TAME TEN-MAN T’S TRAIL TAMILS
MTSSC Fours 176 ao in 48 overs (Laldin
Bhatti 5 wickets)
T’s 126 ao in 36 overs
T’s lose by 50 runs
After relegation from Div 1 of the 1987
League the T’s approached the seasons opener at the Post Office
ground in Sudbury in high spirits, despite the cold and damp
conditions, with what looked like a decent side.
Unfortunately, following a last-minute drop out, the T’s managed
to lose when faced with a very gettable target thanks mainly to
poor shot-selection in the batting department. This was especially
frustrating as it followed a spirited bowling and fielding
performance from the T’s which saw the home side go from 90-1 to
176 ao.
Stand-in skipper Walker (a well
worn phrase familiar to avid readers of 4’th eleven match reports
over the last few seasons) lost the toss and found himself and his
troops in the field after a brief clarification with the Tamils
skipper of the new playing conditions introduced for this season.
With the weather as it was the order of the day was as many layers
as possible although new player Ross Montgomery bucked the trend
and wore his summer collection. Fortunately the morning rain never
materialised so we just got cold throughout the afternoon rather
than wet and cold.
John-Paul Bowman and Joe Gordon opened
the attack. Matt Freeman took the keepers gear and the umpires
took the field dressed in attire more appropriate for a post-lunch
Christmas Day stroll than a cricket field in May. Not complaining
lads; just pointing out how darn cold it was.
The action commenced and JP soon
opened his account following a sharp leg-side take from Freeman.
The second-wicket partnership consolidated and then advanced the
home teams score with Ashok in particular taking a number of
chances as the aerial route was preferred and the ball ended up in
gaps in the field. Senthi played a more orthodox innings with a
couple of decent extra-cover drives gaining runs. Both bowlers
plugged away with new player Gordon not quite generating the pace
and movement seen in the winter nets and Bowman missing the stumps
on a number of occasions. With a little more good fortune
both bowlers could have picked up wickets as the bats rode their
luck and edges, lobs, Chinese cuts etc just failed to bring the
T’s rewards. As it was too many loose deliveries, especially wides,
helped the score mount.
Another T’s debutante, Sri Shrikanth
(or Sri as he will now be named), took over from Gordon and he too
failed initially , to live up to his net bowling. Laldin Bhatti
took over from Bowman as spin was introduced. The second wicket
partnership was soon broken by Sri with the score on 90-odd
(scorebook not copied totally) and the T’s then proceded turn the
screw. Runs dried up as both bowlers found a decent rhythm backed
up by some spirited fielding and teamwork.
Drinks were taken after 25 overs and
the rumoured flask of tea failed to materialise. Instead we were
presented with a jug each of orange and blackcurrant squash. Fair
enough you might say but some joker had laced both jugs with
rather a lot of ice. A very welcome addition in the middle of
‘flaming’ June but not today! A black mark against the Post Office
catering staff who had obviously not ventured out of doors to
check the air temperature.
Walker opened his fielding account
taking 2 catches with Gordon also taking 1 at mid-on. Bhatti
whirled away to claim his first 5-wicket haul for a while and Sri
weighed in with 4 as the T’s dismissed Tamils for 176 after 48 of
the 50 allotted overs. This was a decent effort by the T’s in the
field as the 10 men covered the ground and did the extra work for
their missing player. The ball was chased to the boundary by pairs
of fielders and there was plenty of vocal encouragement ,
especially from Montgomery, and some decent ‘banter’.
Tea was taken and after some initial
confusion as to which tables we were supposed to use and , indeed,
which teas were ours it proved to be a very decent affair. No
problems with quantity although a slight lack of variety on the
sandwich filling and cake front was disappointing as was the lack
of fruit. On the plus side we had piping-hot chicken nuggets (not
particularly healthy but very welcome nonetheless) and fairly warm
chicken legs. The home side were generous hosts making sure
the T’s had first dibs on the food and they also sorted us out
with hot drinks. All in all a decent, tasty spread which earns a
B-.
With yet more layers applied the T’s
took to the task of chasing down the 176 with Montgomery and the
returning from the wilderness (now living in Kings Cross – a far
cry from Box Hill I suspect) Bhangu opening the innings. The
partnership showed early promise with Montgomery playing some fine
shots and the scoreboard showed a healthy 22 in the 7’th over
before Bhangu ran himself out going for a needless second run.
No problem we thought as a decent batting line-up should be able
to overcome this blip. Hussain came in at 3 and things looked good
as the score again moved along nicely. The remaining opener fell
tamely after 27 decent runs and sadly the tone was set for the
rest of the innings there and then. The remaining bats , with the
exception of T’s man-of-the-match Bhatti (37), all proceded to
lose wickets with poor shot-selection. The bowling looked
innocuous enough but something must have been happening as runs
were not abundant and wickets fell at depressingly regular
intervals in the gathering gloom. The home side picked up the
final T’s wicket to win the match by 50 runs with 8 overs
remaining. Lord knows how dark it would have been if we had
stayed the course!
So a disappointing first game back in
Div 2 for the T’s Fourth string but there were encouraging signs
for the future. It is unlikely this particular line-up will bat as
badly again and with players to come back I suspect the side will
strengthen as the season progresses.
Captain Holger Kriess ,who was away on
family duty in South Africa, would not have been pleased by the
events in the second innings and will surely demand an improvement
in coming matches.