Match tied
Exciting, competitive and ultimately a very fair result on Sunday, where the first time opponents Rottingdean proved excellent opponents for AWCC. Two well balanced sides fought manfully to the end to produce a thrilling tie that was not without drama.
The game warrants a longer report to do it justice, but, rather than producing a cricketing Iliad, we must instead settle for the highs, the lows, the great, and the downright bizarre events of the day. Put into bat, AWCC began very solidly with the opening pair putting on 88, Sam going just 5 runs shy of his fifty, Graham nurdling his way to a fine 52, including no less than one boundary a la Boycott (or even our own Laurie at Goring in his seminal innings of eons back). Diddy continued his superb form of the season with 45, including a spectacular 6 over the pavilion. A slight wobble at the end was steadied by Rosie, (23 no), who showed no mercy when challenged by one of the younger players to grace the ground for some seasons. A total of 211 seemed enough without really knowing what the visitors had to offer.
What they had to offer was soon evident when, after being held to under three an over for the first 12 overs, they opened up and looked at one point to be heading for victory. Jamie’s opening stint of 6 overs, amazingly only went for 4 runs, but he had to wait for his second spell before he got his rewards, ending with 3-33. Likewise Jonty took three well deserved wickets (3-51). Mushy Mellor, despite being hit for two early 6’s, stuck to the task, and his figures of 0-41 did not reflect his bowling.
The game ended with AWCC thinking they had won the game, only for the players being a little premature, as they had one more ball to face. Four runs were needed for the visitors to win but AWCC managed to avoid that scenario being played out and, despite desperate running from the Rottingdean batsmen, everyone happily settled for a tied game.
A few mentions now…
After spilling an early chance, Tony showed great nerves to hold two catches. Laurie was a sight to behold when Wanderers had a dodgy few minutes in the field, with an Oscar nominated rant, that showed there was fire in the old boy’s belly still. Jamie is not quite ready for an Oscar, but his leap on taking a wicket would have graced the Beijing gymnastics arena and Simon was one of several to really give of his all in the field.
It was a team effort to be proud of. Well done to both sides. Thanks have been forwarded to the opposition this morning, who have asked us to play two games next season. This is great news for the many amongst us who have a real sense that as a club we are about to enter a defining new phase.
Exciting, competitive and ultimately a very fair result on Sunday, where the first time opponents Rottingdean proved excellent opponents for AWCC. Two well balanced sides fought manfully to the end to produce a thrilling tie that was not without drama.
The game warrants a longer report to do it justice, but, rather than producing a cricketing Iliad, we must instead settle for the highs, the lows, the great, and the downright bizarre events of the day. Put into bat, AWCC began very solidly with the opening pair putting on 88, Sam going just 5 runs shy of his fifty, Graham nurdling his way to a fine 52, including no less than one boundary a la Boycott (or even our own Laurie at Goring in his seminal innings of eons back). Diddy continued his superb form of the season with 45, including a spectacular 6 over the pavilion. A slight wobble at the end was steadied by Rosie, (23 no), who showed no mercy when challenged by one of the younger players to grace the ground for some seasons. A total of 211 seemed enough without really knowing what the visitors had to offer.
What they had to offer was soon evident when, after being held to under three an over for the first 12 overs, they opened up and looked at one point to be heading for victory. Jamie’s opening stint of 6 overs, amazingly only went for 4 runs, but he had to wait for his second spell before he got his rewards, ending with 3-
The game ended with AWCC thinking they had won the game, only for the players being a little premature, as they had one more ball to face. Four runs were needed for the visitors to win but AWCC managed to avoid that scenario being played out and, despite desperate running from the Rottingdean batsmen, everyone happily settled for a tied game.
A few mentions now…
After spilling an early chance, Tony showed great nerves to hold two catches. Laurie was a sight to behold when Wanderers had a dodgy few minutes in the field, with an Oscar nominated rant, that showed there was fire in the old boy’s belly still. Jamie is not quite ready for an Oscar, but his leap on taking a wicket would have graced the Beijing gymnastics arena and Simon was one of several to really give of his all in the field.
It was a team effort to be proud of. Well done to both sides. Thanks have been forwarded to the opposition this morning, who have asked us to play two games next season. This is great news for the many amongst us who have a real sense that as a club we are about to enter a defining new phase.
Rottingdean 17 august 2008
