Twickenham’s 2007 campaign finally off and running with 9 wicket mauling of Kenton

Richmond resident Mick Jagger and his Rolling Stones once famously sung that you “don’t always get what you want” but that “you might still find what you need”.  The massed ranks of onlooking Twickenham players and supporters didn’t quite get what they wanted as dusk descended over the Green on Saturday evening – that was clearly a century for the imperious Pete Carey who was left stranded on 98no – but the club certainly got what it needed; 10 points from an emphatic nine wicket triumph over a demoralised Kenton outfit. 

The Ts made two changes from the side that was beaten in a close encounter at Highgate the week previously.  J-P Cronje returned for Srinjoy De who stepped down to the seconds whilst Ben Parer – playing what may have been his final Saturday game for the club – came in for skipper Jon Varney, who was on a ‘business trip’ (!) to La Manga in Spain.  Justin Scriven took over the leadership reins, and immediately did what Varney regularly failed to do in previous weeks; win the toss.  Kenton were asked to have first knock on what looked like it was going to be a pretty flat track. 

Scriven and the rejuvenated Dimitri Nicolaides took the new ball, and they immediately had the Kenton top order in trouble; the compact looking Singh was bowled by a ball from Scriven that cut back sharply, while Patel was neatly caught behind by Damon Combrinck off Nicolaides for 2.  Nicolaides, urged on by fans that had travelled from as far afield as Leeds to witness his bowling, angled the ball nicely across the right handers and was proving to be a real handful.  He ensured that 16-2 became 20-3 as Ashraf was bowled for 4.  Kenton were reeling and a period of serious consolidation was needed.  The other opener, Jooma, who has had an excellent start to 2007, scoring 136 runs in the season so far, and the number 5, Rishi Kotecha, looked to negotiate what was left of the new ball and to set the foundations for some more expansive batting later on.

Once the shine had gone off the ball both batters began to look more at home.  Jooma was the more aggressive of the two, although Kotecha ran well between the wickets and nudged and nurdled to reasonably good effect.  Scriven opted to switch the bowling around, replacing Nicolaides (2-34 off 10) with J-P Cronje from the Staines Road End while the ever-dependable Warwick Paull came on for the skipper at the Church End.  The bowling change paid immediate dividends with Paull trapping Kotecha leg before for 21 as Twickenham began to gain a stranglehold.  Further tight bowling and sharp fielding prevented number six, Mills, from getting into his stride and the run rate soon began to drop.  Even though a couple of chances went down Twickenham remained firmly in control, and the dismissal of Jooma – caught by Paull at point of Cronje – for a hard fought 49 pushed Kenton even further on to the back foot.

As the overs drifted by Mills appeared ever more besotted with the idea of driving the seamers through the off side.  Time and again he smacked drives into the covers and time and again one of the four fielders crammed in there by Scriven stopped it.  Rahul Kotecha had more luck in forcing the pace, playing a few expansive shots off Nunes and Cronje, but his dismissal for 40 (caught and bowled by the admirably consistent Cronje) was akin to Twickenham pulling the handbrake firmly back on.  Although Kenton could have batted a little longer they declared on 208-6 off 55 overs, leaving Twickenham 45 overs to reach their victory target.

Following another excellent tea (again A- on the teameter), the Ts wasted no time at all in setting to their task.  Andy Barnes hit Sami’s first ball for four, setting the tone for the rest of the innings and after 8 overs the Ts had already cruised to 50 without loss.  Carey in particular looked like a man on a mission.  The New Zealander has not had the best of times of late, falling foul of slow wickets and bad luck; he made up for this on Saturday, crashing the ball to all corners of the ground in an innings the likes of which Twickenham Green hasn’t seen for a long time.  Very little went up in the air and both batters picked the gaps with ease.  Carey’s driving and pulling were particularly impressive, as was Barnes’s straight hitting – one six into the wine bar on the Staines Road being particularly memorable. 

Carey was the first to reach his half century (off 45 balls) although Barnes wasn’t too far behind (57 balls).  Discussions on the side lines turned to which batter was more likely to reach three figures first.  The ease with which both players had dominated thus far made the fall of the first wicket all the more surprising, Barnes cutting Zubair to point for a well made 56 (off 66 balls).  The Kenton celebrations were muted.  They perhaps sensed that there would be no respite.  They were correct.  Warwick Paull’s 0 at Highgate last week soon seemed a blip from the distant past, as he began driving the ball through the covers at will.  There can’t be too many more elegant players around the MCCL than Twickenham’s number three. 

Although Carey looked to consolidate as he passed through the 60s and 70s, the scoring rate remained high and the Ts honed in on their target.   The main question was now whether Carey would be able to register his first league century for the club; Paull did his best to help out, blocking three balls that he was itching to stroke through wide mid off, leaving Carey needing two runs to reach his personal landmark with the scores now tied.  Unfortunately, Jooma speared the ball down the leg side and the umpire had little choice but to spread his arms and signal a wide.  Carey was left high and dry on 98no, but the key aim had been emphatically achieved.  10 points for the Ts.

Following recent disappointments against Bessborough and Highgate, the Ts well and truly hit the ground running against Kenton.  Energy levels were high in the field (despite a number of spilled catches), the bowling was tight and Kenton were never able to really get into the game.  The batting from all three Ts players was excellent and there can be little doubt that this performance was a statement of intent.  When the Ts play well, there will be few sides in this division who’ll relish meeting them.

Dan Hough