The weather’s the real winner as Harrow Town gain the better of a draw against Twickenham

Twickenham    203-8   (Carlos Nunes 74, Pete Carey 60, K. Chhaniara 5-55)

Harrow Town  145-0   (Victor Jadunath 78no, Sukhitha Peris 55no)

There was only one winner at Twickenham Green on Saturday 18^th August and that was the weather.  Although Twickenham managed to bat through their innings uninterrupted, a downpour during tea left Harrow Town with just 28 overs to chase an improbable 204 for victory.  Their openers made an excellent fist of it, easily scoring quickly enough to secure the winning draw, but by the close they were still 58 short of their target. 

Jon Varney’s early-season knack of winning the toss once again escaped him as Harrow Town asked Twickenham to bat first on a slow and low track on the Green.  With JP Cronje and Andrew Barnes both out injured, Damon Combrinck stepped up to open the batting with Pete Carey.  Carey, as is his way, settled nicely, working the ball into the gaps and scampering well between the wickets.  There was no torrent of boundaries, but the score nonetheless crept up to 33-0 off 13 and the Ts appeared to be ready to move through the gears.

The dismissal of Combrinck – caught in the slips by Hitesh Sejpal off skipper Abid Javed for 10 – saw Warwick Paull enter the fray, but the elegant South African was unable to make much of an impact, departing caught behind off left spinner Desai for 6.  Given the batting collapses that have plagued the Ts in recent weeks, Carlos Nunes and Carey realised that it was important to stabilise proceedings and build a platform.  Carey continued to work the ball nicely whilst Nunes, although not at his most fluent, hit the bad ball very hard indeed.  As Nunes began to see the ball better his shot-selection became more aggressive, and his fifty came up in 62 minutes off 50 balls.  Carey reached the same landmark soon after, although at a slightly slower pace (86 balls).  126-2 off 35 overs and the Ts were well set.

The 92 run partnership between the Ts two in-form players came to an end in the 39^th over when Carey was bowled behind his legs sweeping the off spin of Chhaniara.  Although ‘KC’ was eventually to finish with five wickets (5-55), Justin Scriven did his best to knock the spinner off his line, depositing him into the trees for a straight six, as well as one first bounce boundary into a car on the Hampton Road.  Scriven’s 8 ball (16 runs) blast was cut short when he was dismissed sweeping, and the Ts strike bowler was quickly followed back into the pavilion by Mark Ryan and Al Storey as the innings began to wobble.  Nunes continued to play with his customary freedom but he too perished as the overs ticked by, caught by Vish Jadunath for a well constructed 74.  With Dan Hough and Paul Cassidy eeking out singles and struggling to find the boundary, Jon Varney decided to call his men in with exactly half the game completed and the score on 203.  A brave declaration, but one that left the match wide open for either side to win (or lose).

Varney’s tactic was, however, soon rendered more or less irrelevant.  And through no fault of his own.  The heavens opened and the rains that have plagued the summer of 2007 once again returned.  Eventually the clouds did lift and the umpires decided that 28 overs play was possible.  The Ts set to their task in earnest, Justin Scriven generating pace and bounce from the Hampton Road End and Paul Cassidy dropping on a decent length from the Staines Road End.  The Harrow Town openers, Vish Jadunath and overseas player Sukhitha Peris nonetheless set their stall out early; they knew that they were likely to play and miss at a few, but this wasn’t going to put them off their shots.  The score, despite three maidens from Cassidy, subsequently moved along nicely.

With 20 overs to go Harrow Town needed 89 more to secure the winning draw; Twickenham kept attacking, but without much luck.  Peris, in particular, was dropped on a couple of occasions and, slowly but surely, the Ts realised that it was not going to be their day.  Both batters gained in confidence and Jadunath in particular played some bombastic drives and cuts to move past 50 with ease.  If the Ts were to salvage something from the game then both batters had to be removed quickly; Varney switched his bowlers around, Carey bowling a couple of overs from the Staines Road End, whilst Scriven and Paull tried their luck from the Hampton Road End.  To no avail.  As Peris passed 50 it became clear that Harrow Town were well on the way to securing 4 points; and this they did with overs to spare.  This aim having been reached, the game subsequently fizzled out with both sides being forced to accept their lot.

This had the potential to be a very good game of cricket, but the weather conditions ruined any plans that either skipper might have had of winning the game.  Twickenham still remain top of the MCCL Division Three, although only by the very narrowest of margins.  Saturday’s game at Hornsey now takes on an even greater significance with Jon Varney’s troops knowing that it’s high time they return to the ten point trail.