The Road come close to chasing a stiff target of 242 in Battersea Park against new opposition Antelopians thanks to some power hitting late in the innings. However, dear reader, before the story of the match is told, we must talk about Matt Andrews.

Matt Andrews is a wonderful young man. He is a handsome young man. He maintains a sartorial elegance in both informal occasions and more formal ones such as the Henley Royal Regatta. He has a smile to die for. Anyone would love for him to be their friend. There are many women (and men) disappointed to find out that he is currently in courtship. The Reading native is kind-hearted, has a very respectable living, has a good manner and stays away from controversy. He has embraced our nicknames/terms of endearment towards him (“Cheeky Mandos”). Not only does he possess such delightful human characteristics, he too possesses cricketing talent and is humble and unassuming with regards to it.

Why he needs mentioning is that without his intervention that Saturday the Road may never have turned a mid-summer mauling into a far closer and entertaining encounter.

Antelopians won the toss and elected to bat, setting their intent on scoring quickly early despite some good initial overs from captain Chris Brown and the serpentine Ali Tyzack. A couple of catching opportunities occurred early but club stalwarts Matt Small and Chris MacNicol were unable to hold on – chances they would have believed they should have taken.

The captain took the wickets of both openers Walker and opposition captain Thomas but that did not slow down the Antelopians subsequent batsman.

The aforementioned young man, Andrews, was bowling first change and claimed a pair of wickets. First to fall to Matt was Ollie, bowled in his first over. In his third it was Cletus (disappointingly not a hick, probably) who fell victim to Andrews’ quick and easy looking reactions. Matt had Cletus dismissed caught and bowled taking a low catch in his follow through.

At the drinks interval after the completion of the 20^th over, the Antelopians had a score of around 112/4 and had a team of only ten players. Expecting more of the same, the mood in the KRCSC camp was positive in the hope that the opposition’s continued aggression and regular fall of wicket would mean they would be all out soon.

Deer oh deer that wasn’t the case.

Antelopes may be herbivorous even-toed ungulates but our opposition had a BEAST in their ranks in the shape of Willem Basson (he had BEAST emblazoned on the back of his playing jersey). Needless to say, with a name such as that we were not expecting nurdling, leg glances and gentle dabs to form the core of his batting repertoire.

Basson and keeper Andy Kerr picked off boundaries in the middle overs repetitively. Pressure was building as the partnership grew, the weather got warmer and the rare misfield from earlier in the game started appearing more frequently.

The partnership of 103 runs was broken by Rossi. He captured the Beast Basson out lbw on his hind leg. The antelope is known for its long, slender yet powerful legs allowing for large strides but Rossi’s next wicket, keeper Kerr failed to move his hooves, resulting in a catching opportunity to the snake-like Tyzack. Certain species of African pythons have been known to attempt to eat antelopes in a long process of strangulation and regurgitation. That was not the case here as Ali snapped at the chance. Easy.

Matt Small had Joe bowled and Osman Khan took 2 wickets in 3 balls as Antelopians closed on 241 all out in the 35^th over.

Battersea Park, and in particular square one cricket pitch, is iconic and holds sentimental value to the Road. The club’s first nets were held nearby, its proximity to the homes of the club’s founding members, its charming pavilion plus the iconic Battersea Power Station pylons can be seen in the distance. It is also probably the smallest cricket field the Road have regularly played on and has a bumpy and usually quick outfield. With 242 needed to win, coincidentally the same as the England national cricket team would need the following day to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, but in ten fewer overs, it was a challenging but not improbable chase.

A new opening partnership of Raju Mazumder and Osman Khan were tasked to get the chase going facing off against Antelopians’ opening bowlers Rod “the Rocket” Scotton (a name and moniker belonging to the same era of professional wrestling as Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage) and Tommy Nesbitt. If they had a tag team name, it would have been the Swing ‘N’ Seam Connection as both bowlers found movement both naturally and through assistance of the pitch.

The bespectacled Osman Khan was the first wicket to fall in the second over to Tommy Nesbitt – out bowled. No 3 Chris MacNicol and opener Raju Mazumder would both later fall to the same bowler – out caught and not many runs accumulated by the team.

