Strongroom win dramatic thriller
Blagdons, New Malden, 8/8/2010
Strongroom won by 1 wicket
Viscount: 207-6 [T.Morrison 60*, T.Bennett 54]
Strongroom: 208-9 [J.Hall 44, T.Morrison 4-27]
View the Scorecard
Three balls to go. One run to win. Ujjal facing. A clip to midwicket and Ujjal and Hem scamper a quick single and in doing so achieve a stunning comeback and victory for Strongroom. But first...let us rewind six hours and start from the beginning of this extraordinary game.
On winning the toss, Viscount skipper Tim chose to bat first, taking advantage of a decent looking surface and large close-cut outfield. As usual Paddy and Ujjal opened up the attack, but Viscount were not shy in taking them on, in particular Elcock who opted to slash hard at anything in his area. Ujjal responded to the onslaught with a barrage of bouncers as red-mist descended, and he was about to be removed from the attack when Elcock smacked a full ball straight back onto his arm, causing him to leave the field and seek an ice pack. At 53-1 off 8 overs Viscount were flying, and some degree of control was needed. Fortunately this arrived in the form of Joe Rahman [3-24] and Hem Patel, whose 16 overs succeeded in both taking wickets and stemming the flow of runs. Whilst Hem’s hustling length was economical, Joe proved a real handful, extracting awkward bounce and turn from the pavilion end. It was during this period of the game that Viscount skipper Tim Morrison sensibly played himself in, and consciously positioned himself as the anchor in an otherwise attacking batting order. Strongroom needed a good final 10 overs in order to keep their run chase viable, and again a double bowling change in the shape of David Proctor and Olly Moore provided just that. DP’s scuttling shooters at one end were complemented by Olly’s natural inswing at the other, and although our fielding was a touch ragged at times, overall we did well to restrict Viscount to 207 off 40 overs – particularly as at one stage they were threatening a total more in the region of 250+. Special mention should go to Jimmy Hall’s keeping, and Guy’s outfielding – where the ‘Wilson Slide’ was observed to good effect.
Tea: A fine Caribbean tea of curry goat and all the trimmings was devoured in the pleasant surroundings of the Blagdon’s pavilion.
A fine opening partnership of 45 between Olly Moore [31] and Paddy Ell [19] got our run chase off to a great start. Olly was punishing of anything short and wide outside off-stump, in particular off Knight who struggled to find the right length. Paddy also showed he does have the technique to knuckle down and play sensibly at the top of the order, and overall it was just the start we needed. Jimmy Hall [44] then played a delightful innings of characteristic fluency, pushing and gliding one’s and two’s with ease. At the halfway stage of our innings at 120-4 all three results were still very much on the cards. However, with the loss of Jimmy and the onset of our lower order, Viscount started to feel that they were in control and that a victory would follow (as is normally the case in such scenarios). Yet, from the middle order down to no.11, Strongroom generated crucial partnerships from each and every batsmen. Although Tim Morrison was easily the pick of the attack [8-0-27-4], employing his height and unerring accuracy to make inroads into our batting, Viscount became increasingly concerned and tinkered with their bowlers and fielding positions. It was a testament to the resolve of our lower order that the bottom five batsmen [Guy, DP, Chris West, Hem and Ujjal] all managed to register double-figure scores, and in so doing generate the partnerships that stemmed from these individual innings. Finally...with about 15 to win, the 9th wicket fell and it was left to Hem and Ujjal to drag us over the finishing line, amidst joyous and noisy celebration. This was simply a great game, regardless of who won, and was played in a good spirit throughout. We look forward to taking on Viscount again in 2011.
Written By: J.Gower
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