Gower Brothers take control
London Fields, Hackney, 4/26/2015
Strongroom won by 82 runs
Strongroom: 267-6 [D.Gower 90*, M.Nicholson 62]
London Fields: 180 [T.Stacey 74, T.Utz 49, J.Gower 5-31]
View the Scorecard
After 10 days of of blue skies and dry weather, everything suddenly changed, and the previous night's heavy rain and northerly wind meant we all turned up to be confronted with a cold and damp London Fields. Skipper James Schneider lost the toss, and unsurprisingly we were asked to bat first.
Dave G and Mitch ignored the weather and got us off to a fine start. Mitch in particular was characteristically quick to pull anything short to (and over) the shortened tree-lined boundary, and whilst Dave G was much more cautious, it made for a solid start overall. London Fields opening bowlers Troy and Fin both bowled probing lines, moving the ball laterally in helpful conditions, and the bat was beaten regularly - it was just going to be one of those testing days for batting. Mitch was lucky to survive a smart stumping on 36, when Vinay appeared to have a lapse of concentration umpiring at square leg. But just a few scoring shots later, and Mitch chopped-on for 62 (four x 6s, four x 4s). Ali Hassan (38) was very effective in maintaining the tempo created by Mitch, and displayed his usual combination of sublime and agricultural strokeplay.
As we entered the surge of the last 10 overs, James Schneider contributed an aggressive and rapid 20, I was bowled by a rare scuttler, Mahesh tried his best in what was probably not his ideal batting position, and Vinay looked sublime. However, throughout all of this, Dave Gower was the immovable mainstay. Dave played a ‘proper innings’, the likes we have not seen for far too long, and batted through the entire 40 overs, ending undefeated on 90 (134 balls, seven x 4s, two x 6s). It was a gutsy and patient innings, and even witnessed two rare 6s as the innings approached its conclusion. It was also Dave’s career-best knock for Strongroom - and if only we played 50-over cricket, he’d probably reach the triple-figure landmark!
London Fields main bowlers stuck to their task well, but they suffered with their fill-in bowlers, who were far more erratic and expensive. Strongroom were content with 267, though we were aware the boundary on the leg-side would not be not easy to defend.
No tea provided - so we huddled in the cold and consumed our own provisions.
We opened with the leg-spin of young Tanveer (2-40) and the searing pace of Schneider (1-26). It was a challenging combination, and Tanveer in particular impressed us all with his fluent action and control of line and length. James achieved his usual swing and bounce, and soon enough an edge from Friend was smartly pouched by Mitch, low to his right at gully. Matthew McWilliams bowled very well on his debut, achieving good, probing away-swing at a steady pace. Thereupon, a solid stand between Stacey (74) and Graham (11) ensued, with Stacey mixing watchful defence with some powerful blows through the ‘V’. After 20 overs, London Fields were quite well positioned at 90-2, with a large total to overhaul - but crucially with wickets in hand, including the threatening Stacey. However, soon after the tea break, just as Stacey stepped up his punishing assault, he was finally yorked by Jon G - the delivery immediately after slamming him for a straight 6. Jon G bowled a very full length, and went on to disrupt the stumps of another three batsmen, ending up with a Strongroom career-best 5-31. However, London Fields did not surrender that easily - especially with Troy Utz at the crease (49), who really enjoyed himself as he cleared his front leg and hoisted several huge 6s over long-on. Again, Jon G finally knocked back his stumps, and finally we knew we were safe. We won by 82 runs, but London Fields certainly made it interesting with their relentless 6-hitting.
A really good bowling and fielding performance this from Strongroom, and James Schneider made some perceptive field placings and calmly stuck to his selected bowlers, even through the waves of batting assaults.
As always, we look forwards to meeting London Fields twice more this season.
Written By: J.Gower
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