1xi vs Haslemere - Match Report by Matty D

"Nomaan made hay while the Sun shone - lots of it" - Ed

Spirited Haslemere Run Wick Close

HWRCC 185 Nomaan 78, Davies 57
Haslemere 145 Raza 3-10, Nomaan 3-28, Day 3-36

Scorecard

Haslemere arrived just in time for the toss, duly won it, and inserted the Wick on what looked a decent deck. Pretty flat, some grass but firm.

Ali and Davies opened up and immediately set about the task. Ali in particular making hay in the sunshine with a ball that wasn't swinging. A straight six in the first over set the tone. Davies wasn't far behind, throwing his hands through the ball when given the opportunity to do so. 40 became 90, became 129 in 20 overs, with no slogging, just genuine shots. Ali fell getting ahead of himself, trying to be a bit too clever, which in hindsight was an error. A sluggish Davies upon 50 then fell to the same bowler, a lazy shot being caught at midwicket.

And then things changed. The Haslemere left arm Ford-a-like found his areas and his swing which, while early at the start of his spell, was getting later and later. He ended up with 5 excellent wickets, clearing a path of destruction at one end whilst at the other the proberbial tease bowler took out the pin but controlled the ball well in a stiff crosswind. 129-0 soon became 150-7, a quite frankly ridiculous series of events, but if it can happen to Sri Lanka then it can happen to us too. Only Tong and Tughral Snr put together a partnership towards the end - thus giving the Wick a respectable if below par score of 185. We knew 129-0 flattered the pitch. It wasn't that good, but Ali in particular should be given credit for another stunning display of clean hitting.

Tea - DBW should write a book. 7/10, but the oppo would score it at least 9.

The weather offered to play its part - the wind had been strong all day, but a few drops [of rain or Jackson-like spills? - Ed] came along and threatened to disrupt the Wick in their pursuit of 10 more wickets. A strong opening burst on an unresponsive track from Day and in particular Shinde was rewarded by only one wicket. Shuffling things around saw Ali join in the fun, finding some shape. Tughral Snr also snared the important wicket of the imposing Haslemere skip. With wickets falling at regular intervals, and the Wick bowlers showing excellent control, the game was in our favour but Halsmere were still showing fight. Raza's introduction saw the final few wickets fall at the Wick pick up their 3rd straight victory against a decent Haslemere side who will win a good amount of games following their promotion last year.