Sun-soaked, summery conditions greeted the Strollers at the
picture-postcard Claygate recreation ground, as they filtered in following the
usual train-related chaos. Missing talismanic players Brad Trebilkcock
(romantic weekend with fiancée Sarah in Paris) and Glen Oliver (nursing several
broken ribs), there were no doubt some quiet moments of apprehension in the
minds of several of the players as they prepared for the match against a strong
opposition.
A negotiated toss had us batting first, with Blair Travis
still in pursuit of the club record five centuries in a season, ably assisted
by Rob Wall, strapping the pads onto his self-proclaimed ‘beautifully defined
legs’. Out in the middle, on a dusty turning pitch with uneven bounce, the pair
made good headway…depending on your perspective.
Travis was characteristically fluent from the start, while
Wall displayed watchful patience, grinding out a single to get off the mark in
the fifth over, and then immediately calling for a change of gloves, with the
score standing at 39-0 with Wall’s contribution still on one.
The innings wore on, and with skilful batting the openers
continued to build their partnership. Travis, once into the 90s, signalled to
the pavilion for an ice cream to be brought out to the middle (or maybe it was
water?). While this was being organised for the parched batsman, he fell the
very next ball, making it three scores in the 90s in his previous four innings
(or, once again depending on your perspective, three avoided jugs of beer – the
cost of living crisis has affected us all).
Undeterred by the loss of his partner, and ably assisted by
the freewheeling, power-hitting Pete Robertson, an exhausted and red-faced Wall
fought on, continuing to run hard between the wickets and accumulate runs with
some exquisite stroke play, including several instances of walking down the
pitch at the bowler, and pulling out a pre-meditated reverse pull shot – truly
magnificent stuff.
Two overs away from carrying his bat, Wall finally
succumbed to one that kept low, for a brilliant innings of 68. Robertson
finished on a sublime unbeaten 47 – his highest for the club – after
inadvertently taking a single in the final over to give away the strike. The
target was set – 239 on a tough pitch.
The new ball was thrown to Will “Morkel” Bennett, who,
coming in off his iconic 31-pace run-up, dished out three overs of venomous,
short-pitched bowling at Claygate’s capable openers. At the other end, Freddie
Broster-Turner delivered a beautiful spell of bowling, charging in in the heat
for seven straight overs of tidy lines, beating the bat several times and being
unlucky to come away wicketless, a recurring theme for season 2025.
With what looked like a proper scrap on the Strollers’
hands, the ball was thrown to Isa Pandor, who managed to exploit the
eccentricities of the pitch more than most, and prised out three of the top
order in a characteristically tidy spell. Meanwhile, loitering around the
boundary and notching up his third ice cream and sixth beer of the day, Mike
Pittams yelled a barrage of unsolicited advice to the men in the field.
Claygate’s batting card was strong, featuring a long
procession of swashbuckling, cap-wearing power hitters, and what followed was
an innings of ebbing and flowing momentum changes. Steve Rogers bowled
brilliantly, picking up a crucial wicket, and Jack Le Serve bucked his recent
trend of dropping easy catches, to take a sharp, low one off the bowling of…himself.
With the game at times threatening to get away from them,
the Strollers continued to pick up wickets at key moments, with Alastair
Macaulay dismissing opening batsman Jefe Cervello for a classy 64. A personal
highlight for this correspondent was Rob, ‘the great Wall of Putney’, shrugging
aside his earlier fatigue to patrol the deep point boundary with the agility of
a youthful gazelle.
With the shadows
lengthening, things started to get tight, with concerns that the absent James
Dela Rue may have once again delivered ‘the lord’s curse’ by confidently
proclaiming the game over via WhatsApp, when Claygate were 164-7.
Macaulay and Tristan Hooper combined to bowl well at the
death, holding their nerve to take four wickets between them and end a stubborn
partnership to finally finish Claygate off – all out for 223. The troops were
finally able to enjoy a cold beer at the lovely clubhouse with a friendly
opposition. A fantastic day out in Claygate.
Capt: Steve Rogers. Wkt: Pete Robertson.
Match reporter: Jack Le Serve. Match fees: Alastair Macaulay.
