12 July 2023 Stragglers of Asia vs MCC at Ascott Park, Wing
Result: Match drawn due to rain
Match Report
On a gorgeous sunny, summery day Stragglers gathered at Ascott Park for the biennial fixture against MCC, and with some excitement given the close finishes of the more recent games. Despite some last-minute injuries, the Stragglers fielded a strong XI.
Some form of toss was conducted and it was determined MCC would bat first. Billy Gravett and Charles Fidler shared the new ball, and did well, each taking an early wicket. Although the pitch was slow, Gravett, in particular achieved some hustling, hurrying pace and both bowlers generated pressure with good accuracy, conceding very few boundaries. Sure enough, this pressure soon yielded success, with an MCC batting order top-heavy with candidates not finding scoring easy. As wickets fell Stragglers were able to maintain this advantage through most of the morning session. Fidler was withdrawn from the attack relatively early, with the ball still hard, to give Under 17 guest (and hopefully soon to be club candidate) Jamie Powell a good opportunity to extract some nip from the Ascott Park track. Powell bowled increasingly confidently as his spell went on, doing much more than holding up his end with a very commendable 7-0-34-1. On the basis of this excellent start Pollock-Hill and then Surendran were brought into the attack, and each bowled with customary skill so that by lunch the MCC were 94-6 and looking far from comfortable.
Post lunch the MCC sought to wrestle the initiative back with some robust hitting not least by their captain, Robert Pritchard, whose belligerent 39 included one towering six, over the Ascott Park pavilion – an impressive feat, seldom achieved. But with wickets falling at the other end and the re-introduction of Gravett seeing Pritchard yorked, the MCC were bowled out for 187; a total thought to be below par even on this somewhat untrustworthy track thanks to the Stragglers’ tight bowling which was well supported by the fielders with only a couple of chances floored.
Confident that the target was in range the Stragglers openers set about the task with purpose. Alas Rogers perished early, in the face of an MCC opening attack which generated some decent pace, but Grace and Salter were able to see off the threat; Grace allowing one or two past his nose, and Salter ‘wearing’ a few more than that on the body, courtesy mostly of the track. But, having weathered the opening attack both soon got into their stride, Grace punishing short balls with a wonderful crack of the bat, and Salter batting with great skill also. With the scoreboard ticking nicely, MCC tried different bowlers and from different ends, but without really threatening either batsman as the score passed 100 for the loss of just one wicket. Alas, while the batsmen were mastering the bowling, the English weather was proving much harder to tame – after a couple of brief showers and pauses there ensued a downpour just after the ‘Last 20’ had been called – with the ground wet and rain steadily falling, the Stragglers offered MCC a “match abandoned, honourable draw” which was very readily accepted. A story of so near yet so far. Brightest memories are the pace of Gravett, the impressive spell of much potential of Powell, the determination and grit of Fidler, the skill, flight and guile of Pollock-Hill and Surendran, some better than Stragglers average fielding and catching, and the skilful, positive batting of Grace and Salter. And not to forget Pritchard’s six.
It was a bittersweet fact that by the time the last players left the ground, the sun was back out, although with plenty of puddles remaining on the pitch… “coulda, woulda, shoulda…”
Innings of MCC
| No. | Batsman
|
How out | Bowler | |
| 1 | O Elliott | Ct Abbott (wkt) | Fidler | 2 |
| 2 | F Smith | Ct Surendran | Powell | 15 |
| 3 | C Russell | Ct Brown | B Gravett | 4 |
| 4 | T MacDonald | LBW | Pollock-Hill | 19 |
| 5 | A Eisner | Ct Gravett | Pollock-Hill | 40 |
| 6 | G Reid | Bowled | Pollock-Hill | 18 |
| 7 | F Beasley | Ct Salter | Surendran | 1 |
| 8 | R Pritchard (capt) | Bowled | B Gravett | 39 |
| 9 | E Mathews | Ct Brown | Surendran | 24 |
| 10 | M Beer | Bowled | Surendran | 10 |
| 11 | T Probert | Not out | 1 | |
| Extras | 14 | |||
| TOTAL | All out | 187 |
FOW 1-8; 2-27; 3-30; 4-78; 5-93; 6-94; 7-136; 8-165; 9-180; 10-187
Bowling
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| B Gravett | 10 | 0 | 34 | 2 |
| C Fidler | 9 | 3 | 16 | 1 |
| J Powell (g) | 7 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| Pollock-Hill | 12 | 3 | 48 | 3 |
| P Surendran | 12.3 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
Innings of Stragglers of Asia
| No | Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Runs
|
| 1 | G Grace | Not out | 53 | |
| 2 | C Rogers | LBW | Probert | 2 |
| 3 | I Salter | Not out | 41 | |
| 4 | C Brown | Did not bat | ||
| 5 | A Abbott (wkt) | Did not bat |
|
|
| 6 | B Gravett | Did not bat |
|
|
| 7 | J Cavanagh (capt) | Did not bat | ||
| 8 | P Surendran | Did not bat | ||
| 9 | C Fidler | Did not bat |
|
|
| 10 | J Powell (g) | Did not bat |
|
|
| 11 | R Pollock-Hill | Did not bat |
|
|
| Extras | 10
|
|||
| TOTAL | For 1 wkt | 106 |
FoW
Bowling 1-12
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Eisner | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Probert | 6 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Mathews | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| MacDonald | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Beasley | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Beer | 4.5 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Reid | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
Umpire: A Trapani
Scorer I.A. Perry.