10-match unbeaten run is ended by Jags
Old Alleynians, Dulwich, 8/15/2009
Jesmond Jaguars won by 7 wickets
Strongroom: 140 [R.Woolhouse 40]
Jesmond Jaguars: 144-3
View the Scorecard
It almost appeared that Strongroom had carefully watched England’s dire performance against Australia in the 4th test at Headingley, taken detailed notes, and then re-enacted it in detail against Jesmond Jaguars. Even the build up to the game was similar in it’s confusion to Headingley – a booking error meant there was a tetchy half-hour where Jag’s skipper Adam used his contacts around the many venues in Dulwich to hastily, yet successfully, source out a replacement ground at the nearby Old Alleynians ground. The lack of opening bowlers Eccles and Mounsey was another key factor that should have played into our hands, however, it bizarrely proved to have the opposite effect.
Adam won the toss and put us into bat, a decision based on the absence of his opening quicks. The opening bowlers appeared to be very friendly in their opening salvos, so it was with some surprise that Martin uncharacteristically reached for a wide half-volley and gave a soft catch to gully. However, he was not to be alone in giving his wicket away in this manner. It was good to see old timer Andy Taylor back in the ranks, and he and Rich W [40] looked safe enough as they compiled what was the biggest stand of the innings. There were plenty of loose balls on offer, yet the next 4 wickets collapsed in quick time as Taylor, Woolhouse and the Gower brothers were all snaffled by some smart Jag’s catching, courtesy of some loose shots. It was with some disbelief, then, that we were sinking fast at 60-5, and all this against a friendly bowling attack! The Strongroom middle order and tail did wag a little however, as Hem, Joe, Ujjal and Tom all reached double figures. The spin of Frost and Laws was particularly good to watch, and both collected scalps from the tail. A final total of 140 seemed about 100 runs short.
Tea: An emergency last-minute affair, bought during our innings by a few of our players from a local supermarket. The scotch eggs and pork pies smacked of motorway service station fodder, but it went down well!
Paddy charged down the hill in an effort to dislodge the Jags openers, but struggled with his line and was picked off for 20 from 3 overs. At the other end Ujjal came in for some brutal treatment from Lewis [45] who seemed to be in a rush to chase down the winning total. Lewis kept it simple – a positive step forwards and a clean strike through the line, resulting in two large straight sixes. Martin replaced Paddy at the top end and bowled a typically hostile spell, but incredibly had Lewis dropped 4 times off his bowling! Yes, it was one of those days. Ujjal didn’t wilt in the face of Lewis’ assault, and was duly rewarded when he knocked back his off-stump. There was always a slight chance we could make further inroads and force a collapse, but Butterworth [38] was resolute, and by the time James Hoare dismissed him, and Joe beautifully seduced Matt Chataway into an outside edge, the game was well out of our grasp.
Strongroom batted very poorly, and were always playing catch-up from that point onwards. Credit to the Jags – they had taken their catches brilliantly and secured their revenge after that stunning game back in May. Out of all our opposition, they are probably the strongest team we face, so it was no disgrace we ended our 10-match winning run to them, but if only we had put up more of a fight…
Written By: J.Gower
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