Strollers finish season on a winning note
 
The Strollers’ 2006 domestic season concluded in highly gratifying fashion with a narrow win over Queen Adelaide in the Stygian gloom of a September evening at Ferme Park. The Strollers did well to restrict Adelaide to 206 for seven off 35 overs in the miniature surroundings of Ferme Park – never the happiest hunting ground for us in recent times – and were able to stage a late rush for victory as the light was not merely failing but had failed.

Having won the toss, Adelaide decided to bat on a balmy late summer afternoon. The Strollers opened with a new look express attack of young Mike Ward and old Jake Jackson, which soon had Adelaide in all sorts of trouble. Opener Brunner was yorked by Ward, which brought the rotund Zimbabwean form of F Shiels to the wicket. This is the man who scored 180 against the Strollers two years ago and another 59 last season, so, among Stroller veterans, there was some apprehension about what he might do on the truncated Ferme Park pitch.

We need not have worried: Jake produced a beauty to have him caught behind by Matt for only 5 and there was understandably much whooping and back slapping. Mike, bowling fast and furiously, got the second Shiels brother to edge to Matt and then bowled another. Suddenly Adelaide were 40 for 4 and the game looked to be in our grasp.

But Mike reached the end of his spell, Jake got a groin strain and the Strollers had difficulty recapturing the hostility of the opening overs. Opener Ewer dug in and was not easy to winkle out while Jason Reid hit some mighty blows to go some way to restore parity. Boughey bowled tidily and Holmes occasionally threatened, but the fifth wicket put on over 130 runs.

Lacking a fifth recognised bowler (K***** having decided that he couldn’t bowl due to a business meeting on the morrow), there were a couple of expensive overs before young Spencer Fowler produced a nice four over spell to restrict the scoring flurry.

Debutant Will Davis finished the innings off with an over to cherish. The first four deliveries were very wide. Very, very wide. One then pitched on. Then there was a no ball as the ball bounced perhaps seven times. And then he took two wickets in two balls and the Strollers crowded round the bat for the hat trick ball.

The innings ended with Adelaide at 206 for seven: not too bad for the Strollers, but it could have been a lot better.

A quick tea was consumed and the Strollers opened with Gav and Spencer as the sun began rapidly sinking from view. They both batted sensibly and well, in a manner that would have pleased Geoffrey Boycott and JM Brearley. The opening bowlers were seen off without loss of wickets and then Gav skied one to the keeper in a laudable effort to push the score along.

Though runs continued to come the Strollers were below the asking rate as shots seemed to always find Adelaide fielders. K*****, however, supplied some needed urgency to proceedings and quick singles kept the score ticking over. Only Will failed to make a contribution with the bat and Graeme, newly helmeted, struck some well-timed blows.

When Mikey came to the wicket with five overs to go, it was all still in the balance and captain Boughey on the boundary was getting increasingly restive despite the presence of his eye-catching inamorata. It was at this point that the increasing darkness began to help the batting side more than the one fielding. They just couldn’t see the ball.

This is to take nothing from Mike, who, in his second sterling contribution of the afternoon, batted superbly. In scenes reminiscent of the win against Chippenham last year, the tension began to get to the fielders and the game turned in favour of the Strollers. Mattie hit the winning runs off the first ball of the last over and there was much rejoicing on the boundary.

Simon Boughey
19.09.06

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