Salix CC (164 for 7) beat The Village (163 for 6) by 3 wickets
Were you to bother to read the appallingly spelt Salix CC match report for this game, something I would advise against, you would hear about an excellent, match winning, innings from Salix debutant Khusla Ghuwalewala. This did indeed occur, however there was far, far, more to the game that this excellent individual performance.
This was a game which turned not on any one batting or bowling performance, but several incidents in the field.
Salix are a good bowling side: while not threatening, their six man bowling attack bowled few bad balls forcing VCC batsmen to improvise and take risks in order to hit boundaries. They are also a good fielding unit, with several quick close fielders who have yet to discover the delights of the “long lunch”.
After the early dismissal of star bat Harty, James Hindle and Olly Morgans put together a steady partnership of 54 before the former was dismissed in a tight run out call. Disappointingly, Morgans followed two or three overs later, also run out. This was frustrating, as both players were well set and might have taken VCC to a winning score of 180 to 200 had they stayed together. We struggled in middle of the innings, Marcus Littlejohns understandably out of sorts after suffering a burglary the day before. After a rare failure from the Wood Elf, Skipper Bowman came in at 6 and batted excellently, driving the ball sweetly through cover and regularly hoisting the Salix spinners over midwicket.
Bowman hit 31, and was well supported by Bomb who pulled out a delightful little sweep shot late in the innings. He ensured we managed a competitive 164 from 35 overs.
With the exception of the excellent Khusla Ghuwalewala, and a gutsy 31 from skipper Stuart Lumsden, Salix batted poorly. Their batsmen persisted in playing arial drives over mid on and mid off, despite the slow, uneven bounce which made this something of a gamble. In total they gave us something like 10 catches, which – had we taken – would have ensured we bowled Salix out for c. 100. Alas, we had another awful catching day and put six down.
One fielder who did not have an awful day in the field was Dr AA Page, who caught an absolute blinder jumping high at 1st slip. EK, Morgans and Hindle (the other close fielders) were astonished and there was a moments shocked silence before we all congratulated him on an effort Paul Collingwood would have been proud of.
No side which drops so many catches can hope to win, and Village did not, despite and aggressive bowling spell towards the end of the innings from Aussie Harty: Steve grabbed two wickets in two balls, and might have had a hattrick had the Salix umpire not turned down a good LBW shout. Lazarus was not to walk again on this occasion however, and the Salix tail managed to score the 10 runs required at that stage to win by 3 wickets.
During the game there was also an extremely curious “not out” shout from the Salix square leg umpire, who suggested a ball Ghuwalewala had driven into the safe hands of Olly Morgans at gully early in his innings had somehow been a bump ball. It had not. Games turn on such moments occasionally, and Village bore their disappointment well.
Player of the day: Alex Page, fielding superstar.
Village idiot: Salix persist in walking off the field en masse during drinks breaks in order to take drinks in the pavilion. It’s a truly bizarre spectacle, which makes one wonder if they suffer from mass fecal incontinence. I cannot therefore, reasonably, give the Village idiot award to anyone other than the Salix team.
