Butterfingered King’s Road fielders let the chances of victory slip from their grasp against Corridor as a series of dropped catches cost them dear.
The London Premier League clash in the rural idyll of Great Missenden saw the Orange Caps’ bowlers fail to get the rewards they deserved as chance after chance hit the grass.
Even before play had started, there were concerns about the safety of King’s Road’s hands as Jamie Keating dropped a precious cargo of lager outside the clubhouse.
Despite the psychological setback of seeing beer go to waste, tight bowling by skipper Matt Small, Chris Brown and Lewis Robinson – galloping in off a long run – kept the Corridor openers quiet.
Ironically a dropped catch led to the dismissal of ‘Dors skipper Russell Jennings, who was run out for 5 by Chris MacNicol who was tidying up after Dan Howard spilled a chance in the slips.
Robinson claimed the wicket of the other Corridor opener Duncan Smith, bowled for 13, while number 3 Andy Kinnear was caught behind by Dan Sherman off Keating’s spin, helping to ease the pain of the lost lager.
At the drinks interval after 20 overs the Road were well placed – but then a combination of big hitting from the Dors and sloppy fielding from the Orange Caps saw the run rate soar.
Aggressive captaincy saw Skipper Small pack the slip cordon, but despite the edges coming they would not stick.
Chances were also dropped in the outfield as almost all members of the side were left red-faced under their Orange Caps.
Small (7 overs 0-33) and Brown (7 overs 0-21) should both have picked up wickets from some quality bowling, while Robinson (1-17 off his 7) deserved more.
Damien Sherlock was on the case for the Dors, smashing 49 not out, while Richard Forge scored 33 before being stumped by Sam Lavender off Dan Howard (1-17 off 3).
Aussie Lavender (0-33 off 4) should have enjoyed the scent of success of his bowling, were it not for the fat fingers of David Hughes spilling a chance while on the run.
Faced with a target of 170 to win, the Orange Caps got off to a disastrous start as Raju Mazumder (3) and MacNicol (1) fell early, bringing Lavender and Hughes together with the score on just 5 for 2.
After walking a mile carrying 18 bottles of beer, Keating has the first drop of the day as he reaches the clubhouse. pic.twitter.com/cJLdBzSpbM
— King's Road Cricket & Social Club (@KRCSC) June 6, 2015
The pair put on 40 for the third wicket before Hughes nicked an attempted cut and was caught behind for 13.
Lavender was the next to go, caught and bowled for 41, bringing Sherman to the crease to join Adam Zabel.
Together they put on 11 before an attempted quick single saw Sherman run out for 5.
The Dors (169-4) beat The Road (137 all out) by 32 runs in @LPLcricket fixture. Dors get 9pts, The Road get 1.
— King's Road Cricket & Social Club (@KRCSC) June 7, 2015
Zabel, who had started his innings slowly, looked to be in the mood to accelerate as he hit a 6 and 4 back over the bowler’s head before attempting one shot too many to be bowled by Tim Postins for 21.
As wickets tumbled as Howard scored 3 and Keating was bowled by Duncan Mallard – for a duck.
The tail wagged with Brown (13) showing some resistance before Robinson (17) and Small (4*) put on 21 for the final wicket, but the Road were all out for 137.