6 August 2023 Stragglers of Asia vs I Zingari at Ascott Park
Result: Lost by 109 runs
Match Report
A betting man would have been sure the match would be called off due to the rain in the days before. However, the Ascott Park groundsman (Sam) had made good use of the breaks in the weather to prepare effectively and he kept the wicket well covered. As such, with the game declared on late the evening before, at the ground where the setting was as impressive as watching IZ arrive with their black, red and gold regalia.
Both sides arrived in good time; Pradeesh was early (mon Dieu) and only Dr Melhorn was late, though in fairness his tardiness was due to being stuck in the queue of cars waiting for the National Trust gardens to open.
Match Manager Allsop having inspected the damp outfield and canvassed views that conditions would only improve throughout the day duly decided on winning the toss to field first.
IZ started well, but then Messrs Dawson and Burton found their lines and the runs dried up. Burton struck 3 times in his 13 over spell and bowled very well. Dawson was his usual metronomic self and caused some difficulty. A sharp chance of c&b against Gubbins went down. Hindsight revealed this to be a game changing moment.
Pradeesh and Paddy McDuell bowled well and Pradeesh picked up two important wickets. IZ went from 3-50 after 18 overs, to 5-128 off 41 and then accelerated rapidly to reach 219 off 49 overs. Gubbins batted beautifully and was the IZ linchpin.
Knowing that they would get a similar number of overs bowled back at them, there was a general feeling amongst the Stragglers that the declaration seemed generous from a time / overs point of view and the Stragglers went out back thinking it was well and truly game on.
Phil McDuell and Dr. Melhorn both got in and then promptly out. The same could be said for S Dexter and A Abbott. Jonty Dexter held down his end well, batting sensibly and positively. He was well supported by Paddy McDuell before Jonty fell to a frustrating LBW (ed –aren’t they all?). IZ bowled very well, with some long spells from their younger contingent (16 and 15 overs from each of the openers). Their spin bowler (C Hollingworth) was a pleasure to watch – speed, flight, accuracy and spin, meant it was very tricky to score from one end. It didn’t help that Allsop ran himself out* as we were pushing for a draw and then a succession of LBWs brought the game to a premature close with SoA over 100 away and 4 or 5 overs remaining.
A big thank you to Chris Rogers who fielded superbly, despite only having the use of one arm and made no complaint about the discomfort.
It was a pleasure to play IZ and the match was played in the best possible spirit. Nino and George umpired superbly and we are grateful to Rupert’s efforts in the scorebox.
*Some readers (and eye-witnesses) might question the use of the word “run” here but Mr Allsop has confirmed that he was running at some point during his attempted run – Ed”
Innings of I Zingari
| No. | Batsman
|
How out | Bowler | |
| 1 | D Beatson-Hird | LBW | E Burton | 15 |
| 2 | D Titcomb | St Abbott | E Burton | 24 |
| 3 | A Wilson | Bowled | E Burton | 3 |
| 4 | W Gubbins | Not out | 112 | |
| 5 | F Cox | Retired | 0 | |
| 6 | C Hollingworth | Ct Pa McDuell | P Surendran | 16 |
| 7 | C Pelham | Ct Pa McDuell | P Surendran | 6 |
| 8 | H Pilcher | Not out | 40 | |
| 9 | R Hovey | Did not bat | ||
| 10 | R O’ Brien | Did not bat | ||
| 11 | T Wiggleworth (capt/wkt) | Did not bat | ||
| Extras | 3 | |||
| TOTAL | For 5 wkts | 219 |
FOW 1-26; 2-37; 3-50; 4-118; 5-128
Bowling
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Dawson D | 8 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Burton E | 13 | 1 | 35 | 3 |
| McDuell Ph | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| McDuell Pa | 14 | 1 | 86 | 0 |
| Surendran P | 11 | 3 | 66 | 2 |
Innings of Stragglers of Asia
| No | Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Runs
|
| 1 | Ph McDuell | Bowled | O’Brien | 8 |
| 2 | J Melhorn | Ct Gubbins | O’Brien | 2 |
| 3 | J Dexter | LBW | Hovey | 41 |
| 4 | S Dexter | LBW | Hovey | 5 |
| 5 | A Abbott (wkt) | Ct Pilcher | Hollingworth | 8 |
| 6 | P Surendran | Bowled | Hollingworth | 0 |
| 7 | Pa McDuell | Not out | 30 | |
| 8 | E Burton | Bowled | Hollingworth | 3 |
| 9 | J Allsop (capt) | Run out | (O’Brien) | 0 |
| 10 | D Dawson | LBW | Hollingworth | 3 |
| 11 | C Rogers | LBW | Hollingworth | 0 |
| Extras | 10 | |||
| TOTAL | All out | 110 |
FoW 1-12; 2-25; 3-30; 4-46; 5-50; 6-74; 7-79; 8-104; 9-110; 10-110
Bowling
| Bowler
|
Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| R Hovey | 16 | 6 | 31 | 2 |
| R O’Brien | 15 | 3 | 47 | 2 |
| C Hollingworth | 13.4 | 5 | 19 | 5 |
| H Pilcher | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C Pelham | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Umpire: G Honey & A Trapani
Scorer: E Crossley