1st XI vs Hampton Wick Royal

Saturday, 16th August 2003 - League

NLCC vs Old Actonians

NLCC:

A Hart (Capt.)

M Askew (Wkt.)

I Johns

R Swann

S Ali

J Godfrey-Wood

P Mills

T Wakeford

R DeVilliers

B Wakeford

T Amedee

Old Actonians – 202 all out (53 overs)

Hampton Wick Royal – 207-1 (32 overs)

NLCC vs Old Actonians

Having broken their six-week winless streak by defeating Hampton Wick seven days earlier, NLCC were confident going into this game against the lowly positioned Old Actonians.  They had reason to be wary, however, considering the placid nature of NLCC’s pitch and the fact that Old A’s were slap-bang in the middle of a dog-fight for survival in the county league.  While not crucial, the toss was certainly important this week, as Old A’s would most likely settle for a point if batting second.  That the coin came down correctly was a relief to the NLCC skipper, who promptly elected to field first. 

If previous form is to be believed, Old Actonians have been batting well of late, and they immediately got stuck in to the NLCC bowling, scoring at four-an-over for the first ten.  Enter Ben Wakeford, last weeks devastating paceman, to shake things up a bit.  The fielding side (and the tennis players at backward square leg) winced as he ran up, all hoping he would remember he was back on the low, flat wicket that is North London, rather than at Hampton Wick’s concrete strip.  How little faith we had, as Ben again bowled with aggression, this time a little more controlled, picking up four much-needed wickets in two classy spells.  Tom Amedee from the other end found his rhythm and he too troubled the batsmen despite the belter of a wicket.  Nevertheless, Old A’s continued to nick and nudge their way to a total as the ball grew old and the bowlers tired.  North London have been rueing their lack of slow-bowling options all season, yet on Saturday no less than three were used, all bowling tidy spells and picking up vital wickets.  Patrick Mills tweaked his off-spinners with equal guile (the slower ball) and gusto (the quicker ball), while Salman ‘Elvis’ Ali who had been wrenched from the Scoobies, proved what Tom Wakeford has been claiming all season, that you don’t need to turn the ball to pick up wickets bowling slowly.  Ian Johns also bowled his speedy off-breaks and was unlucky not to make a breakthrough.  Special mention should also be made to Jack ‘Yakult’ Godfrey-Wood, who held on to two fine catches in the deep, the second of which he nearly dropped owing to the amount of snow the ball had gathered as it hurtled back from outer-space.  The final Old A’s total: 202 from 52.

The NLCC batting line-up has looked strong and batted well almost all season, but on Saturday the openers brought it to a new level.  Words cannot possibly describe their utter dominance of the Old Actonians bowling, which was battered into submission long before the chase was over.  In 31 breathtaking overs Swann and Johns had put on 201 runs, scoring 95* and 99 respectively.  To see two batsmen playing so well both as individuals and feeding of each other’s confidence was fantastic to watch, and not one player in the NLCC dressing room could have regretted not having a flail of the willow themselves, preferring instead to sit back and watch the increasingly familiar Johns & Swann show.  The only competition left in the game ended up being between the two batsmen – who would strike a century?  With Swann on 89 with just 26 runs left, he was certainly the favourite and in an unconventional move to make sure he didn’t throw his wicket away, the skipper called out his score to spur him on for the final push.  The results were immediate but unexpected.  It appeared that Johns may well have taken issue with his own pursuit of a ton being dismissed, as he despatched the next four balls for sixteen runs.  He fell just short, attempting to go large while the scores were level, and left the final shot – a pull to the boundary for four – to his partner Richard Swann, who finished on 99 not out.

The only worry after long partnerships between these two batsmen is that they don’t tire or injure, but with a total of just twelve singles in their entire double-century partnership, there should be no danger of fatigue.  If North London continue to play with such dominance, they stand every chance of beating Harrow Town and gaining the final promotion slot into division two.

MoM:  The spoils shared by Johns & Swann, with a 201-run opening partnership.

Carrying the Kit:  Who needs a kit-bag with those two batting?

Report by: Fishmonger