Osterley       247-8 (Fazal 86, Oman 36, Sarvesh 33no, G. Hughes 2-11, K. Rand 2-30)

Twickenham  233-8 (G. Hughes 95, T. Platts 50)

 

Twickenham and Osterley served up a run feast on the Green on Sunday 27^th April.  Osterley posted an imposing 247-8 off 35 overs with the impressive Fazal helping himself to 86.  While Twickenham’s overseas player, Grant Hughes, was at the wicket the home side nonetheless looked more than capable of reaching their target, but once he departed for 95 the Ts slipped behind the rate, eventually falling 14 runs short.

 

Games between Twickenham and Osterley – at all levels – are usually highly entertaining affairs.  And Sunday’s encounter proved no different.  A damp and dreary Sunday morning prompted the skippers to opt for a 35 overs-a-side encounter on what still looked a pretty decent batting surface.  On winning the toss Osterley’s skipper, the evergreen Amar Rathore, had little hesitation in having a bat and before long openers Fazal and Madan were making good progress.  Fazal drove through, and over, the covers with plenty of gusto, whilst Madan worked the ball into the gaps nicely. 

 

Twickenham skipper Dan Hough didn’t help matters by dropping Fazal in the gulley whilst Madan rode his luck as Matt Bendelow spilled a chance behind the stumps – the unlucky bowler on each occasion being Jacques Grobler.  When the breakthrough did come, it did so thanks to a run out; Madan risked a quick single to Grant Hughes at extra cover.  Fazal, at the non-strikers end, wasn’t having any of it and promptly sent his partner back.  Madan’s scrambling effort to make his ground was nonetheless in vain as Bendelow smartly removed the bails and umpire Brennan signalled that the opener was out with a Steve Bucknor-esque nod of the head. 

 

Manoj (well caught by Chris Marshall at long leg) and Harmeet (bowled round his legs by Hughes) came and went quickly, before Zeehan (17) was trapped leg before by the guile of the ageless Karl Rand.  Fazal, meanwhile, carried on his merry way, blasting the ball straight and square with aplomb.  The opener eventually departed for 86 thanks again to the Hughes/Bendelow combination, only this time stumped (in what was a decidedly tight call) rather than run out.

 

Fazal’s departure saw, if anything, the run rate go up as the Osterley tail wagged impressively.  Oman hit powerfully for 36 before becoming another Rand victim (thanks to a well taken Hughes catch in the covers), whilst Sarvesh ended 33no as Osterley closed their innings on 247-8.

 

Given that the Ts needed to score at over 7 an hour, openers Tom Platts and Hughes realised that a solid start was vital in setting a platform.  Hughes quickly signalled that ‘solid’ could go hand in hand with ‘bombastic’; boshing Juner over his head in his first over from then Staines Road end for a first bounce four and then a majestic six.  31 off 5 quickly became 79 off 10 as Platts played some nice shots off his legs and began to wield his cover drive out of its winter hibernation.  Hughes helped himself to another maximum off Juner and the Queenslander cruised passed 50 in only 35 balls.  Platts, not to be out done, reached his 50 from 51 balls and, at 133 for 0 off 17, Twickenham looked set fare. 

 

The dismissal of Platts, bowled by the slippery Sarvesh for a straight 50, didn’t slow the run rate unduly, as Hughes simply carried on wreaking carnage.  However, much as was the case the day before, he fell short of his 100 – only this time he was within genuine touching distance, perishing, run out, for 95 in 70 balls. 

 

James Salmon and Dimi Nicolaides looked to keep the momentum going, although 88 off 12 (with a slow outfield to boot) was not going to be straightforward.  Salmon looked to nudge and nurdle, whilst Nicolaides opened his arms and tried to play freely.  By now, Osterley were nonetheless gaining the upper hand.  Salmon’s departure for 9 was quickly followed by Nicolaides’s for 19, and when Matt Bendelow was run out for 11 the slide was on.  By the time Hough and Paxton found themselves together the Ts needed 43 to win off 30 balls.  Although doable, the Ts clearly needed one big over to get themselves back in the box seat; Hough’s skied pull to deep backward square didn’t help matters, and although Jacques Grobler struck a couple of lusty blows he too departed thanks to a well taken catch on the boundary.  By the time Chris Marshall was run out for 3 the task was becoming ever more challenging and Karl Rand’s attempts to hit 18 off the last 4 balls to win (“skipper, I’m going the dot, six, six, six route rather than the four, four, four, six one, if that’s ok with you”) eventually ended with the Ts falling 14 short.

 

As the rains fell on Sunday morning there wasn’t much hope at all of cricket being played on Twickenham Green that afternoon.  But, English weather being what it is, the day turned out nicely and the batsmen enjoyed themselves in a run feast.  Grant Hughes looked imperious at times, whilst Tom Platts enjoyed a very encouraging debut knock on the Green.  Next week sees the Twickenham Sunday 1^st XI in National Knockout action at British Airways, whilst the Sunday 2^nds take on Chiswick and Latymer.