Strollers find winning habit in Portugal!

Having survived the early start and the worst that Ryan Air could throw at us, we arrived the day before the game with wide-eyed wonderment at the splendour and opulence of Oporto CC. From the wrought iron gate to the cobbled street we were instantly transported back to a time when 3/4 of the globe was pink. As we walked through wood panelled halls on polished parquet flooring, the names of club presidents past and present along with military types with double-barrelled surnames stared down at us forebodingly. "What had we let ourselves in for?" we asked ourselves, but we needn't have worried. From Ricardo, the slick and assured club manager to the convivial bar staff, we were immediately made to feel at ease. After dropping off our luggage and seeing our rooms for the first time (most of which had balconies overlooking the cricket pitch), the first cohort of Strollers met in the bar to get our first taste of Portugal - pints of Super Bok larger and burger and chips for breakfast. After an impromptu pitch inspection (and a wave to the groundsman on his motorised mower) it was then off to the Port wine winery in old town Porto for a bit of "col-cha", a lovely meal and a highly educational tour around one of the old Port producers.

After the wine tour, most of us had a net session and, after freshening up, we decided to go for even more food (!) to a restaurant recommended to us by the affable Ricardo. This was a Brazilian carvery where you basically ate so much grilled meats cooked to perfection and sliced directly on to your plates that Mr. Atkins (of 'Atkins Diet' fame) would have thought he'd died and gone to high protein/low carb heaven. It was then back to the hotel to meet the second wave of Strollers who were by now fully ensconced in the bar, entertaining some of the members. Some then in typical Stroller's fashion, decided to go and sample some of the delights of Porto's nightlife whilst others (including this author and Skipper) took to their beds, no doubt dreaming of bowling attacks, field placements and batting order.

Match day and Oporto CC turned up bright and breezy looking fresh and rested, all very smart in the crested caps, shirts and sleeveless jumpers. We on the other hand 'strolled' in to the bar in dribs and drabs, some clearly worse the wear from the night before. The last Stroller (the Dazzler) arrived to the club with the same expression of shock and awe that no doubt we wore the day before. As the two teams sized each other up, there's a combination of adrenalin and anticipation (not to mention a few alcoholic vapours and sore Stroller heads from the largesse of the night before). The rain that had fallen from early morning threatening to put an end to proceedings abated and the 2 Skippers walked out in to the middle. Chris Lucas, the Stroller's skipper, newly attired in his blazer and old school baggy green (and yellow and red) was impressed by Steven Rogerson the Oporto CC Skipper's old penny coin that dated back to the year that the club was founded. As the toss went up the Stroller's Skipper guessed wrong and Oporto CC put us in to bat [which was the decision I would have made: Skip].

Thinking that Deavin and Fowler had been batting well, and given that the wicket played true the PSCC Skipper felt confident in them continuing in the same vein. This proved not to be the case as both Fowler & Deavin went cheaply. Harsh Joshi at 3 looked in imperious form and, along with the Skipper the scoreboard began to tick over. Sadly, the Skipper fell flashing at a straight one and in stepped David "De Dazzler" Haines. He then set about making short work of the bowling and along with Joshi got the scoreboard really moving. When Joshi got caught uncharacteristically at midwicket the score was starting to look a little more respectable going in to lunch well over 100. Holmes stepped up and played sensibly farming the strike to the in form Dazzler whenever he could but he too eventually succumbed before reaching double figures. Then, in stepped Big Gav Richardson, who, after a fantastic net session set about the bowling attack with some of his trade mark front foot booming cover drives which had the watching Strollers in raptures. Sadly, after being given a life by the umpire (an unseen glove to the wickie), Big Gav had another life by being dropped at midwicket. But not content with riding his luck Big Gav found himself in a glitch in the matrix for he played the exact same shot off a carbon copy delivery from the same bowler to the exact same fielder 2 balls later - 'groundhog cricket'. The difference was that this time Mr. Gallie took the catch and Big Gav was sent on his way. After that, there was a bit of a slump as Strollers' wickets tumbled. Matt Morgan was clean bowled by Gallie, and Brown was done by a snorter that turned and bounced causing an edge to the keeper for a duck. Next up was Dickie Betts, who in true derring do style grabbed himself a couple and was caught and bowled by a fantastic bit of cricket. So, with 1 batsman remaining, De Dazzler decided he wasn't going to hang around and after a few lofty blows he finally succumbed off the metronomically accurate Qaiser for 79, leaving tour debutante Lucarotti on 1 not out.

