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BT spins Twickenham to victory
in nail-bitter against Thames Ditton
Twickenham
79 a/o (P. Carey 20, P. Darby 4-13, Majunder 2-2)
Thames
Ditton 70 a/o (A. Bennett 15, B. Thorne 6-7, D. Hough
2-6, T. Bendelow 2-21)
Twickenham CC’s midweek XI came
out victorious in a thrilling encounter with Thames Ditton on
Thursday 5th July. Mark Johnson’s men can have had
little hope of victory at the half-way point having been skittled
for 79 on a nightmare of a batting surface; step up Brian Thorne to
claim 6-7 off 9 overs, and Twickenham an improbable 9 run victory.
Thames Ditton and the Ts first
locked horns on the cricket field 174 years ago, way back in 1833.
The scorecards adorn walls in the respective pavilions to prove it.
No doubt there have been many enthralling contests through the
years, yet it is hard to imagine that any will have been as
topsy-turvy as this year’s encounter at Giggs Hill Green.
As the players arrived the sky
remained overcast and there was little inkling of the drama that was
to come. The Ts took first knock and immediately realised that
batting was not going to be a straightforward task. Recent heavy
rain ensured that the playing surface was soft and green and the
ball didn’t need much invitation to behave decidedly erratically.
Loopy tennis ball bounce was coupled with decent lateral movement
and a score of 130 plus soon looked like it would be pretty
competitive.
The Sussex University pair of Dan
Hough and Matt Freeman opened up for Twickenham. Freeman’s visit
was short and sweet, however, Bennett clipping the top of off stump
with a ball that did plenty. Hough was surviving at the other end,
although hardly flourishing. One close LBW shout off Sims was
followed by a ball that nearly decapitated the Shropshire Lad off a
decent length. Pete Carey, batting at three, played with his
customary poise, stroking the ball neatly into the gaps, and by the
time that Hough drove Sims through the covers for an all run four
the score had moved along nicely to 24-1 off 8. In terms of
free-flowing partnerships this was, however, about as good as it
got. Another good-length-delivery-turned-bouncer nearly maimed
Hough, before he drove loosely at Darby and lost his off stump.
24-2.
Richie Payne came in at four, no
doubt buoyed by the skipper’s confidence in his rarely utilised
batting skills. Payne and Carey kept the score board clicking with
a succession of 2s and 3s before the stylish Kiwi looped a simple
catch to point for 20. Unbeknown to all concerned, this was the end
of the day’s most authoritative innings as the next top score in the
whole game was to be 15. Junnaid Satti, batting at five, came and
went speedily, also caught at point, for 0. The Ts had slipped to
42-4 and were much in need of a captain’s innings by Mark Johnson.
The skipper was, however, nowhere to be found. After a hectic
search of the pavilion and environs it became clear that he was on
the throne, and only by quickly banging on trap one were the Ts
players able to warn their skipper that he was in danger of being
timed out. Thankfully, Johnson raced out to the middle of the nick
of time and that particular disaster was averted. In hindsight, all
the rush was for nothing – Johnson drove Darby airily to cover and
was back on his way to the shack without troubling the scorers.
Things got worse; Richie Payne
departed for 9 to another catch in the covers, while Naved was
removed by the dangerous leg spin of Majunder for 3. Brian Thorne
also fell victim to Majunder (0), leaving 5th team
skipper Holger Kriess and Tony Bendelow to try and stem the flow of
wickets. Kriess in particular mixed some obdurate defence with some
nice attacking shots off the back foot, pulling Bal and Patel nicely
away for fours behind square. Bendelow, as ever, looked solid in
defence and the two slowly started to push the score up towards a
degree of respectability. However, disaster struck when Kriess (13)
tried to call Bendelow through for a single and found himself
marooned mid-wicket. It wasn’t long before the Ts innings came to a
close, with Patel taking a nice caught and bowled to remove Bendelow
and close the Twickenham innings on a paltry 79.
Even though the wicket was not
exactly The Oval in high summer, few gave the Ts any chance of
pulling off an unlikely victory. If such a thing was going to
happen, then it was imperative that the Ts start well in the field.
And this, ably led by skipper Johnson, they certainly did. Junnaid
Satti took the new ball and immediately settled on a decent line and
length. The Pakistani seamer caused all the batters problems and his
figures of 7 overs 0-17 don’t do his two excellent spells justice.
Johnson opted for Tony Bendelow’s medium pace from the Kingston End
and although Majunder signalled his intent by smacking one short
ball through mid-wicket for four, Bendelow soon used his years of
experience to prompt a false shot; Richie Payne took an excellent
catch at mid-off and Twickenham were on their way. The dangerous
looking skipper, Turnball, realised that the best form of defence
could well be attack and he wasted little time in trying to force
the issue; again Bendelow had the last laugh, trapping the opener
leg before for 11. 22-2.
From here on in Twickenham really
lifted their game and permanently had Thames Ditton on the back
foot. Good catches were taken, little was given away on the field
and, as an unlikely victory became ever more possible, a real vibe
began to run through the side. Satti was replaced by the ever-cagey
Brian Thorne and soon the wickets began to tumble. Heptonstall was
first to go (off Thorne’s first ball) for 8 and Andy Wales perished
first ball for 0 thanks to a well-taken catch in the covers by
substitute fielder Khan. BT has two wickets in two balls and the Ts
were on a roll.
Richie Payne replaced Bendelow (7
overs, 2 wickets for 21) before Johnson decided a change of tactics
were in order. Rather than give the batters pace on the ball to
use, he opted to slow things down, Pete Carey quickly coming on to
replace Payne. Thorne, meanwhile, kept bowling slower and slower
and the Thames Ditton batsmen began to look more and more
bamboozled. Hat-trick averted, Thorne had to wait until his third
over for his next wicket as Pemberton (batting at three) and Bennett
(batting at six) looked to rebuild the TD innings. Pemberton looked
solid enough but he was having real trouble getting the ball away;
Bennett also had a decent technique and also looked like he had the
ability to force the issue if need be. Thorne had other ideas,
prompting a false shot from Bennett which saw Dan Hough take a nice
catch in the covers. Bennett departed for what was to be the
highest score of the Thames Ditton innings, 15.
Although TD didn’t need many to
win, the Ts were clearly in control. Johnson nonetheless opted to
take Carey out of the attack, throwing the ball to dibbly-dobbler
Hough. Another wicket fell in Hough’s first over, Patel departing
to another catch by Khan, bringing TD’s overseas players, Sims, to
the middle. Sims immediately tried to be positive, looking lively
at the crease and running quickly between the wickets. As TD edged
to within 15 of victory Thorne once again struck, dismissing the
Australian to a fine catch behind by Freeman. Providing the bowlers
kept their nerve, the finishing line was now in sight. Last man
Darby looked nervous at the crease, but he survived a lively over
from the returning Junnaid Satti, and it was left to Dan Hough to
finish the game off with a full toss that Maughan smacked straight
to a diving Richie Payne at mid on. A fine catch to complete a fine
comeback.
Not many people would have given
Mark Johnson’s men too much of a chance half way through this
encounter. But cricket can be weird and wonderful at times, and the
Ts bowlers and fielders did themselves proud. Junnaid Satti bowled
encouragingly, and Brian Thorne and Tony Bendelow showed that brains
can frequently outdo brawn. All in all, a strange old day but an
enjoyable one if you were playing in the Ts’ colours
By Dan Hough |
