Oscar shines in gloomy encounter in Lewisham
Hilly Fields, Lewisham, 5/15/2022
Match abandoned (rain)
Strongroom: 113-5
Millfields: 20-3
View the Scorecard
With steady (unforecast) rain throughout the afternoon, this was a miserable cricketing experience. The match was briefly illuminated by Oscar’s three rapid breakthroughs at the start of Millfields innings, before another onslaught of rain finally put us out of our collective misery. Those not fielding spent the afternoon huddled under a gazebo, in what proved to be an essential piece of kit.
Gower D was captain of the ship for this voyage, and he promptly lost the toss, and we were inserted by Millfields, who were no doubt hoping the sun would break through for their run chase later in the afternoon. In our 35 overs we scooped, slapped and smeared our way to 113-5, so challenging was the activity of scoring runs. Variable bounce and a sodden outfield were exacerbated by high quality, accurate bowling from Millfields, and backed up by excellent and committed outfielding. In particular, their tall pace bowlers bowled tight lines and achieved good bounce and carry. Gwyn got a little too close to one that bounced more than expected, whereas Henry was scuttled by one that didn’t. Ben (26) and Vinay (21) continued their simultaneous purple patch, steadied our ship, and batted with great patience and application, accumulating singles where possible (two’s were a rarity, three’s impossible).
When it came to Millfields turn to bat, I think both sides knew wickets would never be far away in these conditions. Oscar, with his slingy, mercurial left-arm pace, bowled with impressive speed, and at times steepling bounce. Batsmen were never comfortable against him, and he had two caught behind (a smart slip catch by Ben) while the other had his stumps detonated. Sandeep increasingly found good rhythm at the other end, but at 20-3, and with this game nicely poised, another burst of rain finally sent us all on our way.
In this image below, we see a Bruegelesque scene moments before the start of play.
Written By: J.Gower
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