Strollers flatten Horizontals

After the agonizing injustice of the final ball defeat by London Utopers last week, what the Strollers most acutely needed in the third fixture of Super September was a ruthlessly efficient, no quarter given and none expected performanced against rather annoying opponents. And that is exactly what we got this Sunday.

With skipper Gav laid low by an outbreak of Delhi Belly, vice skipper Boughey (who has recently returned from Delhi) took over the reins. Harsh Joshi returned to the Strollers after his sparkling century at Chippenham, and brought with him Roci Bisht, (of Bollywood good looks and who is from north of Delhi). Harsh told Simon before the game that “I rate Roci better than me” so great things were expected.

The Strollers academy was also represented in the shape of young Harry Brown and his friend Josh Strine, while we borrowed an 11th player from the Horizontals called Wes.

After winning the toss on a sunny but breezy afternoon with the flavour of autumn in the air, the Horizontals surprisingly decided to field. That suited the Strollers well and with Harsh and Spencer opening the innings runs started to mount up quickly on the small Ferme Park pitch. Harsh set about the bowling with his customary aggression while Spencer played his textbook, stylish shots.

The half century was reached after only seven or eight overs, and with the score on 72, Spencer played all round a straight one from Webster – the most effective Horizontals bowler – and was adjudged LBW. Nine runs later Harsh, having made 50 quick runs, was well caught on the deep point boundary. The Horizontals held on to droppable chances all afternoon.

Having played himself in astutely, Roci now got the bit between his teeth and flayed the bowling to all parts of the Ferme Park ground and beyond. There were numerous lost balls and it was suggested to the Horizontals captain that he post long off and long on in the tennis courts.

In the middle of this, George was out LBW for 6 and K***** decided to run himself out first ball in comical fashion. With the ball simply going behind to the wicket keeper, K*****, on strike, decided it was a good time to run a bye. He charged three quarters of the way down to be met by a mystified expression from Roci while the keeper, equally mystified, calmly took off the bails.

Keiron must be mellowing in his middle age, as he greeted this dismissal not with the expected foot stomping petulance but a calm, rueful acceptance that it all been his fault and he didn’t know what he had been doing. Truly, the old order changeth, yielding place to the new…

After hitting 71, including six sixes, Roci was out in the deep to another calmly taken catch and the Stroller were 167 for 5 but with some 15 overs to go. There was a little concern at this juncture that if the middle order did not make runs then our excellent start might be wasted. We knew how quickly runs can be scored on the Ferme Park pitch and anything less than 230-240 would be very gettable.

But there then followed an excellent and, in retrospect, match winning partnership of 93 between Graeme and Micky Leighton. Graeme contributed some fiercely struck shots and Mickey accumulated the runs with lazy elegance. He made 53 before holing out to another well judged catch at long off, but at that point 260 runs had been made. The Strollers added another 20 scrambled runs before completing the allotted 35 overs with 280 runs having being scored.

The Horizontals needed 8 an over to make these runs, and, unlike last week, they were never on the rate. Simon bowled as well as he has ever done for the Strollers (in the humble estimation of this writer) while Roci raced in up the hill and into the breeze but still managed a very lively pace. Runs came but never at the required run rate.

The first wicket came through an inspired bit of fielding by young Josh Strine. Pushing the ball to mid on, opener Burgess called for single while Josh ran in, picked up and fired at the stumps for a direct hit that would have required no TV umpire. Josh was engulfed in a scrum of immoderately excited older men, who lifted him up, tousled his hair and whirled him round.

From that point onwards, the Horizontals never took a chance against Josh again, and he fielded superbly for the duration of the game, never letting the ball through him and throwing in accurately. A special mention should also be given the fielding of Spencer and Roci, who patrolled the cover and midwicket boundaries excellently for the entire innings, and who consistently fired in the ball at speeds which kept the pressure on the batsmen.

Long time Strollers adversary Arif Qawi was bowled off his pads by a delivery from Simon that came back a long way, and Bloor was plumb LBW to the same bowler two overs later.

Roci went off after four overs and K*****, with his new stop-start-stop action bowled accurately, consistently beating the bat. He thought he had Gaskell caught at extra cover by Simon (as did Simon) but the batsman said it was a bump ball which keeper Joshi sportingly upheld.

Gaskell and Kiwi batted well together and for a time it looked as if the Horizontals might stage a fightback. Boughey nervously paced and exhorted his fielders to “focus”, remember “the next ball is coming to you” and “keep switched on” between every ball. Displaying great forebearance, they didn’t lynch him.

Graeme bowled with customary intelligence and aggression, and, after hitting him over deep midwicket for six, Bordon was bowled for 43 in a key breakthrough. Roci returned for his remaining three overs from the top end, and killed off any nascent recovery with accuracy and pace. He bowled Webster, and shortly afterwards Graeme fired in a sharp throw to remove the dogged Gaskell, run out for 41.

Mickey Leighton jogged in to bowl four overs of niggardly off spin and with two overs to go, 80 runs were still needed. The spectre of the previous week still haunted the captain’s nightmares, but at this juncture even he could see it was all over. So young Harry Brown bowled the last over, and might have picked up a wicket had K***** been able to sight a ball in the quickly gathering gloom.

And that was that. A thoroughly well played and professional victory. A highly defendable score had been attained, and we had bowled well and fielded well to defend it. There had been very, very few loose deliveries of which the Strollers sometimes seem addicted and the batsmen never relaxed.

Onwards and upwards with two more games in Super September.

Simon Boughey
17.09.07

<< scorecard