 7 overs. Toby moved on to his
maiden 50 while the two were together but celebrated with the air of a man
whose job was not yet done. Rich was out caught for a quick 23 which had
included a six over long-on which looked for all the world like it was going to
bounce onto Pips smart new car until it deviated on the bounce. Paul joined
Toby for the last few balls and ended on 1 not out while Toby was gallantly out
for 61 coming back for a second run off the final ball. Whalers had built a
decent score and had batted well around Toby’s hard hitting innings. We were
162/8, enough to know that if the bowlers kept things tight Riffs would have to
bat very well to overhaul us.
After a rousing team talk from new captain Dan we took to
the field, satisfied by James Gould’s Asda bought tea
but even hungrier for that winning feeling. Gould opened the bowling with
captain (never lieutenant) Dan but there was a suspicion he had over indulged
on his own scotch eggs as he struggled for consistency. James did take the
first wicket teaming up with his bowling partner as Dan took a simple catch off
a ball fended away by a batsman who had been done for pace. Dan then took the second
wicket to fall, having fought to find a sustainable line he removed the remaining
openers middle stump with a ball that was simply too quick for him. Replacing
Gould from the Castelnau end, Khalil
as we now expect of him started immediately with metronomic accuracy and a good
deal of zip, sending the ball thumping through into Toby’s gloves harder than
any bowler on either side. In a remarkable over he took a wicket with his
second ball and started 2008 with a double wicket maiden. One bowled by a ball
that looked as though it had nipped back a little and the second a
straightforward catch to the keeper off a ball that may have offered to move
away a little off the pitch. The second wicket of his over was that of Ed
playing for Riffs and his shot suggested that he intended to waste no time
nudging and nurdling for the opposition. By now the Riffs were 4 down and the Whales
could smell blood. What we had seen so far suggested that the bulk of the
batting may have already been back in the pavilion and one of the two at the
crease had lost the feeling in his top hand struggling to hold on to a very low
fiercely hit drive from Rich early in the day.
Making a
decision that hinted at an awareness of a bigger picture for the season Dan
gave the opening bowlers just 3 overs each despite
their successes. Paul had been very tidy from the outset after replacing Dan
from the Pavilion end and picked up 2 wickets both bowled showing the value of
getting the ball straight, pitching it up and letting the pitch do the work on
this early season surface. He came back at the end of the innings to polish
things off but didn’t take another finishing with 15 for 2 from 6. This
included the wicket of Nick who was playing for the opposition, he had looked
comfortably their most assured batsman and with some very lusty blows
bludgeoned his way to 18 before falling.
Rich
replaced Khalil after 4 overs
leaving Khalil with impressive match figures of
4-1-7-2. There were a few straight ones in with the wides
and the tail end batsman struggled, a drop from Phil was rectified as Dan took
a harder chance off the next ball. A steepling top
edge led to a caught and bowled after a confident shout of mine! Rich finished
with figures of 5-1-9-2. The only bowler to go unrewarded was Pip who had a
useful run out and totally baffled the batsmen with a couple of spinning
deliveries. Council pitches in April are not the stuff of dreams for
leg-spinners and his chance will no doubt come later in this extended
international season, he finished with 2-0-15-0. Dan and James came back on to
finish things off after a suicidal run out had brought the final pair to the
crease. Dan came in off just a couple of paces to ensure he kept it straight
but it was James who claimed the No.11’s scalp by bowling him with a ball that
was far too good for him to keep out. Dan finished with figures of 5-1-16-1 and
James 5-0-23-2.
The wickets were spread around the bowlers nicely and the fielding although not
inspirational was solid with more catches held than shelled and a few superb
stops, one memorable one from Will. The Riffs never really looked like
challenging the Whalers total as they could never build a partnership due to
the regularity of wickets going down. They finished on 106 all out from 27 overs.
The game was played in good spirits, with the sides lending
each other players, confusion about if we were even at the right ground and
both teams buying beers for the other after the game. It would not have made
money for replica kit salesmen or fizzy drinks companies but it was friendly
and competitive. Playing cricket with the sun on our backs for me was enough.
Rich 28/04/2008
Match
stats:
Whalers CC 162-8
– Toby 62, Rich 23
Saracen
Riffs 106 all out – Khalil 2 for 7, Rich 2-9, Paul
2-15, James 2-23
Man of the match: Toby
for the crucial highest score of 62
Champagne moment: Rich’s
lofted on-drive for 6 towards Pip’s new sports car
Muppet moment: Rich dropping his bat while changing
his mind about a quick single & running back without it