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Monday, June 19, 2006
London Saints CC versus Walthamstow Horizontals
Played at Elstree, Sunday 18th June 2006
Walthamstow Horizontals 120 all out (32.3 overs) - Griffiths 2-10; Loomes 2-11; Wathan 2-20
London Saints 121-2 (17 overs) - Patel 86 n.o., Griffiths 29 n.o.
Match report by John Griffiths
Scorecard (and The Skipper's comments, plus comments from T.Mayhew, Ruislip) at the end of the article
Sunday saw London Saints play the home game of what will be a season double header against the Walthamstow Horizontals. Under cloudy skies and in very sultry conditions, the Horizontals won the toss and chose to bat. The delayed start, owing to the late arrival of two Saints' players who also had possession of the LSCC kit, meant the two teams' opted for a 35 rather than a 40 over game.
Saints started well. Jon Loomes (Little John) opened the bowling in tandem with Saints' veteran Steve Keenan. The new-ball partnership made good use of the conditions, restricting the openers to few scoring shots. Little Jon made the breakthrough with a quicker, seaming delivery that broke through the opener Peritides' defences. Lord Lucan followed up with a well-disguised (even) slower ball that bowled the other opener. When a muffled, almost embarrassed appeal from Loomes was surprisingly rewarded with a LBW decision from the umpire, the Horizontals were floundering at 17-3.
The fourth wicket partnership went about steadying the innings and reached 59 when the skipper, Dave Thomas, having brought himself on following his Lordship's now customary five-over opening spell, had another LBW appeal upheld. It ended what was to be the biggest partnership of the Horizontals' innings. Paul Wathan then had immediate success from the far end taking wickets with his first and fifth balls, and in almost identical fashion as both these batsmen played on trying to smash Wath's beguiling deliveries out of the ground.
The Horizontals' middle order briefly threatened to make hay against the Saints' slow bowlers, but an inspired one-handed catch on the deep mid-wicket boundary by debutant Lui Patel off Griffiths stopped them in their tracks. It was the first of two wickets for the Saints' off spinner in an almost unheard of double-wicket maiden.
The skipper showed a Crouch-esque piece of neat footwork to ensure the run out
All afternoon the Saints' ground fielding was of a high standard. Only one chance went begging in the deep; Damian Chalmers kept very tidily behind the stumps, and the Skipper showed a Crouch-esque piece of neat footwork to ensure the run out of the threatening lower-order batsman Haridsawi.
Saints finished off the Horizontals' innings when Louis bowled the Horizontals' no.11. Restricting the opposition to a total of 120 from 32.3 overs was a terrific effort and the Saints tucked into their cream tea optimistic of securing the first win of the season.
At 5 for 2, and with Dot Cotton and Eric "the Taxman" Shaddick already back in the pavilion, the total of 120 was soon beginning to look a bit more challenging. Both had been particularly unlucky - Dot the victim of an LBW decision when he seemed a long way forward, and Eric bowled by a ball that pitched, but then ran along the ground (and under his bat). Lui Patel joined the ex-Councillor to try to stave off the traditional Saints' batting collapse.
Lui quickly signalled his intent with some lusty blows to the boundary. The Wheelie Bin meanwhile was happy to play the junior role in the partnership and simply keep his end up. The pair saw the score past 50 when Lui, possibly with one eye on trying to see the second half of the Brazil Australia game, decided it was time to up the ante.
The unfortunate bowler lost all line and length as Lui plundered 4, 4, 6, dot, 6, 6 off one over
He proceeded to take a breathtaking 26 off one over from the medium-pacer Haridsawi. (To your correspondent's amazement the question whether this counted as a Saint's batting record for most runs in one over was something Mussolini could not verify in the bar later). The unfortunate bowler lost all line and length as Lui plundered 4, 4, 6, dot, 6, 6, lost the ball and disturbed two flocks of pigeons nesting in trees on the boundary. It was clearly comeuppance for Haridsawi who, having earlier seen his slips spill a simple top-edged chance from Griffiths, chose to vent his frustration by kicking down the stumps in a very unsporting manner.
Saints romped home by eight wickets and with 18 overs to spare. Having laboured for five overs in reaching 9 for 2, the next 112 runs had come off just 12 overs. The Patel/Griffiths partnership entered the record books as the second highest 3rd wicket partnership in Saints' 25-year history.
