Room fudge it with five debutants
Highgate Wood, 5/21/2022
Strongroom won by 18 runs
Strongroom: 153 [Mushie 55]
Cairns Fudge: 135 [A.Iqbal 5-20]
View the Scorecard
We arrived with little idea of how this one would turn out. Five of our XI were making their debut for Strongroom under the untested leadership of Ben – captain of the Room for the first time. The pitch looked good but of course we know the Woods better than this. The opposition seemed to as well and after winning the toss sent Strongroom in to bat. Ben and Jerome opened the innings in entertaining fashion with some comedy running. Jerome was adjudged out on a tight LBW shout and left crease after showing early promise. Sohail, on debut, biffed 20 off an over before hoicking across one that kept low. Welcome to the Woods. Wickets fell in this manner throughout the innings. Amir, on debut, got one that kept low. Ben edged a ball that leapt off a length and was caught, eventually, by second slip after the keeper palmed the first attempt into the air. At 75-5 at drinks, things looked dicey for Strongroom but Mushie, on debut, and Dev rebuilt patiently with a partnership of 44. Dev warrants special praise for restraining his attacking instincts. Mushie (55) paced his knock superbly against a tricky mix of accurate pace and village ‘lob’ bowling. Some lusty hitting from the tail saw Strongroom post 153 all out in 32.4 overs – par perhaps on this two-paced surface, but it was disappointing to have left 7 overs unused. Tea was bring your own. Ben had a salad. I think Mario had a sandwich. During the Strongroom innings Riaz managed to coax the shed scorebox into life. Well done Riaz. Mario and Alex Main, on debut, opened the bowling with great accuracy but after 11 overs of toil Strongroom had no wickets to show and the Fudge opener Van was batting with authority. In these circumstances, I turned, as many a Strongroom captain has before me, to Riaz. But after just two balls our premier leg-spinner pulled up with a calf injury and could take no further part in the match. A devastating blow. Into the breach, once again, stepped Dev, who sent down six very tidy overs and kept the pressure on the opposition chase. Rishabh, on debut, replaced Mario at the shed end and bowled with high pace but a little less accuracy. Just before drinks Fudge were 72-1 and the game appeared to be drifting away from Strongroom’s grasp. The turning point was the introduction of Amir Iqbal, on debut, who struck in his very first over. And just after drinks he had the dangerous Van (51) caught in the covers as a length ball popped viciously off the pitch. To complement Amir’s left-arm-round booming inswingers, an ominous, whirling figure emerged at the far end. Sam “The Windmill” Leach had an instant impact: two wickets in his first over courtesy of a stumping by Ben and a sensational overhead grab by Sohail, on debut, at deep mid-off. Jerome was Strongroom’s eighth bowler to enter the fray and the third to pick up a wicket in his first over. Such was the force of Jerome’s outswingers that he snapped a bail in two when clean bowling the Fudge number nine. At this point, the game was still in the balance. Fudge still had 13 overs to make the remaining 50 runs, but with only two wickets in hand there was a sense of jeopardy in the chase. Enter Strongroom’s ninth bowler. Surely the pressure had to let up. But Sohail, on debut, turned out to be another gem. His hustling pace bowling stifled any scoring options and his mate Amir, on debut, came back from the shed end to finish proceedings with the two final wickets of the Fudge innings – also enough for Amir, on debut, to complete his five-fer and figures of 7-1-20-5. In the end, Strongroom won by 18 runs as Fudge were bowled out for 135 in the 39th over. The run chase swung this way and that but ultimately Strongroom’s incredible depth of bowling options saw us over the line. The Cairns Fudge Kiwis and Aussies were a great bunch who played the game in excellent spirit. And they brought a cool-box of beers to share after the game, reminding us of the joys of sharing food and drink – something we have lost a little in the COVID times. A great day out in the sunshine. We look forward to the return fixture.
In this image below, we see skipper-for-a-day Ben doing some scoring, and Riaz attempting to mend an increasingly knackered and dysfunctional scorebox.
Written By: B.Hartridge
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