Strongroom slide to muddy defeat
Wray Crescent, Islington, 10/2/2010
Pacific won by 5 wickets
Strongroom: 182-8 [J.Gower 59, M.Mellor 49]
Pacific: 183-5 [J.Webley 74, L.Mohamed 43*]
View the Scorecard
We were lucky to get a game in, considering the heavy overnight rain that lashed down over London, but the artificial track at Wray Crescent meant we were able to play in the damp. Rob Bastin won the toss and put us into bat, with one eye on the southerly winds bearing rainclouds forecasted to shed their load at around 6pm. It proved to be a wise decision, as we batted first in dry conditions, scoring 182-8, and thereupon bowled and fielded in constant drizzle throughout Pacific’s successful run-chase. We were missing all of our specialist opening batters [Marty, Rich, Dave G, Jules, Olly], and Gleadow did his usual good job of rooting out batsmen with full straight deliveries. Crucially for us, amongst his victims was Tom Henderson, who was caught on the pad stepping across a straight one. Strongroom were in a bit of a mess at 25-3, but the old guard of myself [59] and Mellor [49] put on 78 for the 4th wicket in 14 overs, and restored some hope to our innings. Mellor did what he does best against all teams – hit the ball very late and slam 4s and 6s with awesome power. As for the bowling, Pacific’s main four bowlers [Hess, Gleadow, Smith and Webley] did a good job of keeping us in check, and only some clean hitting from Joe enabled us to edge towards to a semi-reasonable total. An improvised tea was hastily devoured in the kitchen, and we set about the Pacific innings. I always felt we were 25 runs short, but more importantly we were missing strong 5th and 6th bowling changes. There are two options in this situation – slot in the weaker bowlers at the start [or midway through] of the innings, or, try to remove the key batsmen with our main four bowlers [Paddy, Ujjal, Mellor and Joe] and bowl the others at the end of the innings. I gambled on the latter strategy, but after 32 overs we still hadn’t shifted Webley [74] and Mohamed [43*], and that was pretty much that. Webley played with great patience and skill, biding his time until the bowling changes were made, whereas the left-handed Mohamed showed a good eye and an attacking flair. Mellor and Paddy were the pick of the bowlers, and Joe also did well to bowl the dangerous Tempany before he caused too much damage. Sadly, Ujjal struggled to swing the ball – as it resembled a bar of soap after the first few overs, and fielding was also a challenge in the increasingly muddy conditions. This was Paddy’s last game...for who knows how long?! He bowled a great spell, generating good bounce and pace...and will be much missed. We retired to the local pub, and discussed the 2010 season over a few beers and large scotch eggs. But for this particular game, Pacific fully deserved their victory, in what has become one of the most keenly contested fixtures of the season.
Written By: J.Gower
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