On a sweltering day, The Road were surprised to find themselves put in by the Cross Bats CC skipper – but took immediate charge of proceedings, moving the kit bags and scoring table into the shade. This is the sort of strategic nous we need to see more of.
On the field, Raju and Patz opened the batting. Shortly after he convinced the umpire to award him what appeared to be leg-byes, Raju’s ‘big glove’ came back to haunt him as he was strangled down the leg-side, to the Cross Bats’s obvious delight. Matt Cocken, who’d come two hundred miles to play this match, holed out for just 5, whilst Patz swung his way to 30 before selflessly getting out in order to help Matt and Raju load the Cocken family sofa into a removals van.
The innings was stabilised by the two Jameses, Pinkney (41) and Keating (31), who put on a solid partnership through the middle overs against some tight bowling and a rather chatty fielding side. Pinkney played some beautiful drives – one earning him champagne moment – as well as some very aesthetically pleasing shots that somehow kept finding fielders. Keats ably assisted him with six boundaries including a sublime square cut – but when he and Pinkney were out in quick succession the innings needed rebuilding once again.
Enter Fergus (25) and Oscar (37), Kings Road’s answers to Jos Buttler and MS Dhoni/E.T. and Mr Spock, both scoring at more than a run a ball as the innings reached its final overs. Just as 200 looked on the cards once again, two wickets fell together, and The Road ended up on 192 from their 35 overs, with the not out batsmen Captain Chris Brown and Laxman Pillai, who didn’t have time to make many runs but deserves credit for running an aggressive three off the last ball. We love to see a three.
After a tea in which we witnessed the innovative use, in the absence of a power source, of a camping stove, The Road took to the field. With no recognised keeper, Raju bravely embraced the unattractive job of crouching under a helmet for thirty-five overs on the hottest day of the year so far (and also manfully took quite a few blows to the body during the innings).
A fired-up CB chose himself to open the bowling, teared in with intent, hit a perfect line and length, found the edge and… Cocken put down the catch. After a couple of overs of sweaty work he took himself off, introducing Oscar who had an instant impact, sending the bails flying in his first over. At the other end, your author bowled out his seven overs for a reasonable 29 runs, but without troubling the wickets column (not for lack of LBW appeals).
It was Oscar again who broke the partnership, having the other opener caught by Pinkney for 32. Rossi and Cocken bowled well in the middle overs, Cocken especially keeping an accurate line, but catches went down, bad balls were put away, and the Cross Bats batsmen started to look comfortable. Pinkney came on, looking pretty sharp in his first bowling spell after emerging from the university library, and broke the partnership – with the skipper finally hanging onto a catch having dropped two. With a run a ball needed from the last ten overs, CB brought himself back into the attack and bowled a very tight few overs. A second ‘caught Brown, bowled Pinkney’ (this time a more spectacular catch), and a wicket for the skipper himself seemed to tip things towards The Road.
Enter Adam Skinner of Cross Bats, who having taken 3-39 in the first innings decided that it was his day. Timing the ball sweetly and with a knack for finding gaps in whatever field was set, his quick-fire 35 took Cross Bats to their target with an over to spare. The Road were left ruing their dropped catches – I counted seven – and trying to figure out just how the game got away from them.
Words by Nikhil Venkatesh
Awards:
Most embarrassing: Cocken’s drop
Champagne: Pinkney’s cover drive
Tantrum: Rossi’s hat snatch
Man of the Match: Oscar Newlove
Full scorecard here:
http://kingsroadcsc.play-cricket.com/website/results/4054773