We finally win a game!
Turney Rd, Dulwich, 9/10/2011
Strongroom won by 6 wickets
Viscount: 161
Strongroom: 162-4 [R.Sharma 40*]
View the Scorecard
Viscount won the toss and chose to bat first. Strongroom were strengthened by the return of Zorain (albeit heavily jetlagged from an overnight flight from Pakistan), and the rest of the ‘Sumerians’. Zorain was unlucky in his probing opening spell, with two catches going down. The first wicket resulted from a confused run out, and otherwise Zorain kept the batsmen quiet with his nagging accuracy and occasional throat ball. Then followed top quality 16 overs of left-arm spin from in-form Joe and debutant Govind. The both seduced the dangerous due of Elcock and Morrison into big-hits over midwicket – both of which were pouched in the deep, and Strongroom were in a good position by the drinks interval. Thereupon followed a tenacious partnership between the classy Young and attritional Tait, and through them Viscount gradually fought their way back into the game. Chris West bowled a nice little spell and broke the partnership, and at this stage the two opening bowlers were reintroduced with the aim of finishing the innings off. However, Karan had a curious dose of out-swinging wides, but still managed to snare two wickets with a much reduced run-up. I joined the party late, and mopped up the tail, leaving Viscount spent at 161. Our fielding was pretty poor throughout, including several dropped catches. Bhasvar though was excellent behind the sticks, and picked up 4 catches.
Tea was eaten quickly, as the weather was a bit iffy, and the light was already starting to dim.
Myself and Harry made a steady start against Morrison and Knight, and Harry was unlucky to chop-on at 22-1. Bhasvar (29) joined me, and played really well, mixing watchful, solid defence with some crisp backfoot cuts and pulls. Viscount were struggling to make an impact with their key bowlers, and our score gradually ticked over. The weather now arrived – in the form of quite heavy rain and strong wind, followed moments later by a strong blast of sunshine against dark clouds, complete with a rainbow. It made for a bizarre but lovely sight, and a nice backdrop for Rishabh, who played the innings of the day. In fact, I hardly noticed it, so neat and effortless was his feet movement and shot selection throughout. He was joined at the end by a belligerent Sumer, who after splitting his bat in half actually played sensibly (no walking down the wicket this time) and helped steer us calmly to what was our first 40-over game victory since our tour in early June! Ultimately, Viscount were 40-50 runs short, partly a result of having just returned from a Barbados tour, and partly due to injudicious shots against our spinners.
We had some good chat with Viscount in the bar afterwards – who are a good bunch of guys. A definite team to play again in 2012.
Written By: J.Gower
|