THE Road’s attack was reduced to cannonfodder as Warwick Castle laid siege to their bowling and blasted them into oblivion.

Chasing their fourth win on the trot, the Orange Caps had set a testing target of 198 against the team that skittled them out for just 47 last season.

Rizby “The Other Bruva” Mazumder was the main man battling against tricky conditions to top score with 75 on an unpredictable pitch.

A solid 41 from beefy Matt Cocken also helped banish memories of last year’s capitulation and set up what the Orange Caps thought was a winning score.

But it wasn’t to be as Warwick roared back with some sensational hits to knock off the total in 20.4 overs of mayhem out in the middle.

It was an important lesson for The Road not to rest on their laurels when they rack up a big score.

Sunday’s match at South Park in Chelsea kicked off with both sides thinking weather would be a key factor after days of heavy downpours.

King’s Road skip Raju Mazumder won the toss and, with rain forecast for the afternoon, sensibly in the circumstances decided to put his team in to bat first on what was still a firm pitch.

What he couldn’t have known though was the weatherman was wrong and the rain would never come.

It meant Warwick ended up having the best of the conditions with the new ball swinging around like a banana early and the pitch drying out nicely as the game went on.

Tinkerman Raju opted to open with younger bro Rizby hoping the partnership could rack up a total and put their rivals in to bat on a wet pitch.

To see the match scorecard click HERE.

To see Amir’s snaps of the match click HERE.

It was his swift-footed sibling though who brought the RIZ-matazz to The Road’s top order and proved the backbone to their innings.

Captain Raju on the other hand was dismissed second ball leaving the newly-crowned King of the Road Leon Watson to battle it out with Rizby against the Warwick openers.

And, in overcast conditions perfect for swing bowling, Warwick’s bowlers put them under the kosh with some probing deliveries.

From one end Neresh was getting vicious movement away from the right-hander and at the other end Henry Collins took full advantage of the bounce available.

Both Rizby and newly-crowned King of the Road Leon found it tough manning the ramparts and took blows at the crease, with Leon taking a vicious one in the face off Henry after it was deflected off his glove.

When fighter Leon – who suffered a black eye – was trapped for 22 by first change bowler Trapp’s spitting delivery the score was in the balance on 46 for two.

Great game … at South Park

Matt, who’s been one of The Road’s most consistent batsmen this season, then walked out to the middle hoping to up the scoring rate and put Warwick’s change bowlers to the sword.

Despite claiming he was not at his most fluent, the big man batted like a rock and hit 41 off 48 balls in a weighty 103 run partnership with the increasingly dominant Rizby.

Matt’s innings included seven mighty fours and was his best score in 2009.

By now Rizby, playing in his first King’s Road game of the season, was beginning to lash out and when he passed 50 he really started winding up.

Mazumder jnr was lucky to escape one or two chances of a catch and the frustration started to show on Warwick’s bowlers.

It led to a series of frantic appeals for lbw and caught behind – none of which were remotely close and none were given.

By then The Road had put all thoughts of this season’s batting frailties behind them and had starting dreaming of topping 200 for the second match in a row.

When Matt went the King’s Road horse and cart was still going great guns at speed. But his dismissal sparked a wobble which ended with the wheels truely coming off.

First Jamie Keating’s rotten run continued when he got bowled taking a wild swipe at one that came in. Number five Amir Alipour was trapped lbw for a duck straight after.

Newboy Tim Walker’s wicket also went down for 0. James Couldrey went for one and then Rizby’s backbone innings finally came to an end when he was dismissed for 75 off 97 balls, including 11 fours and a six.

The fidgety Dan Howard then followed for one before a last wicket flurry from all-rounder Adam Majeed, batting down the order at ten, and Liam Creedon took the team to the brink of 200.

The pair put on 23 in the last three overs with some lusty blows all around the wicket.
Looking well in and ready to launch a counter attack on the drying pitch, the pair – who usually bat higher up – ran out of time.

When lunch was called after 40 overs The Road were sitting pretty on 197 – a score well above par for the side this season.

And, despite not breaking the important psychological barrier of hitting 200, it looked like they’d built something to defend.

After the break though Warwick stepped out like a team possessed – or a team fuelled by something suspiciously high-octane.

They effectively stormed the King’s Road keep, raping and pillaging every ball that was bowled along the way with no regard for what was coming at them.

Dan managed to uproot opener Faiyaz for ten with a spectacular delivery that rocked his off stump back. But after that the fireworks all came from the Castle.

Number three Shahin simply got all Medieval on the Orange Caps’ behind – smacking 52, including a series of massive sixes.

He eventually holed out when Jamie K took a stunning catch on the square leg boundary. His replacement Saddu then went at The Road like a battering ram to plunder 63.

Left-hander James was particularly shocked at the treatment he got as he was hit for two sixes back over his head in successive balls.

He was not alone though, with Dan Howard, Adam Majeed, Liam Creedon, Leon Watson, Jamie K and Raju all suffering in the onslaught.

The only bright spots for The Road were Dan castling wickie Damian Cavanagh with a stunning delivery and a spectacular take by Jamie K at the square leg boundary from a fierce hit off Leon’s bowling.

In the end it was a convincing win for Warwick who smashed the runs required in just 20.4 overs after the match seemed to turn at lunch.

Perhaps it was an overdose of Mama Mazumder’s potato delights, or perhaps they were fuelled by King’s Road wag Katie Archer’s bright orange coloured cakes.

But something gave Warwick the strength they needed to pull off the win at a canter.

King’s Road now have two games in two days to hone their skills before the big two-day Super Test against the Battersea Badgers on August 1 and 2.

First up are the Durham Occasionals on Sunday and then King’s Road take on the Thespian Thunderers, who they’ve lost to twice this season, the following day.

* What was it that won the match for Warwick and where did The Road go wrong? Post your comments in the box below.