TYGER TYGER! T’S OVERCOME HEAT TO MAUL HUNTERS FROM THE NORTH

Edmonton IV’s 202 ao in 50 overs (Singh 4 for 53, Sri 3 for 41)

T’s 205 for 2 in 39.2 overs (Hussain 52, Donelan 45, Tomar 41*, Ubale 50*)

T’s win by 8 wickets

The T’s 4’th string produced their own ‘fearful symmetry’ in the batting department to overcome Edmonton’s total and rack up a win following on from last weeks disappointment at near-neighbours Teddington. A sterling effort in the field restricted the North London outfit to 202 and this total was passed with 22 balls to spare in an efficient chase that never truly taxed the Twickenham batting lineup.

Skipper Kriess was away on World Cup duty , observing Teutonic progress from a Bierkellar somewhere in Teddington, so it was left to Walker to take charge of proceedings.  The toss was duly lost (that’s a 100% negative record so far this season – 2/2) and , given the conditions, it was no surprise to find the travelling side electing to bat first.  Given they  had taken in excess of 2 and a half  hours to negotiate the M25 I doubt if standing around in the field for a potential 50 overs would have gone down well.

The home side took on as much fluid as possible, a 2-drinks refuelling strategy was agreed upon, and the action commenced 40 mins later than the expected start time. With Broom Rd’s outfield resembling the Atacama desert it was imperative to bowl  and field well as the ball was likely to travel quickly. Bowman and Sri opened up and immediately chances came; 2 sharp opportunities arose in the first over although , to be truthful, Walker didn’t know much about his as it smacked into his midriff at forward short leg before he realised what was happening. An inch or 2 lower and he would certainly now be talking in a much higher register! (note to self – maybe Dan Hough is right about wearing a box in the field!)

Wickets fell at regular intervals with Sri removing the first 3 batsmen in a destructive 13 over opening salvo . Bowman after producing an impressive, but wicketless, spell was replaced by young debutante Sharma (not the Indian Elvis!) who generated impressive pace from his left-arm. The first drinks break was taken with the score on 50 for 3 and the T’s in the ascendancy. As the umpires changed over it was noted that Dave ‘Hendo’ Henderson appeared to have mastered the tricky art of bi-location as ‘he’ strode out to take charge of the river end.  Looks, physique and mannerisms of the 5’th teams all-rounder were in evidence as the Edmonton ‘doppleganger’ caused merriment in the T’s slip cordon as a request was made to appeal for the next wicket by shouting ‘Hendo’ rather than the more traditional ‘Howzat’! This was granted but I don’t recall it being exercised.

Sri eventually made way for another debutante, Singh, from the road end and the wickets kept falling at roughly 30 run intervals. By the second drinks break the score had advanced to 118 for 6 with Singh grabbing a couple. The T’s fielders were doing themselves proud with Donelan snaffling a couple and Bowman taking a fine leaping effort at short mid-wicket.

Buoyed by the orange squash the T’s managed 2 more quick wickets with Rand taking an excellent stumping to remove the efficient looking Aylott (39) who was starting to cause problems in the middle-order. Bowman came back for a second spell and took a richly deserved victim , clean bowling the number 8 Hare. It appeared the T’s would be looking at chasing a sub-150 score but a combination of the extreme heat, tiredness and good tail-end batting saw the Edmonton total advance rather more than the T’s wanted. In the end, with a wicket falling to Singh  on the last ball of the innings, and after a ragged last few overs  the boys from Hydeside posted a final score of 202 all out.

Tea  was the usual high-quality and high-volume (enough for a post-match snack)  Freeman snr production which was enjoyed by both sides. A high fruit content (melon and pinapple) was well received as were the samosas, bhajis and assorted cakes. I think the jam tarts were particularly well-received by the ever-increasing ant population who have taken up residence in the kitchen area. At times it was reminiscent of the classic Tom and Jerry cartoon (http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/characters_view.cfm?CharID=30) and I half expected to see a bhaji move across the counter. About time the school did something about these pests I think.

Donelan and Hussain padded up and the second act began with the run-rate required being a very achievable 5 an over. The boys had no trouble in reaching this as Donelan, in particular, displayed a positive, and often aggressive,  approach driving through the off-side with ease and power.  After 10 overs the score had reached 52, which was right on track, and with Hussain picking up the pace it all looked good. Unfortunately the first wicket fell, in the 20’th over, as Donelan offered a catch, 5 short of his 50, with the opening partnership clocking up 94.

Tomar came in and , after reaching his 50, we lost Hussain to a very smart catch deep in the outfield; to be honest my money was on the ball and momentarily it looked like the T’s momentum was stalling. Not a bit of it as Ubale carried on where he left off last week and the new batting partnership soon reached the required run rate. At this point the afternoon took a spooky turn as Hendo appeared, with Huntington M in tow, on the boundary. Is it possible to tri-locate we wondered? We soon discovered he had the day off cricket (looking after the nipper) so was not part of the 5’th team effort at Lohana.  He proceded to pooh-pooh any consideration of a long-lost brother from the Edmonton region and disagreed on the physical similarities on display. Oddly the Edmonton ‘Hendo’ had been twirling away from the river end and had taken the 2 wickets to fall. Like I said; spooky.

With good running between the wicket the T’s score raced along and with Ubale in particular punishing anything short the game reached it’s conclusion with overs to spare as the T’s ran out victors by 8 wickets. Tomar ended on 41 and Ubale 46 not out respectively. After a brief discussion about the awarding of 4 byes which Ubale claimed had tickled the toe-end of his bat his score was re-adjusted to 50.

A good win for the T’s with a committed fielding display and great batting. Rand kept wicket very well in difficult conditions and the bowlers turned in good performances with Bowman unlucky not to have got more victims. Freeman performed admirably in the field. The  match was played in a good, friendly yet competitive spirit and the T’s have reached the half-way point of the season in fine fettle. After a slow start to the season momentum is building and it is hoped the second half will see a surge up the table starting with the visit of Middlesex Tamils next week.