Ian Webb
Almost 500 runs, two half-centuries for Ley Hill players and a batting performance that finished just 12 runs off the target... was I really playing in the Ley Hill 3rd XI last Saturday?
But, it goes without saying that there were the dropped catches, the inevitable collapse, the flurry of boundaries from the opposition, as the bowling figures clearly show, and the run-out chances that went begging. The contrasts in fortunes in the Thirds continue.
On
the day the Firsts gained promotion, a fairly strong side by 3rd XI standards
made the trip over to Durrants to play the Old Merchant Taylor's 4th XI. Mort
won the toss, and into the field we went. Will and Patrick opened the bowling -
Will's figures show nothing of the numerous times he beat the bat, or of the
edge found its way to the third-man boundary, and the cunning slower ball that
bamboozled the batsmen. He deservedly gained the first wicket to fall, before
the Pat-Kash combination snared the next 2 wickets to fall, albeit with the
addition of about 100 runs. Kash's decision to bowl spin removed the no. 4
batsman, who later told us the fifty he hit was only his second - he made the
most of the 3 chances he was given.And what about the run-out chances, I hear. Well the best one (or two) came during Kash's spell. Their batsmen decided to risk a quick single, and Scott missed by inches. They went for the overthrow, by which time Terry had pounced, collected and thrown the ball straight at the base of middle stump - the batsman was surely gone. But maybe not - Kash had other ideas. He stood in front of the stumps, and contrived to take the bails off without the ball AND somehow managed to divert the ball away from the stumps. Who knows how that could have changed the end result...
Our other bowling successes came from Scott Peterson - an astute bowling change by the captain, and the good choice of fielding position for himself resulted in a simple catch, before Scott claimed another by bowling a ball that bounced onto the top of off stump. Pat also had a further success, but the lower-order batsman liked the pace brought by the opening duo's re-introduction and took the game further away from us - the big hitting late on added at least 30 runs and took OMT to a total of 248 off only 36 overs.
After a tea of high standards - you don't see smoked salmon sandwiches on the table at most clubs, we started our reply. Andy and Terry did well to keep the opening bowlers out - almost seeing them off before Terry was dismissed, with myself soon following for yet another duck. Yet again dismayed to find that 2 overs after my dismissal, the "cannon-fodder" bowling came into the attack, and as should happen with that type of bowling, as Will Holman would say, a delightful assortment of pies were dispatched over the boundary by Andy and Will Rothwell.
Helped
by the lower standard bowling, Will raced to a fine 50 before extreme annoyance
was heard across the ground as he top-edged one and was caught at mid-wicket.
Unluckily caught, some might say, as old "MacDonald" - a left arm bowler who was
considerably slower than Paul Green, took the catch with his back to the wicket,
looking straight into the sun with the ball coming over his shoulder! As an
aside, Paul himself asked when we returned to the pavilion: "Was that old guy
MacDonald what's-his-name bowling there? - he's been there for I don't know how
long, I think most remember him from last time we played them." he went on to
say how he always got 4 or 5 wickets, but on this occasion he only claimed two,
on of which was Andy, who after eventually reaching his 50 decided to go for his
shots a bit more and holed out on the boundary for a well-made 77. However, that was seemingly the signal for the start of the collapse, which was in the main part probably the worst hat trick you will see in your life. Craig P was out stumped after a well made 19, before Patrick followed, edging behind to the keeper, going into bat with the usual "slog everything that comes my way" mindset. Tim Kaye then contrived to hand Mavis, as the bowler was known, his hat trick on a plate and the keeper his third action in three balls. Tim's eyes seemed to light up as the ball came down, going first forward, then back, then square on, and as the ball finally reached him the bat came through, slow and horizontal, and the top edge that resulted looped up and fell easily into the keeper's gloves. Next ball, Jim almost made it 4 wickets in 4 balls, but his leading edge fell short of the close fielder.
After the almost very disastrous over, Kash, watching in disbelief from the non-strikers end, sensed that there was still a chance for a win, and the straight drives started flowing from the middle of his bat and whistling to the boundary. Someone who will be able to tell you everything about the whistling is Jim, who saw one flying towards him and ducked. Later he said how the ball had "brushed the back of my shirt". But from my position as umpire, I saw the ball clip the back of his cap as well - a close shave if ever there was one. Unfortunately for us, Kash's heroics were in vain, and as Jim was caught off MacDonald's, and the inning's last ball we had fallen just 13 runs short of what would have been a fantastic victory given that mammoth total.
OMT Fourths 248-7 (Scott Peterson 2 for 28, Kash Shakoor 2 for 50)
Ley Hill 236-8 (Andy Spinks 77, Will Rothwell 62, Kash Shakoor 36*)
Match Drawn
Man of the Match: Jointly awarded to Andy Spinks and Will Rothwell for brilliant but contrasting half-centuries.