 |
| The Wick innings was not the briskest cricket we have seen... |
Sayce, Clark , Kemp, Sayce R,
McMullen P, Chedmonds, Farooq, Dare, Cabraal, Linter, Van Vurren
Wick 152
Walton on Thames 78
Gritty Wick Grind Out
Bonus Point Win
Last week cricket on Kingsfield was a soggy, cold and
ultimately unrewarding thing. Yesterday it was the opposite. As different as a photograph
is to its negative, this week’s cricket was dry, warm and the result went
decisively the Wick’s way. Returning to the pavilion replete with points to
find a burning sun lowering in the sky, Pride on tap and the place packed with people
enjoying the first really summer-full day of the cricketing year, this writer
felt instantly happy.
Sayce won the toss. With his brother and Paddy wrestling
with traffic jams and the sun out he decided we would bat. Sayce and Clark
would notice on scratching a mark that the green surface of the wicket sat on
top of a dampish clay. Not surprising after last weekend’s torrential rain.
It gave rise to some flaccid cricket. From the top end Allen
opened up for Walton and generated decent pace and some swing. When he found
the right length he defeated Clark with two that
seamed away too far to take an edge. Otherwise the ball either skidded on or
occasionally bit and bounced. One attempt to bounce Clark
resulted in hilarity as the ball only just got above waist high and came
through at a snail’s pace. Clark played three
shots all of which missed and received some wry observations from behind the
stumps. Clark eventually clubbed one back over
the bowler’s head to the long off boundary but mostly singles were nurdled and
it was painfully slow.
At the other end Walton’s Clarke bowled a useful line from
left arm over. In his first over he had problems with his length but neither of
our openers could pierce the field. Unfortunately he settled into a rhythm
which eventually returned him the extraordinary figures of 10 overs 1 for 13.
The one was Clark who threw his hands at a wide one and was caught tamely at a
deep extra position.
Kemp joined Sayce. A combination of the two paced track and
winter rustiness meant that he struggled to time the ball and had no success
piercing the field. He was horribly dropped at mid off early on and so after
that cautiously nurdled his way to a gritty twenty something. Sayce played the
shot of the innings leaning back to pull Allen to midwicket with lazerlike
precision and real power. Then having forced the change, Sayce P tried to hit
some loopy legspin into the middle of Hampton Wick and was undone sending Sayce
R to the middle.
Kemp and the younger Sayce then put on the Wick’s most profitable
partnership with Sayce looking the more fluent of the two. Kemp eventually
perished to Desai who suckered him with a straight one. At one point Rob’s last
three scoring strokes were all boundaries – and they became his last three
scoring strokes as he found a way to get bowled. McMullen joined the fray fresh
from a 7am finish of the previous evening’s Oxford shenanigans. There was no sawdust this
week as it wasn’t wet but it was worth trying to find some as he felt that a
volcanic eruption of some unremembered drinks was not far away. Typically he
smote a number of vigorous boundaries in an entertaining 16.
Linter – with golf cap perched on his head – strode to the
middle and was soon entertaining us royally. A lofted drive over cover was
exquisitely timed. A pull shot in the next over had us squinting to see if that
truly was the negative of Sir Vivian Richards. But Linter too perished, getting
through a shot too early to be caught off a top edge.
Those of us congregating round the scorebook were trying to establish
what a good score was. With Charlton now back on the sidelines after a brisk
five, we felt the innings was in the balance. 120ish for 7 felt not enough and
we looked fearfully at our resources. But we were wrong to doubt. Alex Dare
played some lovely attacking strokes, Farooq smoked a couple and The Prawn was
patient in assembling 11 and reluctant to leave the crease when finally undone.
152 felt like enough.
Tea included some Asian supermarket starters. Everything
else as per usual. DBW still persisting with that cream cheese. 7.
Walton’s reply would need to negotiate one of the strongest
3s bowling line-ups this correspondent has had the good fortune to be selected
alongside. Of the batsmen only Clark has not
bowled a spell in the League. An embarrassment of riches. Van Vurren and Linter
opened up and both were miserly in the extreme. As is the way with Linter he
bowled beautifully and would have taken a wicket with the only bad ball he bowled
had a crushingly hungover Paddy not downed a relatively simple chance due to an
inability to select the right spot to intercept the ball.
The let off was not costly as The Prawn ripped through the
same left hander to give Kemp a routine – if rapid – catch to his left. A
pattern emerged as Walton’s captain timed full balls away to the boundary –
probably the only bat on either side who did. Walton’s keeper kept him company –
and his batting looked as tidy as his keeping had earlier.
The skipper replaced Linter who had changed from his usual
hue in the heat to a red that Wickman remembers from litmus paper in chemistry lessons.
Sayce then proceeded to bowl a series of exemplary maidens before pinning the
number three in front – and then bowling the number 4 in the same over to put
the cat firmly amongst the pigeons. Worse was to follow at the other end as the
fluent oppo skipper tried to drive at a quick straight one from Ed and lost his
off stump to leave Walton reeling at 20 something for 4.
If they were hoping for respite from our bowlers at the next
changes then they were to be disappointed. Cabraal and then Dare were brought on
to give it a twirl and so they did. Another wicket before drinks – to Cabraal
meant Walton – if not dead and buried – could hear the sound of coffin
carpentry and the sound of a grave spade breaking ground.
Drinks brought a flurry of wickets almost immediately.
Lovely Turkish from Dare in particular and Charith mixing it up caused three
more bats to perish in short order. Farooq was summonsed to help provide the
last rights and took a wicket in his second over before Kemp took a second
catch when Charith induced a top edged sweep. Walton had assembled 78.
It was a good performance in the field – almost blemish free
– and put into context the earlier batting travails and gritty fightback.
Efficient and sometimes ruthless stuff.
MOM – really difficult this week as so many performances.
Probably the skipper turning the screw with the ball…
No comments:
Post a Comment