Gardeners mow down Strollers to secure easy win
posted: June 23, 2014

The Strollers had a somewhat threadbare look for this game, as has not been unusual so far this season. The bulk of the side was made up by regulars, but there was also a debutant (Robin, who looks very useful), David’s literary chum Chris and a trio of youngsters – Dan, Jamie and Jamie’s mate Josh.

On a sultry afternoon, Tom lost the toss and we were fielding. Things got off to a very good start. For those who know it, Hampstead Garden Extension always offers a little bit to the bowlers, and very grateful and comforting this is to chaps used to bowling on an endless succession of low and slow wickets. The first ball, bowled by Simon, leapt off a length, sailed past the batter’s shoulder and was taken in front of his face by startled (and doubtless duly impressed) debutant keeper Robin. Boughey could hardly wait to bowl the next one, which jagged back from outside off at hip height, was feathered behind off a faint inside edge, and opener Jordan sportingly walked.

In the next over, Tom hit the top of off stump and the Gardeners were two down for no runs. A couple of overs later, Simon had a threefer and the oppo were four wickets down for not many. The Strollers could not be blamed if they were thinking of bowling them all out for 70 or 80 and being back in the pub by 5pm. If such thoughts did cross our minds, we were soon cruelly disabused.

By this time, number three batsman JT, a distressingly athletic and youthful Kiwi, had begun to find the middle of the bat after playing and missing a few times  at the start of his innings. With four wickets down, he was joined by Stuart Bruce, who did not have the same range of shots as JT but proved very difficult to dislodge. Anything from middle stump and legside of that was pulled or swept down to the backward square leg and fine leg boundary, and we kept feeding him. Several chances fell agonizingly short of fielders while, at the other end, JT did terrible execution to all areas of the field.

Bruce eventually fell to Davey for 61, while JT departed a few overs later to George, whose medium pace seamers made a welcome return to the cricket fields of north London and brought the traditional Srollers favourite a deserved  threefer at the end of the innings.

By this time, a lot of damage had been done, though there was still time for Bulman to rub salt in  the wound with a lusty 28 to leave the Gardeners with 254-9 off their 35 overs.  The Strollers were a least a bowler light, and the 14 overs not bowled by Simon, Tom or George went for 130 runs.

This always looked a tall order and the Strollers’ innings never got going, their progress not helped by five hostile overs from JT who bowled at a lively pace, got appreciable bounce and ended with the enviable figures of 3-10 before departing to skype his bride to be in preparation for imminent nuptials. Let’s hope he has a long, long honeymoon somewhere remote with a sudden shortage of flights back to England.

David and Tom got going (23 and 19 respectively) but both managed to present pretty straightforward catches to the infield, as did Robin, who did enough in his seven runs to suggest he can play the game. Dickie’s innings of 30, which was unbeaten, was the pick of the bunch, while Jamie played one sumptuous cover drive in his nice innings of 12, but no-one played the major innings  that was necessary if the Strollers were to have a chance. In the end, we made 149 off the 35 overs, more than 100 runs short.

The Gardeners, one of the best and most sporting bunches we play against, were typically gracious in defeat, but this was a rather sub-par performance by the Strollers.

Simon Boughey
29.06.14

scorecard >>