Strongroom make it 13-13, in soggy rout down at the woods

Highgate Wood, 4/29/2023

Strongroom won by 155 runs
Strongroom: 206
Jesmond Jaguars: 51

View the Scorecard

Early season promise filled the air, sun out and a familiar foe. Toby, a new Harbeton/overseas-pro recruit was unlucky in his first innings at the crease for the Room after being given the thankless task of testing out the sodden wicket.

Gywn and Ben proceeded on the dodgy pitch, careful work.

Mario burst into the fray, but not as you might expect. Switching allegiances, he dueled his once teammates in a battle of wills. The admirable turncoat gave the crowd what they came for, 8 overs for zilch. The veterans marched on however, 50 for both.


Strongroom in front but suddenly; a crash, a tumble. Spin bamboozling a middle order that didn’t particularly trouble the scorer, guffaws and shrieks of joy from the Jaguars reminiscent of their namesake. 1,2,3 wickets in quick succession. The wound looked fatal until Vinay stopped the bleeding with surgical precision and calm nerves.

Tea beckoned with Strongroom firmly on top. Ramu, the man of the hour, with the most impressive feat of the match, a spread fit for the gods. Goodwill and chat between the teams as the Jaguars prepared a response.


Arif and Nilesh began the attack, charging in and taking scalps at will. Ramu cemented his mid-match status as MVP with Kallis-esque athleticism in the slips off the zippy barrage provided by Nilesh. Ben, keen to compete for best catch of the day, got involved with a hand of god leap to give Nilesh 3-for.


The spectre of a counterattack loomed, however wickets kept tumbling and the animalistic roars of the Jaguars was replaced by eloquent silence.


Oscar came bounding in for a spell. One over of characteristic ‘acclimatisation’ was followed by sporadic, yet successful, straight balls. He was joined by Ankit, who bowled with the excellence Strongroom now rightfully assumes of him. Will, a welcome addition to the club, swept up the tail in his first spell since he was 16. This writer is now expecting, perhaps unfairly, his average stay at or below 1 run per wicket.

Special mention to Mario, Jaguars aforementioned speedster, for his battling rearguard action. A strongroom gang baying for blood brushed off with apparent ease.

An excellent start to the season both in result and sportsmanship. The triumph only trumped by the positivity with which the sport was played.


In this image below, we see a delightful scene from Ramu’s epic Keralan tea.








Written By: Oscar Gray