Strongroom maintain Fortress Highgate Wood
Highgate Wood, 9/5/2015
Strongroom won by 12 runs
Strongroom: 172-4 [J.Gower 54, R.Moore 42]
Hampstead 5th XI: 160
View the Scorecard
The days leading up to this game had been exceptionally wet, and the pitch was inevitably stodgy and puddling-like to touch. Hampstead were fielding a 5th XI, and David P won the toss and decided to bat first.
Woolhouse was suffering from a bad knee, and was struggling to run 1s and 2s. He went into boundary-mode, and succeeded in clouting three 4s before being cleaned up by an inswinging length ball from the accurate Moffatt. Then, Jon G (54) and Tim Moore (42) put on about 100 for the 2nd wicket - but this took about 30 overs in what was slow-going and attritional cricket. A very slow surface was further hampered by a ring of fielders on the off-side who were kept busy by drives and cut-shots, which only occasionally managed to pierce through to the boundary. The damp slow outfield also made running 1s and 2s hard to judge - for both batsman and fielders alike. Many 1s and 2s were ran, and Tim in particular proved very fleet of foot between the stumps. Hampsteads bowling was very mixed - there were phases of decent in-swing, but also some ragged fare which meant they never quite managed to maintain sustained pressure.
We were 70-1 off 20 by drinks, and then 110-1 at 30 overs. With wickets in hand, the plan was to target 200 , but then Tim and Jon were out in quick succession. Vinay managed to hit a delightful clip off his toes straight into the awaiting hands of square leg! However, it was a delight to watch two Strongroom veterans in the form of David P and David G use their combined experience in putting on a spirited stand in the last 6-7 overs. They faced a particularly slippery leg-spinner, and some accurate inswing from Gupta - the pick of the Hampstead attack, but overall we were quite pleased with our total of 172 in these conditions. Two milestones to note - Jon Gower became the first Strongroomer to pass 4,000 runs, and David Proctor the first to achieve 50 not outs.
Dave P produced a classic DP tea - a semi-DIY affair featuring crusty baps, cheese slices, ham, samosas, bhaijis, grapes, humus, scotch eggs - essentially a journeyman tea, something for everyone.
Tim Moore and debutant Srikanth opened our attack, and both bowled very accurately and impressively. Srikanth achieved the first breakthrough, and thereafter Hampstead set a pattern whereby they achieved reasonable partnerships, then lost 1-2 wickets, and then another partnership emerged, then another 1-2 wickets would fall. The diminutive Fernando (35) quickly showed he was the danger man, as he smashed some whippy 4s off his legs, demonstrating a classy touch and brilliant hand-eye coordination. However, Dave P displayed some wily captaincy by bringing on Steve the over before tea (a move that also proved successful against Gardeners a few weeks previous) and Steve snared Fernando lbw. The slower bowling of Steve and John Shaw proved useful in creating chances, and Shaw collected two wickets including the stubborn left-hander Sutton. But hampstead kept coming at us, and now it was the turn of the clean-hitting wicketkeeper O’Neill to bang it around. It’s worth mentioning that we fielded poorly throughout, including some bad dropped catches (Dave G and Tim), and lots of shy’s at the stumps and overthrows. However, the conditions again made judging 1s and 2s difficult, and we achieved four run-outs in total. Dave P was again good behind the timbers, and rotated the bowlers well.
Vinay’s bowling was off his usual colour, as he tried to bowl too fast on a surface that just required a dibbly-dobbly approach on a good length. Tim Moore and Srikanth returned, and again were excellent - Tim in particular was miserly. Otto again bowled and fielded very well, and Jon G also bowled a tidy spell of yorkers as the Hampstead skipper attempted to smash their way to victory in the final 5 overs. A key moment, then, was when Dave P threw off his pads and took the ball to bowl the penultimate over, and tempted Goel to hoist one high towards long-off, where Jon G ran in to claim a steepling catch, prompting much celebration between these two veterans. WIth 12 to win off the final over, Jon G secured a run-out off the second ball, and it was all over. Dave P skippered well in tough conditions - this was not our strongest fielding side, and for much of their innings there was a left-hand-right-hand batting combination to contend with, and it was damp throughout.
While this game featured some pretty ordinary cricket, overall it was fun to be involved in a close encounter.
Written By: J.Gower
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