Swords 2 won by 4 wickets
We were looking forward to
this return match. Firstly, because we felt we hadn’t really done ourselves
justice in Swords and secondly because they are good guys. Grounds men Tim and
Barry had been preparing a grass wicket for 2 weeks in anticipation that we
would get home advantage by playing on it. The previous week was sunny and warm
and when Saturday dawned a cloudless sky it was the default option. The
whatsapp exchange was fast and furious. Should we bat or should we bowl. Bumble
says: Win the toss, think about bowling. Think about bowling again. Then bat.
The decision was taken out of our hands when Swords won the toss and ignored
the Bumble maxim. We were put into bat.
For the first 10 overs the wicket
was slightly unpredictable and runs were hard to come by against some good
bowling. Richard Greene dug in for 27 runs having seen off the openers with the
help of Trevor Wardrop. Next up the ever reliable Wasif put on 59 with the help
of Moon at the other end. A most unfortunate run out deprived us of the
possibility of another fine innings from John Threadgold. A man in sparkling
form almost guaranteed to get runs. After that the tail collapsed with the
total at 138.
Richard and Claudia provided
an excellent tea, which was important given the delicious curry we received
when we played this match in Swords. It was also very reassuring to see Mick
Neville back at headquarters and despite the recent spell in hospital he kept
score for a while. We thought he had enough excitement this week but he left to
put a bet on the Derby.
We thought 138 was a good
score but felt that another 20 runs would have put us in the driving seat. Case
and Threadgold like Butch and Sundance toiled away to produce a very tight
spell of bowling giving away few runs. However the batsmen were cautious and
although Joseph went in the fourth over Nazeer who kept his head down and his
bat straight replaced him. Moon at first change bowled 8 overs of line and
length which wouldn’t have been out of place in Division 1. His figures of 1 for
12 did not reflect the precision of his art. Next up Wasif bowled 4 overs at
pace and then 4 overs of spin. I’m not sure the batsman would have appreciated
the difference given the speed of his spinners. Certainly the wicket keeper
looked in danger of a visit to A & E. He picked up 3 wickets for 31 runs.
We had them 6 for 117 and
whilst we were not fully in control we were in the game. After all you expect
number 8 to make a few singles and give up his wicket gracefully. Apparently
this is not the way in Swords and Paul struck 2 magnificent sixes off his feet
to put them firmly in command. It was just a matter of time before they secured
victory with 4 men still to bat.
There were two critical run
outs that may have changed the course of the game. John’s run out in the first
innings and a possible run out in the second innings which the umpire judged
not out. The first was out and the second was close. Such is cricket.
An enjoyable game played
against a sporting team. What else would you want to do on a sunny summer
afternoon?
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