Twickenham Run Out of Luck

Hanwell CC     237-8 off 40 overs (R Kumur 110*, A. Jones 38, Shemal Campbell 5-35)

Twickenham CC   173 a/o off 39 overs (Nihal Tomar 45, Steve Gomes 38, H Younis 3-6)

Despite a spirited performance in the field, Twickenham CC’s Sunday XI suffered defeat against Hanwell on Sunday 6 June,

Having lost the toss, Twickenham were asked to field and, after a round of introductions, Skipper Donelan led out the boys from The Green.

With little breeze, a slightly green-looking track, and Disco Hough’s pronouncement that this was “a little part of Shropshire in West London” ringing in his ears, Donelan entrusted Pete Mair with the new cherry.

After a slightly rusty start – only fair after an elongated winter break – Mair was soon on the spot from The Cornwall End, proving difficult to get away.  As his eight-over spell progressed, the outside edge was beaten ever more regularly.

Rishi took first dibs from The Essex End and, although not as consistent as Mair, also delivered some more than useful balls, being unlucky not to take a wicket on several occasions.

Unfortunately for both openers, though, any loose deliveries were dealt with harshly by Hanwell’s opening pair, and the scoreboard ticked over at a rate of knots, 50 being passed in only the seventh over.

When the breakthrough eventually came, Rishi  with a fuller delivery enticing a false shot and an LBW to-boot, Twickenham’s hopes were raised.

With Shemal Campbell now replacing the unlucky Mair (0 for 31 off 8 overs) from The Cornwall End, and quickly taking two wickets with his efficient off-spin, there then followed a period of consolidation, with the scoring rate being slowed.  Good support came from around the field, with special mention for the efforts of Nihal Tomar, Chris Banghu and Tom Nickels.

Unfortunately for Twickenham, though, Hanwell’s No.3 Kumar, after a steady start, began to play more expansively.  First, the poorer deliveries started to fly further, then even the better deliveries were taking the aerial route from the square... often into the deep grass (and beyond!) surrounding the playing area.

He particularly took a liking to Donelan’s Giraffe-spin, with his five overs providing amble entertainment (and 48 runs!) for the passing crowds.

To be fair, all of Twickenham’s bowlers eventually took a battering at the hands of Kumar, and his clean hitting did much to kick-start the innings and accelerate the total beyond 200.

Twickenham never gave up in the field, though, with Shemal returning to the fray late in the day and picking up another three wickets to complete his well-deserved 5-for.  Credit, here, for two steepling catches in the (very) deep from Nihal and Martin Fairn.

The innings closed on 237, a target that wasn’t felt to be beyond the capabilities of Twickenham’s batting line-up.

Tea was taken in Hanwell’s cosy pavilion (good to still see on the wall the pics of a very young Dave Higgins Esq.), with a decent array of sandwiches (cheese, meat and fish although, thankfully, not all in the same two slices of bread!), cakes and fresh fruit.  All washed down by a decent cuppa, or orange squash.  A solid B on the now infamous Hendo-meter!

Ed’s Note – I’ve challenged myself to get the Hendo-meter mentioned on the TMS website on the BBC this summer, so watch this space...

After tea, and with a plethora of batting stars eager to get cracking on the total posted, Bhangu and Uzzi Khan were given the nod and asked to get Twickenham off to a solid start – nothing spectacular was required, just a sensible start to get the scoreboard ticking over...

It must be noted at this point that, with the earlier sunshine now becoming more watery, and a cross-ground breeze picking up (still sound like a “little part of Shropshire”, Disco?) batting conditions weren’t quite as easy as earlier in the afternoon.

However, that doesn’t really account fully for the unfortunate turn of events that then followed.

Firstly, Bhangu was clean bowled at the end of the first over with a decent ball that swung late.

Shortly after the often-destructive Khan was caught in the covers.

Dave Green, batting at four, then departed to the first (of three) direct-hit run outs, with just three runs to his name.

And, if all that wasn’t enough, Martin Fairn took leave of the crease, too, with a solitary single against his name.

Even without chasing a reasonably-challenging 237 off 40 overs, losing four of your top five with the score barely in double figures is bound to prove tricky...!!!

Tom Nickels and Tomar then steadied the ship, with both starting to look solid and play some decent shots all round the wicket, before Nickels departed, caught and bowled, for 21.

Gomes then joined Tomur at the wicket and they, with more than half the innings still to come, proceeded to build a partnership of note, with both batsmen playing ever-more confidently.  Shots followed all around the wicket, with some cheeky runs scampered, too, as the total first took on an air of respectability, then started to get interesting...

Were Twickenham about to stage a dramatic comeback, perhaps to rival that of Lazarus...?

Actually, no, they weren’t.

After an entertaining knock of 38, Gomes fell LBW.  Shemal then contributed a swift 6 before becoming another LBW victim, thus bringing Donelan to the crease.

At which point, in a neigh-on impossible run-chase, you know you’re up against it!

However, after ‘having a look’ for two balls, Donelan then proceeded to sweep/paddle/somehow hoik a four behind square on the leg-side, thus providing the second miracle of this report (Lazarus being the first)!

Unfortunately for Twickenham, though, that proved about the last meaningful act of the innings, with Rishi and Pete Mair both departing fairly quickly after all-too-brief cameos at the end.

The Twickenham innings closed on 173 all out.

Although defeat is always disappointing, Twickenham battled throughout in the field, and made a fight of it (mainly through Tomar and Gomes) after an uncharacteristically poor start with the bat.

Credit must go to Hanwell, not only for their batting display well-marshalled as it was by Kumar,  but also for their generally tight bowling and superb fielding, with three direct-hit run outs testament to this.

The game was played in the right spirit, the opposition were friendly and the tea was good – other than a win (next time, perhaps!), what more do you want from a game of Sunday cricket?

A Donelan, 7 June 2010