Whalers win by 16 runs
So, to the
final game of a pretty successful season. Well, successful in terms of wins/losses, rather than matches called
off, or the nature of some of those losses (less said about Wessex
Eagles and Charing Cross Medics, the better).
And to the gorgeous
surroundings of Barnes Common, a ground familiar to us this season, which could
be absolutely fantastic with a bit of TLC, but struggling for a consistent
pitch and a lack of any kind of boards around the outfield, meaning balls
getting lost on a regular basis.
Following the most inventive
“you couldn’t make this kind of thing up” kit faff
(Stu had taken both bags thinking he was going to be playing the match, had to
pull out, was then driving them from Cheltenham to Kamal’s
house when he was involved in a thankfully minor car crash. His car was taken
to the garage where they assured him that he would be able to retrieve them the
next morning. However, the garage was shut, so the bags were locked up,
inaccessible, halfway between Cheltenham and
We managed to find some kit
in the changing rooms, and between that and personal gear, we managed to equip
ourselves. However, one of the things missing was the scorebook, so this is
being written-up referring to Dario’s hastily scribbled, though immaculate
notes in his little black book (in the pub later, the Whalers mused on the
number of girls’ names and phone numbers that were in the notebook, and also
why Dario was really keen to get the book back, after leaving it in the pub
with us!).
The Whalers have made a real
effort with their pitches this year of finding facilities near public
transport, but again the engineers were getting the better of us (South West
Trains this time). We were finally all set for a 35 over match with FCO one man
down.
Al (48) and Duncs (36) got
off to a great start, playing the ball around, though Duncs especially had his
fair share of good fortune, finally getting out LBW after giving them ample
opportunity to catch him out. Kev went out to bat
promising a 100, but had the openers left him enough time? He tried to
accelerate, with only 4 singles out of his 34, but was caught on the boundary,
perfectly picking out a fielder who had already dropped two. Channa was in
next, scored a six, and was then bowled, so we were now 141 for 3. Al followed
17 runs later, just 2 runs short of his 50. This brought Toby (30) to the
crease with Dario (21) with 5 overs left. Some big hitting and erratic running
later, including Dario’s first ever six in any competitive match of cricket saw
Whalers to 210. As had been through before the match, the pitch was
ill-prepared with unpredictable bounce (there had been 23 wides,
most of these through height), so we really fancied our chances (as long as we
could keep the extras down, and take our chances).
Khalil and Blane opened up
the bowling, Ben’s new girlfriend turning up to watch him bowl his first over.
It’s a shame she didn’t stay longer, as he took a wicket with the first ball of
his second over, and again in his third over. Khalil was keeping things tight
the other end, with two of his first three overs being maidens. However, Rich
made a change, and John took a wicket in his first over. Their scoring rate was
slow, and they had reached 55 for 3 at the end of the 12th over.
However, the fall of the fourth wicket to John (7/1/46/2) then brought Spychal out to bat to join Croher.
They consolidated, and whilst occasionally riding their luck (more on that
later), accelerated as Whalers had done earlier, and reached the end of the 30th
over at 179 for no further loss, needing just 6 more an over to win.
However, the 31st
over was a turning point. Dario, who was already causing problems, got one to
turn and take the top of off stump to account for Croher
(59) – cue primeval roar! Khalil kept the next over tight and then Dario had Spychal (52) LBW. The total was still gettable, but
inexplicably, the FCO number 8, Guest, wandered down the track to his first
ball, missed it by miles and was stumped by Toby in his own inimitable style (ie stumps and bails absolutely everywhere). Ben (7/0/24/3)
returned to take another wicket and Khalil fittingly took the final wicket to
finish with 6.5/4/13/1. FCO finished on 194, meaning that the Whalers had won a
pulsating match by 16 runs. A great end to the playing season.
We retired to the Coach and
Horses for fines and to ruminate on the season and also Rich’s intentions for
Toby. Champagne moment was Dario’s first wicket (especially the roar) – he also
was awarded Man of the Match for his valuable contribution with both bat and
ball (4/0/23/3) particularly the two key wickets that swung the match back our
way. There was a team award for muppet moment, with
eight catches being dropped and ‘catchgate’ - a top
edge when they were still only four down, for which we thought there were only
two players on the pitch who couldn’t have got there (yet it fell harmlessly
between us all!). There was an honourable mention for
the Whalers’ captain who following the late call-up of Emmerson in place of the
aforementioned Terrell, sent him the following text the night before the
match:-
“Love you very much peas. Can’t wait to go to south
America with you and then make you my wife xxxxxxx”
Now he says it was
accidental, but we all saw the way he was wearing that pink cowboy hat on tour.
As the night got longer, we
continued drinking at the Coach and Horses, where sharp talking from Duncs may
have even secured us sponsorship for next season. Or maybe just free rounds of sambucca. The season finally finished in fitting style with
six of the seven remaining Whalers falling asleep in their curries at the Clapham Tandoori, with Kev trying to pester us all into joining him in Be@1 next
door.
Whalers: 210 for 6 (35
overs)
FCO: 194 a.o. (33 overs)
Man of the match: Dario Forte
Champagne moment: Dario First wicket
Muppet moment: “Catchgate”