The LSCC Juggernaut Rolls On – LSCC vs King Georges CC / 11 Aug 2024
Match Report: LSCC vs King Georges CC / 11 Aug 2024
London Saints secure a winning season for first time in 21 years.
Scores:
LSCC 155 – 8 (Top Runs – Skipper 30, Harry 23, Guy 22)
King Georges 100 All Out (Top Bowling – Nanton 3-29, Ollie G 2-18, Richard G 2-6)
So, you’ve seen the headlines…how on earth did it happen? When the oppo turned up at our home ground a few of us weren’t feeling particularly optimistic, myself included. The average age of the self-proclaimed ‘All Asian’ side was certainly no more than 21, and given that part of the world’s reputation when it comes to cricket there was reason to be nervous. In a return to form, DT lost the toss and King Georges elected to bowl first.
Terrence and Johnny G were sent in to bat first, with TC facing the first ball of what would turn out to be an impressive endurance show in the 28° heat. JG was the first wicket to fall after being bowled for a duck, much to the delight of an anonymous match reporter who was in contention for the esteemed trophy. Harry came out to the wicket as No3 and made a quick 23 runs before being caught by what was frankly an outrageous catch, when match reporter himself walked in to bat at No4 LSCC were 42 for 2 (9 overs) with TC staying solid – an overall decent start to the innings. Unfortunately, Mr Reporter must have been too focused on the report itself, after scoring off his first ball and blocking a few he decided to try to spank a straight ball on the half volley, resulting in the ball flying well under the giant middle of his bat he had managed to lose… LSCC 47 for 3 (12 overs)
At this point two things needed to happen, we needed to up the rate a little and also hold onto wickets, not famously easy. Guy strode in at No5 and made a very fast and impressive start, scoring 22 runs before he also faced a straight ball from the same bowler as No4 and was unable to provide a response. At drinks TC was still in and London Saints (LS) were 80 for 4, clearly TC drank some dodgy water as he was bowled for 13 runs in the 18th over. Dickie stepped in at No6 and made a solid 12 runs before being bowled, Nanton who came in at No7 was bowled for a similar 11 runs – LS 115 for 7. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed by now that our runs score is considerably different to our overall score, Mr Extras was feeling particularly helpful. Skipper and PP were in as 8 & 9 and together they made an incredibly helpful addition, with DT scoring 30 runs before being caught. PP scored a valuable 8 n/o, and Richard G 0/no. LS finished on 155 for 8
When King Georges came out to bat we really had no idea what to expect but some sharp opening bowling meant that we were ready for all scenarios. Nanton opened the bowling and struggled to find his length, but the pace and line were on good form, opening batsman caught & b for a measly 4. King Georges No3 also fell victim to Nanton and went for a duck, caught by Harry – LS had taken two wickets in no time. No4 came in and scored a few runs but Ollie G was bowling superbly, a shot was hit towards Mr Reporter standing at cover and a diving catch was taken – his awful batting redeemed (partially). OG then proceeded to take the wicket of No5 only two balls after said catch. Nanton then took our 5th wicket of the day taking his tally up to 3 wickets, anyone who was there would admittedly be a little surprised at his methods, generally preferring to leave the wicket square out of the equation – KGCC 52-5 (10 overs)
After Nanton and Ollie G had bowled their first spells, Harry and Mr Reporter were called in, some decent bowling slowed the run rate a little but King Georges No2 was still in. Not long before drinks came the CHAMPAGNE MOMENT in which Dickie took a fantastic low catch diving forward off Harry’s bowling – as the batsmen walked off Mr Reporter ran back onto the pitch having nipped to the loo, and asked ‘What happened?!’
Drinks arrived and KG were 76-6, so we were feeling reasonably confident – they apparently were also feeling very confident as they were overheard saying ‘I think we’ve got it from here.’ The very first ball after their rather optimistic drinks chat, Richard was brought on to bowl which led to the controversial waving goodbye to their No6 (originally given not out then overturned as he was in fact bowled and/or stumped, either way he was certainly OUT). Now it was time for Paul Pearce to come on and clean up the rest, finally their No2 batsman fell to the only thing that could catch him out- some bad bowling. Paul’s ball floated up in the air and in classic fashion the batsmen played it as if he had speedy boarding, the bails were just about convinced to fall and he smashed his bat into the wicket in a fit of rage (a reaction many succumb to after being bowled by PP). Surprisingly after being in since the start he had in fact only managed 23 runs – I would say largely due to the excellent fielding that was displayed all-around. Paul’s next wicket fell to a great stumping from Dickie, leaving Paul with two wickets in what was technically 2 overs, but was in fact about 20 balls. The final wicket was courtesy of another great catch off Richard G’s bowling resulting in RG taking 2 wickets for a mere 6 run KGCC were all out for 100, and also well off the run rate. Well done London Saints! As DT and his spreadsheets can confirm the last time LSCC had a winning season I was only 5 months old!
Champagne Moment A couple contenders for this prize but the winner has to be Dickie’s catch, not only due to the quality of the catch but also due to the timing in the game and his overall performance- plus the irony that I was having a piss means it is the clear choice. Two contenders were both comments from the opposition the first one being – ‘I don’t know how to say this, but what the fuck is going on?’ they asked themselves during the early part of their batting innings. Final honourable mention is when one of the opposition queried about DT and his fielding – ‘How the hell did he stop that I thought he was 70!’
Player if the Match It really was an all-round great performance and there genuinely were lots of contenders for POTM – but my vote goes to Dickie. A great performance behind the stumps is always important in terms of wickets, but also in terms of runs conceded. Dickie took 2 catches and a stumping, and a solid 12 runs may not have been what he was after but a good effort nonetheless.
London Saints
T.Collis b Nasri 13
J.Griffiths b Anand 0
H.Rogers ct x b Suie 23
O.Sykes b Zain 1
G.Cowley b Zain 22
R.Cushon b Anand 12
D.Nanton b Anand 11
D.Thomas ct x b Yusuf 30
P.Pearce 8*
R.Griffiths 0*
Extras 35
Total 155 – 8
King Georges
Usman ct & b Nanton 4
Adnaan b Pearce 23
Yusuf ct H.Rogers b Nanton 0
Zaki ct Sykes b O.Griffiths 4
Anzar b O. Griffiths 0
Wass ct Dickie b H.Rogers 8
Ibby b R.Griffiths 10
Suie b Nanton 18
Zain ct Dickie b R.Griffiths 6
Anand st Dickie b Pearce 6
Nasri not out 0
Extras 21
Total 100 All-Out
D. Nanton 5 – 0 – 29 – 3
O. Griffiths 5 – 0 – 18 – 2
H. Rogers 4 – 0 – 15 – 1
O. Sykes 3 – 0 – 16 – 0
R. Griffiths 2.2 – 0 – 6 – 2
P. Pearce 2 – 0 – 16 – 2
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