North London 3’s Vs North Middlesex
The day started
well with me winning the toss and deciding that as the temperature was only
about 90°C
we should have a field. We knew
this would be hard work but that it gave us a better chance of winning the game.
We fielded with great effort and enthusiasm throughout the 53 overs in
the field, this was one of many positives that we took from the game, our team
spirit was superb resulting in us being able to constantly apply pressure and
bowl out a side on a pitch that was dead.
Adam Warden and
Jermaine Scantlebury opened the bowling and bowled very well both deserving more
wickets than they got. Jonathan Scantlebury then took over from his brother and
bowled with supreme control, consistently beating the bat but again with out
much joy, our superb bowling and fielding display tied NM to 75 for 3 from 25
overs, with their skipper batting well at one end but a fragile batting order
below him, however he was becoming increasingly frustrated by the pressure we
were exerting (9 runs in 11 overs) and decided to take some risky singles, a bad
call from the other end left the chairman with a chance of a run out which he
took very well. Hanis then decided
that he wanted to clean up their middle order and did so by taking 4 wickets all
clean bowled. At this stage we
thought we might have kept the opposition total under 150 but a resolute last
stand took them up to 197 before Matt Buckley came on and 3 balls later we were
in the bar eating tea.
We knew it would
be hard to bat after fielding so long in the heat and it was vital that we got a
good start, I opened with Ken Tuitt who was playing his first game in the 3’s,
we put on 96 for the fist wicket before Ken was dismissed for 27 playing a big
shot to a bad ball and edging behind, Ken was one of the positives of this game,
he fielded very well and showed a lot of promise in his batting. John ‘little chef’ Swann came in at number 3 batting for
the first time for the 3’s, his first three shots were all big and extravagant
and if he had made contact with the ball with any one of them, they would have
gone miles. However once the ‘little chef’ did get in he batted very well.
I was the next to fall playing a shot far to early and missing out on a
big score ending on a jug avoiding 48.
James ‘Rimmer’ Turner came in at 4, he continued his good form and led us home with an impressive 41 n.o. All the batsmen (except Hanis) got a score and batted very responsibly allowing us to pass their total with the loss of just four wickets.
This game showed how much we had grown as a unit, players are playing to their potential and we are enjoying our cricket, every one stood up and took responsibility in the field, special mention to the ‘little chef’ who kept and did a fine job, Ken, Jermaine and the Chairman also deserve a special mention for their commitment in the field, superb. We must also say a big thank you to Steve Mathurin who umpired for us and did a great job, keeping aspects of the game that are beyond the control of the payers from influencing the result of the game, everyone in the team owes you thanks (although I’m sure you’d prefer beer). Thanks also to those who were not playing but who sent their messages of support.
This is my favorite sentence of this match report;
Well done everyone, but in order to stay where we belong we will have to continue to work hard for each other and keep improving, well done everybody, it was a pleasure to be playing in the side as it is usually.
report by: The Beef