TCC 3’s v. Southgate CC 3’s – Saturday 26^th May

Typical English cricket weather conditions returned to Broom Road on Saturday as TCC entertained the early MCCL pace-setters Southgate who had opened their campaign with two wins. So a tough test was anticipated.  Winning the toss for the third time in a row, Phil Parker elected to bat.  A new opening partnership of Parker and Don Campbell built steadily from the start in the face of some fine Southgate bowling from Habberley and Rashid Mullahzada, Rashid in particular was proving almost impossible to play in his first spell as he swung the ball prodigiously in to the right-handers at a hostile pace. The “experienced” T’s openers were in no mood to give their wickets away and a third 50 run opening partnership of the season ensued before Phil Parker was bowled for 41 with the score at 62 after 17 overs. This brought Colin Blunden to the crease and he contined the good work with Don as a respectable total began to take shape. With the Southgate bowling slowing to a more sedate pace the batters were able to pick off runs comfortably. The score moved on to 116 before Blunden was dismissed for a promising 24. Steve Van Niekerk was next to the crease and another useful partnership of 37 developed.  Don Campbell’s fine knock then ended after yielding a second well constructed 58 score this season as we reached 153-3 in the 36^th over.  Van Niekerk(23) had also by now started to set about the bowling. But Steve fell to a rash shot only eight runs later with his last five scoring strokes being four balls.  However, a good platform had been set by the top four batsmen and a seriously challenging score was expected with probably 15 more overs still to bat.  Then the weather changed as light drizzle moved in over the ground and accurate medium pace bowling from the Southgate skipper Faruqi yielded three wickets. Our middle and lower order all struggled until Jacques Grobler came in at number 9 and picked off 21 runs with some clean hitting. T’s were finally dismissed in the 48^th over for exactly 200 which was disappointing after the solid start.

Unfortunately, throughout the tea interval the rain continued to fall. T’s took the field knowing that our bowling would have to be very tight because our own scoring rate had been a little over four runs per over and that Southgate would be looking to get at least 85 on the board after 20 overs in order to achieve at least a winning draw position. But T’s were also very aware of this situation and opening bowlers Grobler and Matt Huntingdon bowled accurately, probing for the openings to put Southgate on the back foot and give us renewed hope of bowling them out. Huntingdon made the early breakthrough dismissing the aggressive-looking Hussain in the sixth over with the score at 14, so far so good. Mazhar then joined the veteran Southgate opener Ricky Gunn at the crease and these two bats slowly cranked up the pace of the innings. Continued accurate off-stump bowling by both openers achieved another success as Huntingdon caught the edge of Mazhar’s bat in the twelfth over with the score now at 45-2. Our first change of bowler at the Broom Road end brought young quickie Ashley Gray on to bowl. The worsening conditions underfoot were too much for Gray and it coincided with an onslaught from the Southgate batters who were now beginning to realise the position they were in. Grobler deservedly bowled Webb (16) with the score at 75 after 17 overs. But in the very next over, a prolonged stoppage initiated by the batsmen eventually ended in the captains mutually agreeing to abandon the game at this point as it was unfair to ask the bowlers to continue in conditions which were now much worse and would probably result in the batsmen taking a decision to leave the field just as soon as the twenty overs passed knowing that they were in the stronger position. Gunn remained on 32 not out as we left the field. Match abandoned – 1 point each.