Man of the match: Lui Patel contributed a quite brilliant 86 not out which, combined with his terrific catch and tidy bowling meant the MoM was uncontested.
Champagne moment: It had to be the skipper's World Cup inspired run out of the stump-kicker, Haridsawi. A neat trap and half volley of a fast-moving cricket ball was something to behold. DT reminded those of his team mates in earshot not to forget that he had been London Saints' FC Player of the Season, er, in 1986. Well done Dave . . .
SCORECARD
Walthamstow
Gaswell lbw Loomes 11
Peritidas bowled Loomes 0 ( apparantly was their best player )
Needham bowled Keenan 3 ( always good for Steve to bowl someone who is and looks older than himself )
Burgess lbw Thomas 16
Hinteringerham bowled Waffen ( spellt from their scorebook ) 23
Murray bowled Waffen 4
Webster caught Patel ( blinding catch to stop a six ) bowled Fat Bloke ( from their scorebook ) 40
Sani run out ( Thomas - great first touch then spectacular overhead volley aka David Platt Eng v Belgium 1990 World Cup ) 5
Scally bowled Patel 5
Leon bowled Fat Bloke 0
Bloor not out 0
Total 107
Wides 8 ( they were very generous )
Byes 4
No Balls ( no it wasn't The Skipper ) 1
Total 120 off 33.3 overs
Loomes 5 - 1 - 11 - 2 ( unleashed at great pace this week )
Keenan 5 - 1 - 12 - 1
Van Marle 4 - 0 - 24 - 0 ( bowled much better than these figures suggest )
Thomas 5 - 2 - 12 - 1
Waffen ( Wath ) 5 - 1 - 20 - 2 ( took up where he left off in Sri Lanka )
Pearce 3 - 0 - 17 - 0 ( a victim of The Skippers harsh ' but successful ' bowling change policy
Fat Boy ( The Ex Councillor ) 3 - 1 - 10 - 2 ( with grateful thanks to Lui's catch on the boundary )
Patel 2.3 - 0 - 11 - 1
London Saints
Cotton lbw Webster 2 ( I'll let Steve comment on Wath's decision to give him out lbw when he was half way down the pitch )
The Ex Councillor not out 29 ( a great supporting role )
Shadick bowled ( grass cutter ) 1
Patel not out 86 ( a few lucky shots )
Total 118
Wides 2
Byes 1
Total 121 - 2 off 17 overs
I think Lui's onslaught of 26 in one over must be a London Saints record - I note that The Ex Councillor was surprised that this information was not at my fingertips last night - still in awe of Lui's performance as was Mr Pearce who at 9 for 2 was expected to bat at any moment and never got in. I did question why Lui was not padded up ( he was batting No 4 ) whilst our openers were batting - he's obviously not seen us bat before
COMMENTS
From T. Mayhew, Ruislip
Well done lads. Excellent match report (longer than usual, presumably the report is in direct proportion to the performance of the writer - thank god Paulie Pearce did not write the report for the first game of the season; we may not have even got a 'we lost' out of him) - but as usual (I am an accountant after all) can I pick at a few minor details:
"It was the first of two wickets for the Saints' off spinner in an almost unheard of double-wicket maiden" - pardon me Mr Griffiths, and I appreciate you are obviously very pleased with yourself after a cracking game, but I would suggest the phrase 'almost unheard of' would have been more appropriate in the following sentence 'Faroe Islands have won the football world cup, almost unheard of for a small island between Scotland and Iceland' [apologies if my geography is crap, but I think my point is made] - the phrase 'almost unheard of' would have been appropriate if Johnny had just bowled a maiden , but 2 wickets + a maiden needs a phrase yet to me created in the English language [I did note that one of the wickets was caught one handed by Lui jumping up like a salmon on the boundary, and therefore if any other London Saints player in the history of the club had been underneath it, it would have been a 6 - yet again, masterful field placement by the skipper].
It must have been very pleasant to watch the stump kicker be hit for 26 - Johnny G : very honest of you, but it sounds like to played another cracking knock, so there's no need to mention you was dropped. Batting is all about swings and roundabouts - no-one (apart from the person concerned) remembers the dodgey lbw, one handed diving catch, or ball the scuttles along the deck ; so no need to remind them of any luck that goes your way : it's all about taking advantage of your luck, and it sounds like you played the perfect supporting (not junior) role
