Match Drawn
Match Report:
It was a beautiful venue for the start of the season in Jesus College, Cambridge. Stragglers won the toss and put Jesus in on a damp wicket, which played well, but slow. Jesus approached a hundred for the loss of a couple of wickets and so Stragglers went to Harry Pilcher, with his remodelled action of slow left arm spin. Let’s say it was a difficult start to the spell, but then suddenly the wickets were falling at his end and by lunch Stragglers were on top at 125 for 6. After lunch, their two best players batted very well and aggressively (scoring a hundred and a fifty) and just when we thought it was going to be too many, they declared sportingly to set us 228 to win in plenty of time. Well bowled to Harry and Tom Vila who ended with 4 wickets each, and I have rarely seen a Stragglers team so athletic and competent in the field, catching anything, diving around and with not a misfield.
The chase started with a couple of early wickets until Chris and Jonny (30-40 each) got a partnership going and all looked good at tea. A wobble after tea put us in a poor situation 6 down with too many to get surely? Enter Harry……again. He is a cricketer that makes things happen. Not always good…but always remarkable. He batted beautifully and along with assistance from the lower order keeping the strike rotating and with an occasional blow the tension was rising. Every time Stragglers got on top, a wicket fell, every time the run rate rose, a boundary was smashed. The last 3 overs were a blur…who would panic most, run outs were missed, appeals turned down, much swiping of willow. A tight over left us needing a dozen off the last one, 9 wickets down. Despite a last effort for the big shot, the final 4 balls were safely blocked leaving us short with 9 down and a drawn match (Harry 55 not out). Everyone is hopeful a similar fixture next year might result in a similar match. It is worth noting that generous declarations in timed matches like this (they bowled a few more overs than us) can make the whole day.
Team Batting first: Jesus College Graduates
| No. | Batsman
|
How out | Bowler | Score |
| 1 | J Aspden
|
Ct Hooper | Vila | 10 |
| 2 | S Stacpoole
|
Ct McDuell | Vila | 17 |
| 3 | A Evans
|
NOT | OUT | 100 |
| 4 | R Lewis
|
Ct Asher+ | Pilcher | 14 |
| 5 | Azad
|
Ct Collins | Pilcher | 0 |
| 6 | G Another
|
Bowled | Pilcher | 0 |
| 7 | J Dudley
|
Ct Hooper | Pilcher | 2 |
| 8 | Naisby
|
Bowled | Vila | 8 |
| 9 | Manu
|
LBW | Vila | 52 |
| 10 | Milhan
|
NOT | OUT | 0 |
| Extras
|
21 | |||
| TOTAL | 224 for 8 dec |
Bowling
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Vila | 13 | 1 | 45 | 4 |
| Franks | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| McDuell | 8 | 1 | 35 | 0 |
| Neild | 7 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| Pilcher | 8 | 0 | 58 | 4 |
| King-Harman | 7 | 1 | 29 | 0 |
Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia
| No | Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score
|
| 1
|
T Hooper | LBW | Naisby | 18 |
| 2
|
Ph McDuell | Ct Lewis+ | Evans | 33 |
| 3
|
A Asher | Ct | Naisby | 0 |
| 4
|
C Brewster | Bowled | Nick | 36 |
| 5 | S Collins | Bowled | Evans | 0
|
| 6
|
A Franks | Bowled | Nick | 7 |
| 7
|
H Pilcher | NOT | OUT | 55 |
| 8
|
I Perry | Bowled | Naisby | 12 |
| 9
|
T Vila | Ct Manu | Milhan | 6 |
| 10
|
A King Harman | Bowled | Naisby | 13
|
| 11 | C Neild | NOT | OUT | 1
|
| Extras 31
|
||||
| TOTAL | 181 for 9
|
FoW
Bowling
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Milhan | 9 | 1 | 41 | 1 |
| Naisby | 14 | 1 | 53 | 4 |
| Dudley | 9 | 1 | 45 | 0 |
| Evans | 5 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| Nick | 5 | 1 | 13 | 2 |
| Azad | 7 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
Umpire: Eyre Maunsell