Stragglers of Asia CC v Eymet CC, Eymet, France, Sunday 2 September 2018

Result: Lost by 114 runs

Eymet 315-6 (A Mohammed 206*, O.Mohammed 57)

Stragglers of Asia 201-9 (Calder 52, Russell 41, R.Dunham 3-27)

Match Report 

Report:

This was the final fixture of the tour and with only one travelling reserve, fatigue amongst the tourists had begun to set in!  Fortunately, the team had the opportunity to visit Chateau Lestevenie vineyard in the morning prior to the match, which relaxed any nerves before the club hoped to seal the first victory of the tour. Russell lost the toss and on a steamy hot afternoon and was put into the field by Eymet; the first time the club would be chasing this tour.

The Stragglers made a good start with the new (pink) ball and within the first few overs we had Eymet 3 down for just 21 runs. However, with the arrival to the crease of A.Mohammed it quickly became apparent that we were up against another big hitting, talented and enthusiastic sub continental player and unless we removed him early on, it was going to be a long afternoon in the field.

It was to be a tough session. Early on he dispatched a number of balls for six, latching onto anything pitched up or wide with great ease. Whilst frustrating to be playing against, this was impressive to watch and he is clearly a big talent. He was ably supported by O.Muhammed who played well for his 57 before he was eventually dismissed by a forward diving catch on the boundary by the impressive Billy King-Harman off Lerwill’s bowling.

Billy must get a special mention for selflessly video recording the previous two games and unselfishly managing the amount of time he spent on the pitch. The performance he gave in his 6 allotted overs with the ball was a delight to watch. Right from the first ball he delivered (against a confident youngster scoring at ease), he pegged the batsmen back with some tight bowling, mixing enticing flight, difficult to play late in duckers and the occasional arm ball. Justice was finally given to him when he picked up the wicket off Udden, caught/juggled by Hooper on the boundary. A quite brilliant spell of bowling under difficult conditions and circumstances. Other notable performances with the ball came from Lerwill (6-40-2) and Hooper (5-33-2), who both bowled with good control as indeed they did all tour.

A.Mohammed carried his bat ending on a most impressive 206 not out – off just 84 balls. Many of the spectators to the innings, commented it was the first time they had seen a batsman record a double hundred in just one day (let alone 30 overs!). It was even compared to a Gaveskar double hundred by the fixture secretary! (though even the great Sunil did not score his runs quite as quickly – Ed.) Eymet finished with a score of 315-6.

Cavanagh and Russell opened the batting for the Stragglers and with a run rate of more than 10 an over required, boundaries were required from the off and there was little time for them to play themselves in. Cavanagh departed early and Russell was joined by Suckling at 3. After a bright start, Suckling was impressively caught in the gully off a well hit late cut shot. It was just one of those catches that just stuck! Hooper sustained the early momentum until he was trapped leg before for 23. His dismissal, with the score at 54-3 brought Tom Calder to the crease and he took no time at all in finding the boundary, scoring freely all around the wicket, particularly over the long on boundary. Russell eventually departed for 41 – attempting to go over the top off the bowling of Dunham. Although the Stragglers had wickets in hand and the score was moving briskly, there was still work to be done. However, Calder soon followed Russell for a well made 52 again caught off the bowling of Dunham. Stragglers finished on a score of 201 for 9 off our 30 overs. Had we batted first, this would have been regarded as a respectable score, however in the face of the onslaught by A. Mohammed it was well off the pace albeit a good effort against a talented Eymet side.

Team Batting First: Eymet CC

Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia CC