CHAPELIZOD: 149 for 8 off 42 overs
Batting: M.Glynn 40 H.Govindharagan 22 C.Whitworth 18
Bowling: P. Dabas 11-1-22-3; A Purjhit 8-1-17-2; Greg 2-0-8-1
OAKS: 133 for 6 off 39 overs
Batting: K.Hodson 33*, A.Williamson 34; A.Syed 19
Bowling: N.Case 5-0-26-3; J.Hodgson 6-0-20-2; K.Hodson 6-0-25-2; G.O’Shea 3-0-9-1; M.Case 8-0-30-0; M.Hodgson 7-0-13-0; A.Syed 6-1-13-0; N.O’Reilly 1-0-7-0
In the end, we might even have won it.
The beauty of the declaration match format is that if done right, and the teams are somewhat evenly matched, all three results remain possible for much of the play. So it proved for the first Oaks game of 2022 at home to a strong Chapelizod team.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the visitors started somewhat slowly, being kept on their toes by opening bowlers Matt Hodgson – on his debut for the club – and Mark Case. Throughout their opening spell, and when brought back into the attack later in the day, they both did everything but take wickets, constantly testing the Chapelizod batters and bowling incredibly economically. Only the “free first ball” rule (which I had negotiated more to try and relieve some pressure on the somewhat flaky batting that has permeated the club for a while) denied Matt a debut wicket.
The game was timed. We had started at 1pm and would finish at 6. So if Chapelizod still had wickets in hand, they needed to decide whether to declare with enough time to bowl us out in return. As additional bowlers came into the attack, their run rate increased slightly, but not by much, but wickets began to fall. Kevin Hodson got us rolling with 2, Neville Case took 3 (despite asking to be withdrawn after being hit for 14 in one over), Jim Hodgson 2 in a very tight spell and I got the other in my first outing as captain.
At 3.40 their skipper called them ashore on 149, leaving us 2 hours after lunch to chase down 150 – or to bat out for a draw.
Both options looked long shots when after a solid and steady start, wickets suddenly started tumbling, and we fell from 12-0 to 19-4, with less than half an hour gone. Damage limitation seemed the order of the day. Could we bat out the day? Could we get to 50? To 75? To 100?
A draw seemed unlikely but just about in reach.
Then the middle order steadied the ship. First Ahsan, and then Kevin and Andy, stuck around, kept the scoreboard ticking over and then subtly put the foot down just a little bit. With the remaining batters in the pavilion nervously twitching at our pads rather than pacing at the boundary to be unleashed, the focus was still very much on staying in the game.
It was only with twenty minutes to go, that the permutations and calculations started to shift slightly to what was needed to win. Could we? 47 runs needed in 16 minutes. Could we?
In the end, no. We finished on a very respectable 133 runs, 17 runs less from 3 fewer overs – a sign of just how close it was.
If we had another 3 or 4 overs, we might have got there. If we had “gone for it” a little earlier, we might have got there. Or, as had happened our openers, we could have found ourselves bowled out before we knew what had happened.
These are the things you always wonder about – especially as a new captain.
But on the whole, it was a great draw, and a great advertisement for that form of the game.
And in the end, we might even have won it.
Written by Gerard O'Shea