Twickenham dominate, but ultimately have to settle for a winning draw against Harrow

 

Twickenham    271-9   (J. Munting 104no, W. Paull 42, D. Crook 4-77)

Harrow            165-7   (S. Bhopal 36no, J. Munting 4-40, J-P Cronje, 2-21)

 

Jimmy Munting had a day to remember on Twickenham Green, posting his first senior century for the club and pouching 4 early wickets to have Harrow reeling at 26-4.  Ultimately, however, Twickenham’s day ended in frustrating circumstances, as Suk Bhopal (36no off 97 balls) and Farrukh Chowdrey (29no in 48 balls) dealt with everything Twickenham could throw at them and blocked out for a losing draw.

 

The day was warm, the track hard and the outfield lightening fast.  A day, it would seem, to bat.  And, on winning the toss, stand-in skipper JP Cronje had little hesitation in sending Harrow in to the field.  Once again the Ts had done a bit of juggling with their starting XI; skipper Carlos Nunes was away on family duty so Simon Hawley made a welcome return to the first team, whilst both Dave Russell and Ashley Gray were still sunning themselves in foreign climes. 

 

Cronje subsequently opted to keep faith with the top order that served the Ts well at South Hampstead the week before.  Dan Hough and England indoor international Clint McCabe started the ball rolling.  Hough began warily against the out swing of Darren Crook, playing and missing a couple of times outside his off stump.  McCabe, meanwhile, looked in fine nick, striking his first ball from Tushaar Karia magnificently for four and then pulling a big full toss for a six that went half way to Arthur’s restaurant.  By the time Hough straight drove Crook for a boundary passed mid off things looked set fair. 

 

However, 34-0 soon became 41-2 and the dismissal of both openers (Hough for 16 off 35 balls, McCabe for 23 off 28) ensured that the home side didn’t get carried away, and both Warwick Paull and Jimmy Munting mixed cautious defence with some sprightly running between the wickets.  The 50 came up in the 14^th over and, as the batsmen looked to be a little more expansive, the runs slowly began to come more freely.  Paull appeared very much at home, and the elegant South African looked like he was really going to fill his boots.  It therefore came as something of a surprise when Tushaar Karia removed the Twickenham number three, stumped by Wasim Aslam, for 42 (50 balls).  103-3 off 22. 

 

The game had reached a critical stage.  Twickenham needed to consolidate, whilst Harrow sensed a chance to make further inroads.  The Ts needed one of their remaining batters to take charge and steer the innings for the next 20 overs or so.  And, continuing his good early season form, Munting proved to be just the man for the task.  He drove with freedom and took singles and twos at will.  His 50 came up off 71 balls, and, alongside JP Cronje, he ensured that the Ts’ score moved along nicely.  150 came and went in the 32^nd over, and the 200 arrived in the 39^th.  With several big-hitters left in the shack, 250 plus was certainly on the cards.

 

Cronje’s departure for 36 (39 balls), well caught by Romero off Avinash Karia, didn’t slow the rate down and although wickets continued to fall the runs kept coming.  Scriven perished to the returning Crook for 7, whilst Mike Vosloo fell to Harrow’s OP Luke Quinlivan.  Simon Hawley also fell on his sword in the final thrash, as did Tom Guy who was unluckily run out.  Jawid Dardarkar did his bit, running hard with Munting to get the New South Welshman up to the century mark – something he achieved off 115 balls, just before Cronje’s declaration came.

 

The most important part of any cricketing day, the tea, was solid if unspectacular.  The Bramley’s apple pies always go down a treat, as does the pasta.  There may be a call for a bit more variety in future weeks (old skool bread and jam, as was apparently enjoyed by the 4^ths last week, would be welcomed), but all in all not a bad doo.  A solid C on the Hendo-tea-meter.

 

One downside of having an opening bowler who has just discovered that he (really) likes batting, is that when he gets to the ‘core business’ part of the day he can understandably be feeling a little jaded.  Munting, whilst not reaching the pacey standards set in previous weeks, showed that fast bowling’s not all about hurling it down as fast as you can.  Wasim Aslam, after getting off the mark with a comedy six (involving four overthrows), was bowled by a big inswinger, and Harrow found themselves in the rather odd position of being 7-1 off just two legitimate two balls (!).  Avinash Karia soon left in similar fashion and the Ts were on the charge.  Munting was swinging it prodigiously and all the Harrow top order looked uneasy against him.  20-2 became 21-3 when Tushaar Karia was smacked full on the toe giving umpire Hogden little option but to uphold the leg before appeal.  By the time Munting claimed fellow Sydney-boy Quinlivan thanks to a well taken catch by Cronje in the gulley, the visitors’ innings was in disarray. 

 

At 26-4 only one result was on the cards.  A Twickenham win.  But Harrow, to their credit, dug in and tried to make life as difficult as possible for Cronje’s men.  Pritesh Vaghela rode his luck, whilst Darren Crook played with plenty of conviction off his legs.  Cronje began to rotate his bowlers, and Warwick Paull in particular started to cause all sorts of problems.  Vaghela seemed to have pleased the cricketing Gods, twice being dropped in the slips off consecutive balls, and then again two overs later by a diving Clint McCabe at third slip.  It quickly became clear; no matter how well he bowled, it was simply not being to be Paull’s day. 

 

Eventually wickets did come, however, the stylish Crook departing for 22 (39 balls) to Cronje (2-21 off 11, including 7 maidens), and Vaghela finally departing run out thanks to some very smart work by Paull and Matt Bendelow.  The Ts were again on the up.  But that, for Ts fans, was as good as it got.  Skipper Suk Bhopal and Farrukh Chowdrey decided that ‘thou shall not pass’ and blocked their way to within sight of a losing draw.  Cronje swapped and changed his bowlers, but to no effect, and both batters negotiated 17 overs without – if we’re being honest – too many dramas. 

 

Ultimately, a winning draw when you’ve scored 271 and the opposition are nowhere in sight feels like a bit of a let down.  But the four points were still enough to push Twickenham up into third place, one solitary point behind North Middlesex.  Next week sees the Ts finish the first half of the season at league leaders Southgate; a decent challenge and a game that’ll be a real indicator of how serious the Ts championship ambitions really are. 

 

Dan Hough