Daniel Sherman and Jamie Keating found themselves in the middle after the opening bowlers had completed their initial spells. Hoping for easier bowling to face, change bowlers S Bradley and the mononymous Ollie proved to be of a faster stock. The latter Antelope was galloping in from close to the boundary.

Score at drinks 64/3. Required run rate 8.9.

Jamie fell in the first over after drinks, bringing Matt Andrews to the crease. With his youthful visage yet possessing a calming demeanour one would associate with a seasoned veteran, the young man from Reading got his eye in, much sooner than his teammates had. Sherman played the supporting role to a flourishing Matt Andrews. Runs were a-coming but so was an increasing required run rate now over the 11 runs per over mark.

Sherman was out in the 30^th over having scored 28. The required run rate was now over 13 runs per over. Fergus Jones, another young man in the Kings Road team, signalled his intent with his first scoring shot a six, taken from outside off to the cow corner region. A rather cheerful and chatty Antelopian fielding and bowling unit were now quiet. Matt Andrews had his eye in. Fergus was primed. Was this chase really on given the Road were on 108/5 at the end of the 30^th over, needing 134 runs? Matt Andrews believed. Fergus Jones believed in Matt Andrews. The Road started believing in Matt Andrews.

Boundaries came off Matt Andrews’ bat and the pair of batsmen ran hard. The run rate was still creeping upwards slightly but so was the belief. Having used their breadth of bowling resources, the Antelopians reverted to Ollie, he of much speed and the long run up. His four previous overs had gone for 8 runs, with only scoring shots off 4 balls. The Road batsmen who had faced Ollie earlier saw a pacy bowler who was a little too quick for them. Matt Andrews saw something else when Ollie came to bowl the 38^th over.

SIX – went the first ball into the bushes in Battersea Park’s Old English Garden
SIX – went the second, again into the bushes
No run was scored off the third ball as the demon pace bowler served Matt Andrews a bouncer
SIX – went the fourth, yet another into the bushes
FOUR – a wider ball that Matt Andrews square cuts. A leg bye off the last ball meant that 23 runs had been scored in the over. Matt Andrews, now on 94, would remain on strike and the required run rate, still challenging had come down to 13.5 per over.

A boundary or two in the 39^th over could really have flipped the pressure onto the Antelopians. Despite some telling bat on ball connections, the Antelopian field placements did not allow for any. As Matt Andrews connected with the fourth ball of the over it went aerial and forcefully in the direction of long off. If it were written in the stars, this ball was destined to be a six, the six that gave the deserving Matt Andrews his maiden century, it would have rendered the target to have been 17 off 8 balls. It would have realised the improbable dream.

The dream of Matt Andrews to win the game was not to be. Caught on the boundary on 97, devastated he may have been, he did not show it. On entry to the crease the Road had been scoring at a little over 3 runs an over. On his departure it was now close to 6.

Fergus, now on strike, hit the ball proceeding Matt Andrews’ dismissal for 6. Game still on!

S Bradley was tasked with the final over. The Road needing 16 to win had Fergus on strike at the start of the over joined by Ali Tyzack. Running hard between the wickets as the pair struggled to find boundaries, Fergus was run out on the second ball of the over and Ali on the fourth. With two dots off the remaining balls in the over, the dream was well and truly over for a miraculous Kings Road victory. However, what transpired was a dramatic, entertaining final hour that was nerve wrecking for all players involved. You would only hope that a Cricket World Cup final, for all to view the following day, could be half as tense.

Full scorecard here: http://kingsroadcsc.play-cricket.com/website/results/4068469

Awards:

Most embarrassing moment: Matt Small dropping a skied, dolly of a catch

Champagne moment: One of many Matt Andrews’ moments

1. Taking a quick low catch for caught and bowled dismissal of Cletus
2. The placed paddle shot for 4 – fine leg
3. The belief he could chase the target when it was at 13-14 runs per over
4. The first 6 off bowler Ollie’s fifth over
5. The second 6 off bowler Ollie’s fifth over
6. The third 6 off bowler Ollie’s fifth over
7. The 22 runs he scored off Ollie’s fifth over (3x6s, 1×4)

Tantrum: Chris MacNicol, changing room post dismissal

Teas – savoury: Sherman’s tart

Teas – sweet and overall: Small’s lemon drizzle

Man of the Match: Matt Andrews