Catches win matches (and runs are helpful too…)
Highgate Woods, 8/19/2006
Jesmond Jaguars won by 6 wickets
Strongroom: 131 all out (Mounsey 4-19)
Jesmond Jaguars: 132-4
View the Scorecard
The teams arrived at a rather soggy Highgate under cloudy skies – the day had an early season feel to it. Dave G won the toss for Strongroom and chose to bat thinking that the pitch might look a bit of a mess later on. Dave and Rich’s opening partnership was reinstated and they compiled a useful stand of 67 in 18 overs. JJ’s opening bowlers took a few overs to find the optimum length (full) on the moist track, with Rich’s aggression adding extra pressure. JJ’s opener Eccles bowled some very useful deliveries and was unfortunate to end up wicketless. Rich almost immediately followed Dave back to the hutch leaving the two James’ (Claro, Morris) to rebuild. Alas, Strongroom’s seemingly powerful middle order completely failed to fire with batters 3 to 8 falling for a combined total of only 26 runs with wickets tumbling at depressingly frequent and regular intervals. JJ’s Mounsey swapped ends to make amends for his inaccurate opening two overs (0-10) to bowl a controlled, bustling spell, ending with 4-19 from his 7 overs. Apart from one early blemish, the fielding was excellent, with 6 catches taken in all, including two good efforts at slip and a superb caught and bowled by Pett to see off Brett. With the heart ripped out of their batting, Strongroom were teetering on 108-9 before Bully (22) and visiting bumpkin Bill Scott (2*) added a very useful 23 for the final wicket. As Andy Orme said, this lifted us from an appalling to a mediocre total.
Tea Report 6.5/10 Mike Gabbay (sandwiches & cakes) and Dave (crisps and water) laid on an adequate, unflashy spread after it had seemed earlier in the week that a tea might not materialise.
Strongroom did not feel too despondent during the break. The last wicket stand had raised spirits, and we were fielding a useful array of bowling skills.
The optimism seemed further justified once Brett had the JJ skipper pouched by Luke behind the stumps. At the other end, Mike Gabbay kept calm in the face of queries from the umpires about the legitimacy of his action (perhaps someone needs to get some film footage?) to bowl a controlled, tidy spell. The pressure began to build on JJ to up the scoring rate, and Brett added another scalp to complete one of the best spells of the match (7-3-16-2). The game entered a crucial phase - JJs needing to score faster, and Strongroom needing to turn tight bowling into wickets. JJs Taylor and Ward won the battle as they piled on the agony for Strongroom with the biggest partnership of the afternoon. They played bold strokes and pressured the field with too many short singles, but the biggest disappointment was Strongroom’s catching – or lack of it. Five clear chances went down (let’s name the droppers – Bully, Mike, James C/Rich and Dave/Jolyon), most during the spells by first change bowlers Rich and Andy Orme. Rich “not getting any” Woolhouse was in a fiery mood and vented his frustration in a bout of testosteronic shouting – appeals to the umpire, berating himself for the occasional lack of accuracy, and letting his fielders know he felt let down by their efforts. It was great to have him back to normal after the subdued performance of the week before. Dave came on to try and eke out a wicket with some spin but was unable to stop the free-hitting JJs as they sensed victory. James Morris bowled a great short spell in a dying cause, dropping his pace slightly to bowl a very tight line and length. The tragedy of Strongroom’s Pakistanesque catching was summed up by Dave and Jolyon almost colliding at long-off and staring at each other in disbelief while another run was taken with the spilled ball coming to rest inside the boundary.
JJ cruised to a six wicket win with more than six overs to spare to take a 2-0 lead in this fixture (which will hopefully become a long-running series).
The pitch had dried out during the afternoon instead of getting worse to bat on, but Strongroom failed to take the several opportunities in the field that might have let them get away with a disappointing batting display.
Written By: David Gower
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