KING'S ROAD CRICKET AND SOCIAL CLUB

Butterfingers vs Butterlords! Road rue dropped catches in massive defeat

A collection of mis-fields and dropped catches cost The Kings Road dear as they slumped to a 141 run defeat against The Butterlords.

The Road shelled seven catches (including four in one over) as the visitors marched to an imposing 285 for 4 from their first innings – the second highest opposition score in KRCSC history.

With the forecast set fair at Haydons Road, The Butterlords won the toss and elected to bat, sending in some big hitters early on to make hey in the sunshine.

In a team short of quick-bowling options, skipper Matt Small was forced to promote Mark Isham to open alongside himself; a gamble in Isham’s first game after nearly a year out with injury.

But it was the stand-in opener who made the breakthrough, sending down a leg-side ‘Kings Road Yorker’ to Cooke, which was well caught at mid-wicket by James Couldrey.

The quality of that catch may have led The Road to believe that it was going to be their day, but they were made to toil in the field with some elegant strokeplay and massive sixes.

Wickets fell periodically, initially with Dan Sherman stumping Ridley for off the bowling of Rossi, and then Keating chipping in with a couple: bowling Digby for 19 and luring Clatworthy out of his crease for the nimble and elegant Sherman to get his second stumping.

But these wickets could not stem the flow of runs; having lost only four wickets, The Butterlords had scored 138 runs, with plenty of overs to go.

With this platform, it allowed the middle order to accelerate, and accelerate they did, putting the boundary fielders under pressure and forcing mistakes.

The final partnership put on nearly 150 runs, with Rehan Javed making 91 not-out off only 48 deliveries.

If the Road were going to challenge The Butterlords’ total, their big-guns were going to have to bat well, and the skipper sent in Adam Paterson and Jon Malsingh.

Paterson looked at home in spite of some good bowling, and despatched a number of elegant drives to the boundary.

Malsingh also looked good, but kept finding fielders, however his batting provided good support, and by the time he was trapped LBW, the partnership was worth 51.

Adam continued his assault with his new partner, Couldrey, before he was caught for 34, going for one shot too many.

What followed was an all too familiar Kings Road middle-order collapse: Couldrey bowled McGill for nine; Cocken unable to keep a Hearn delivery out, bowled for five; Dave Hughes, run out for six and Sherman caught by Hildebrand for seven.

With The Road reduced to 104 for 6, all hope of winning the match was gone, and attention for the remaining batsmen turned to batting for some form.

Isham and Keating put on a micro-partnership of 18, before the latter was caught trying to find the boundary.

Raju Mazumder survived being given out LBW by Couldrey after a review showed that he practically middled it, however a few balls later he was trapped right in front of the stumps and given out for five.

Rossi batted until the final over before being caught at fly-slip for three, leaving Small and Isham to survive five deliveries to get the minor moral victory of not being all-out.

The heavy defeat left The Road licking their wounds with skipper Small having a lot to think about prior to the big T20 match with the Battersea Badgers.

Oscar Newlove

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