1st XI vs Harrow Town
Saturday, 23rd August 2003 - League
NLCC vs Harrow Town
NLCC – IAN JOHNS, JAMIE RUSSELL, JACK GODFREY-WOOD, PATRICK MILLS, MARK ASKEW(wk), JIM GREEN, TOM WAKEFORD, ALISTAIR HART(*), JACK ATCHINSON, BEN WAKEFORD, TOM AMEDEE.
NLCC PREVAIL IN CRUCIAL PROMOTION BATTLE
NLCC traveled to Rayners Lane to take on fellow promotion hopefuls Harrow Town on Saturday, in what was probably the club’s single most important game for at least a decade. Harrow Town started the game in second place, 3 points ahead of NLCC, having recently lost 5 points for fielding an unregistered player in a previous game.
Prior to the game there had been many less than complimentary reports flying about concerning the Harrow Town pitch. NLCC arrived expecting to find an under prepared dust bowl, but discovered a parched, brown outfield, and a bright green playing surface that would not have looked out of place in April. The groundsman had wisely watered the wicket and left a generous amount of grass upon it to prevent the surface breaking up.
NLCC skipper, Hart, duly lost the toss and was amazed that his opposite number expressed himself unsure what to do, common sense prevailed and the home team elected to bowl on what was clearly going to be a bowler friendly pitch.
Predictably, there was prodigious seam, and swing from the first ball, and the visitors innings got off to a bad start with the loss of Jamie Russell in the 2nd over for a duck. Jack Godfrey-Wood(14) played some nice drives before being caught off the first ball of the 13th over with the score on 29. The partnership of Patrick Mills and Ian Johns saw the visitors through to drinks after the 25th over, with 100 on the board. This was a position of some strength on this pitch, and owed a lot to the watchful manner in which Johns played(or rather left) the new ball, and the excellent strokeplay and determination of Mills. Unfortunately the partnership was broken when Mills fell LBW to the 2nd ball after drinks. Mark Askew(5) and Jim Green(1) fell in quick succession, and the game was once again back in the balance at 121-5 after 35 overs.
All of the middle order had the benefit of the reassuring site of Ian Johns at the other end when making their way to the middle, Ian continued to deny the Town bowlers his wicket, and steadily accumulated runs on his way to what appeared to be an inevitable 3rd ton in 4 league innings (his only failure having been last week’s 95 against Actonians!), he even found time to play one of his trademark reverse sweeps. An excellent partnership developed with Tom Wakeford(26), seeing NLCC move past their skipper’s self imposed target of 180, when the 6th wicket fell for 182 in the 46th over. The skipper then joined Johns for some single scampering, and Ian reached 3 figures in the 47th over before playing some magnificent shots on his way to 116. He batted for all but 8 balls of the NLCC innings, and ensured that they were able to post a very respectable total. Unfortunately the tail were unable to match the skippers speed between the wickets, and 2 run outs later the visitors were all out off the last ball of the 50th over for 224 leaving Hart 9 not out.
Before the start of the Harrow Town reply NLCC identified the key wickets as those of opener Manley, and middle order batsmen, M.Jadunath, and A.Mohammed. Town got off to a steady start, 47 for the first wicket off 15 overs, despite an excellent spell from Tom Amedee which saw him beat the bat regularly. The usually prolific, Ben Wakeford, went wicketless in his first spell and made way for Wakeford junior who immediately found some swing and seam movement. Batting was always a difficult proposition against Tom throughout an excellent 17 over spell that produced brilliant figures of 5-60. Wakeford junior accounted for both openers, the dangerous Chhaniara for a duck, and the number 9 who had scored a threatening, if somewhat agricultural, 30. The Town skipper, Michael Jadunath remained at the crease, and compiled a very good innings of 62 which threatened to take the game away from NLCC, before he fell victim to Patrick Mills, who for the 3rd game in succession picked up 2 very useful wickets.
The wicket of Jadunath broke an 8th wicket partnership of 42 and reduced Town to 176-8. Jamie Russell then held his nerve under a skyer from the number 9 to reduce Town to 189-9, and Ben Wakeford then returned for the last 5 overs from the pavilion end. He immediately produced a snorter to have the number 10 caught behind, but it was a no-ball!! Fears that Wakeford’s clumsy feet were going to deny NLCC a deserved 10 points were allayed however when with 3 overs and 3 balls remaining Ben had the number11 caught behind by Askew.
This was a great team effort. In truth we can bat, bowl, and field better, but the most impressive aspect was the way we stuck together as a team, and showed a great deal of character and mental strength in a crucial game that fluctuated from one side to the other. Whilst it was a team effort however it would not have been achieved without a great spell from Tom Wakeford, and the most accomplished innings I have seen by an NLCC player, Ian Johns, in more than 15 years of league cricket.
We have not made it to the promised land yet, and recognize that we must continue to play to the same high standard for the last 2 weeks of the season, but we certainly took a huge step forward last Saturday.
Well done, and a huge thank you to all involved.
Report by: Skipper