So near yet so far...
 
The purists might grumble, but the 20/20 format never fails to make for exciting cricket. So it was when the Strollers met the Railway Tavern for their annual evening fixture at North Middlesex CC last Friday. Winning the toss, Andy the opposition skipper had little hesitation in opting to bat first on what looked like a belter of a pitch, taking advantage of the sunny weather and fast outfield.

The Taverners clearly had a 'route one' game plan in mind as their opening batsmen hit the ground running and set about dispatching anything that looked vaguely off line to the boundary. Despite the best efforts of the Strollers' opening seamers Kelvyn S**** and Chris Lucas, the Taverners' fiery strokeplay had led them to pass the 50 mark after just 3 overs - things had to change.

Stand in skipper Gav decided that the only hope of stemming the scary-looking run rate was to take the sting out of the attack, slow things down and force the batsmen to generate the pace on the ball, opting for spin from Graeme and George at one end and turning to K***** at the other, who managed to concoct an entire spell consisting of the 'slower ball'!

The tactic seemed to work, with for a spell the batsmen seemingly unable to reach the boundary and the Strollers collecting useful wickets - Graeme trapping opener James lbw, K***** removing the Taverners' number 3 with Kelvyn's help (caught S****, bowled S****) and George deceiving Jargan with clever flight causing the batsman to amble down the pitch, play and miss leaving Matt to tidily whip the bails off.

Of course it didn't all go to plan. Sadly some poor fielding - uncharacteristic of the Strollers this season - caused the Taverners to make hay in the last few overs with byes and overthrows haemmoraging valuable runs. Still, after Lucas had returned for the final over, managing to grab one last (5th) wicket, the collective feeling was that things could have been a lot worse - the Taverners closing their innings on 168-5 when at one stage they were threatening to pass the dreaded 200 mark.

After a swift turnaround and set a run rate in excess of 8 per over, openers George and K***** strode out to set about their task. Matters were helped in the early overs by some frankly inept bowling from the Taverners' opening bowlers - one over conceding 24 runs, the majority of which to the extras column. But this was soon curtailed as changes were swiftly made to the attack and the runs began to dry up, the Strollers reaching only the 40 mark after 6 overs forcing them to hit out, which in turn caused K***** to uncharacteristically loop a dolly catch to mid off.

Chris Deavin, in his first match of the 2006 season, stepped up to the crease at number 3 and quickly set about upping the tempo, confidently sending the bad balls to the boundary and turning singles into twos with neat running between the wickets. George also began to strike out before misjudging a swing and was bowled for 21. Matt and Gav followed although neither seemed quite able to time the ball and were both dismissed cheaply to the accuracy of Pancash.

However, Gav had intentionally kept some of the bigger hitters in the side back for what he guessed could be a tight finish. He was not wrong. Chris Lucas, striding in at number 6 brandished his bat eagerly and, knowing he had a license to hit out set about the Taverners' attack with real ferocity. With Deavs continuing to hit and run at the other end the fielding side suddenly came under pressure and, despite the badly fading light, the run rate managed to pass 10 an over with regularity. Fours and sixes came with ease and suddenly the Strollers were back in the game.

Lucas had stormed his way to 34 when he too fell to the straight ball that kept low whilst attempting a slog. The impressive 5th wicket partnership may have been broken, but the plan remained the same as Kelvyn came to the wicket in what amounted to a like-for-like change. Kelvyn simply continued where Lucas had left off, dispatching a six high over long on, and the Strollers passed the 130 mark with just 3 overs to go. Then came a blow as Deavs was stumped taking a swing sending him back to the pavilion with an impressive 43 to his name.

Graeme stepped out to the wicket and following a neat four behind, courtesy of a deft inside edge, set about the scrambled finish with Kelvyn at the other end. But with 17 needed from the final over, the victory proved a bridge too far. With 6 needed from the final ball to tie, Kelvyn took the best swipe he could at a low ball and dispatched it to the boundary, but agonizingly only for four.

The epitaph? Sadly a case of so near yet so far. In truth the damage had been done early on thanks to the Taverners' opening batting salvo and some unfortunate misfields later in their innings which cost us dear. But credit must go to the Strollers for another gritty display where we fought our way back into the game, giving ourselves half a chance. Special mentions to Deavs for a splendid comeback innings and Chris Lucas for a great fireworks display. Next year we'll get em...!

Gavin Richardson
16.07.06

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