With the final midweek fixture of the season upon them,
under a dark ceiling of low-lying clouds and the equally low rumble of frequent
Heathrow arrivals, 11 strollers descended upon Barn Elms. A full squad, a
triumphant victory for match manager Glen Oliver. Alas, he would be sitting out
this week, with an injury sustained in the previous game.
Pete Robertson donned both the captain’s armband and the
wicketkeeping gloves as the Strollers were led out to field. Will Baylis-Allen
and Gregor Findlay opened the bowling with a lethal seam-spin combination that
saw the Superstars reduced to 12-3 off the first four overs, including a
remarkably athletic catch at cover from Rob Wall, an unplayable yorker from
Will, and a clean caught-behind from Pete soon after. In the fifth over James
Stubbs joined in, taking a wicket off his third ball – another catch by Wall.
It was then decided to put Wall and John Low on to bowl,
but the specialist Stroller bowlers could not break the Superstars’ fifth-wicket
partnership of Anand and Goel, with both batters directing the ball around the
park. The score slowly rose, and the Superstars found themselves on 57-4 after
10 overs.
In came new recruits Alex Diaconu and Inigo Lendrum but
they too could not restrain the scoring with Anand eventually retiring on 29
not out. Stubbs Jr returned to raid the lower order, promptly taking three
wickets in the following two overs, but he could not stop Goel from retiring on
29 not out.
Captain Robertson, scheming behind the stumps, ordered
Richie Stubbs to the other end (the same end, but we shan’t go too deep into
the specifics of the midweek rulebook). Richie bowled a fine line, removing the
11th batter, to jubilant cries of “Family Jug!” from Messrs Mike Pittams and
Wall.
Naturally, with the dismissal of the final batsman, in
returned Anand, who swiftly raised his total to 37 with a pair of well-struck
fours. However, he could not further increase his total, striking a well-placed
shot toward the heavens, coolly taken by bowler Richie Stubbs. Goel then returned and proceeded to increase
his total to 40. Baylis-Allen returned for the last over, but the Strollers
could not find the final wicket, with the OSD Superstars ending well on 145-9
off their allotted 20 overs.
Out stepped Robertson and debutant Sharath Ragunathan, a
former colleague of Richie’s wife Lavinia. Having kept wicket superbly, Robertson
turned his performance around (unfortunately the wrong way!), promptly running
himself out first ball with a very poorly judged single. This wicket came with
a silver lining, with Pete’s swift innings allowing him to pick his wife up
from the airport on time!
Out stepped Diaconu. A couple of overs passed, with Sharath
and Alex both playing nice shots and running well. In the third over, Diaconu
eyed up a slightly fuller ball, chipping it to land between the cover fielders.
Or so the spectators thought. Jubril, the bowler at the other end, accelerated
like nothing seen before on a Strollers midweek pitch, covering the 20 yards
from mid-off to extra cover in about three strides. He arrived in time to take
the catch, leaving the onlookers stunned.
Lendrum strolled out, having made his FSSCC umpiring debut
last week before his batting debut, a rare occurrence. Jubril commenced his
bombardment of rapid deliveries, with Sharath calmly playing him around the
park before missing a straight one, dismissed for seven and to be replaced Findlay.
The duo of Lendrum and Findlay combined for 41 runs, before the latter was
dismissed by “namesake-but-not-quite” Finlay.
In came James Stubbs, proudly wielding his new bat.
Unfortunately, it saw no use, with the batter failing to play a shot against a
straight ball from the mononymous Gary. Low followed, combining well with Lendrum.
The pair put on 20 as Inigo reached his retirement on 25 not out with a
well-struck four. The Strollers were 75-6 after 12 overs, still requiring 71 to
win off 48 balls.
To replace Inigo, Wall strode out, wielding James’s new
bat. Wall and Low combined well, albeit briefly, before Wall set off for an
ambitious single, with Low unable to make his ground.
Up stepped Pittams and with Wall they swung, slashed, and
carved their way through the bowling attack. With a bounty of boundaries,
including two massive sixes to his name, Wall retired on 31 not out.
With 20 to win, the Strollers were down to the 10th
batsman. Baylis-Allen stepped up to the mark. Pittams swung wildly and
dispatched one over the rope for six. Requiring 10 to win off 12 balls, Will
followed suit with a strong two into the covers and a massive six over square
leg. The match concluded with a wide from Anand, with Mike and Will ending unbeaten
on 22 and 12.
A strong middle/lower order affair from both sides was
followed by a strong ale/lager order affair in the Red Lion, Barnes’ most
popular of public houses. A well-earned prize after a very good cricket match.
Capt and wkt: Pete Robertson. Match fees: Glen Oliver.
Match reporter: James Stubbs.