So, with only 166 on the board in a time game, the PSCC Skipper was a tad worried. The team talk therefore, a combination of barn storming and tub thumping instilled in to the team the need to be tight in the field, vocal in support and above all TAKE OUR BLOOMIN' CATCHES!!! The Skipper opened the innings trying to bowl a tight line and get some of his inswinging yorkers going. When it worked it worked well, but when it didn't it fell short and despite much encouragement in the field, there were some easy pickings for the confident openers. At the other end, Spencer "Spenny" Fowler was also trying to get his outswingers going but most importantly, he bowled an extremely stingy line. The Skipper finally made the breakthrough. The classy Roberts, trying to impose himself on another (not too) short pitched delivery top edged a pull short and John "Little Pail" Lucarotti bagged his first catch for the Strollers and we had our first wicket. Whilst Fowler continued to bowl a very frugal line and length, the Skipper's next over received a bit of a spanking. The wicket taken, it was time for a change and the Skipper asked Graeme "Sherlock" Holmes to warm up. Given our lack of pace in the team, the bouncy track, not to mention the test standard ball, the Skipper asked Holmes to roll back the years and try some of his old medium swing bowling (as opposed to the spin he has been toiling with for a number of years). Holmes immediately bowled a fine line and length and the pressure started to build. The next over, Spencer got his name in the wickets column as he bamboozled the newly arrived Dixon in to playing a loose shot which was superbly taken by Joshi at gully. We went in to tea (and a rather splendid tea it has to be said with a stöllen type cake, scones and of course the obligatory port) haven taken a couple of wickets and at the same time stemmed the flood of runs. Despite the Vice Skipper George Brown almost giving the Skipper third degree burns by misunderstanding the workings of an antique tea urn that dated back to the bronze age [he'd do anything to ascend to the lofty heights of captaincy: Skip], there were a few furtive glances in the Strollers ranks and the odd whispered voice: "we can do this..." As the cloud gathered overhead, the atmosphere between the Strollers got closer... as the barometer began to twitch...

From the first delivery after lunch, it was clear that the conditions had changed. As the ball consistently began to swing away from the swishing bat, the fervent support from the field and the dot balls in the book began to tell on the opposition batsmen. The big hitting Ihasan was the first to go caught at long on off Fowler after being frustrated by the lack of runs coming off the bat. The young lad J Rogerson, nephew of the Oporto CC Skipper Steven Rogerson continued to play his game with some fantastic cross batted swats but even he found runs tough to come by after lunch as the bowlers and the fielders supported each other enthusiastically. Then a period of play ensued that essentially changed the game for good. Somehow, Holmes was getting the ball to perform all sorts of tricks. He was getting bounce (and had the young lad Rogerson seeing stars with a sharp delivery that hit him square on his helmeted noggin) and he got the ball to swing both through the air and off the deck. Following Ihasan, the dangerous looking Qaiser "the laser" accounted for the first of Holmes' wickets, holing out to Deavin at short mid wicket for 6. Next up was McConnell. He didn't last long and was clean bowled for 4. The very next delivery saw Akbar sent back to the shed with another Lucarotti catch at mid wicket. Hatrick ball, the field was all up "in the circle" — silly mid on/off, 3 slips, a gully, a lot of chat and eyeballing around the bat. Poor Gallie didn't stand a chance as he was adjudged LBW from a ball that would have ripped out middle stump. The Strollers went berserk, bundling the ecstatic Holmes like a scene from Tom Brown's School Days. The game had now turned on its head and the Strollers were ebullient.

It was now a case of mopping up the tail. Holmes picked another couple of peppers including the lad Rogerson, finally caught at gully, top scoring on 30. And Fowler got a beautiful delivery to swing away from Bakewell in to Matt "the Cat"'s gloves, clipping the edge of his bat on the way through. So, with only 3 bowlers used, the Strollers emerged victorious. There was much merriment amongst the ranks of the Strollers and deservedly so for although Holmes led us off holding the ball aloft as he did so, there was genuine pride throughout as everyone played their part. It seemed right that the Skipper took the first wicket. It seemed right that the our youngest tour debutante came of age with a "3-fer". And it was a privilege to be involved in a game where a bowler took 6 wickets, for 18 off 9 overs. First class bowling from Sherlock, ably supported by Spenny at the other end and a great team effort in the field. It was also the Skipper's first win of the season and whilst Holmes figures deserved all plaudits and the "Man of the Match" awarded by the Oporto Skipper during the formal tour dinner, the captain can reflect on the fact that the Strollers to a man rose to the occasion and forced through a magnificent win by defending a very meagre total.

Chris Lucas
23.05.09

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