Incredible collapse gifts Harberton victory
Harberton, Devon, 9/18/2020
Harberton won by 16 runs
Harberton: 120-8
Strongroom: 104
View the Scorecard
Given the late summer resurgence of the coronavirus, we were all acutely aware that new lockdown measures could be thrusted upon us at any moment, and this uncertainty coupled with the onset of autumn, provided a heightened sense of anticipation for this particular tour. We arrived as usual in dribs and drabs, as we battled to extricate ourselves from day jobs and the clutches of the London metropolis.
It was excellent to see Riaz, Arif and Mario in the countryside for the first time - and the return of Oliver Moore, who had not played for Strongroom since Nepal 2018. As it happened, Vinay and Arif arrived quite late, and Mario was very late. Apparently Arif drove with great intent and urgency. Harberton’s picturesque ground was as lovely as ever, and on this occasion was under the influence of a gusty, easterly wind (westerly is more typical).
DP lost the toss and Harberton made a steady start. Opener McCready (38) and no.3 Mooreman (29) started watchfully, but then proceeded to feast off the slow bowling of Ben and Riaz. DP replaced them with Arif and Vinay, who both tightened things up and made breakthroughs, with Arif hitting the keeper's gloves hard and picking up a well-deserved four-fer. In the final overs Ollie Tregelles hit a huge straight six, and Harberton ended on a respectable 120.
Strongroom also started their innings steadily, and Gwyn (37) played very well throughout. Unfortunately, following an incident where I was admonished by the umpire for erecting my tent behind the bowlers arm, Rich Woolhouse was bowled the very next delivery for just seven. It seems the sight of my semi-erection had put Rich off his game. Ian Hutchcroft delivered some exquisitely flighted leg spin and notably disposed of his opposing leg spinner, Riaz, who swiped him into the accepting clutches of the wily veteran Trigger on the mid-wicket boundary (who finally secured the catch after several jittery juggles of the ball). As the endgame approached, we required 20 runs off the last four overs with six wickets in hand. A quiet and smooth victory was inevitable. And that was that.
Well, not quite.
Something went a bit wrong.
While Vinay had scored a stylish and fluent 17, his departure triggered a mind-blowing collapse, where we lost six wickets for three runs, and with it the game. This included four ducks. Gwyn was our last wicket to fall, in the final over, as he went down fighting. This collapse, however, was not just an internal spasm, as credit must be given to the skills of three Harberton bowlers, in particular an accurate Baxendale (3-8), a determined Noah (2-18) and resourceful Ollie Tregelles (2-18).
We had been outdone. There was nothing to do but accept it graciously and head down the lane and into the covid-marquee in front of the Church House Inn. Here, we observed the rule-of-six (well, kind of), ate, drunk and discussed what might have been.
Written By: J.Gower
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