ONGAR 235-9 (40 overs)
Naveen 105*
Neville Case 3/30 Avanish Patel 3/40 Kevin Threadgold 2/26
HALVERSTOWN 232-7 (40 overs)
Andy Wordley 81 Paolo Rosa 40 Avanish Patel 32 Anoop Kurian 22*
Another really good game of cricket, the second we have lost this season on the last ball. We went down with all guns blazing in an eventful game: at one stage we had them at 53-5, Naveen scored a fine century for them, we were 66-3 chasing 235, Andy had another excellent knock, Lijo had to retire hurt after only a few balls, Kevin was the victim of a Mankad (!), Paolo smashed a quick 40 and Anoop oh so nearly dragged us over the line at the death. The game was played in a good spirit too. I'm not too keen on honourable defeats, but this was one.
We won the toss and put them in to bat. I'm not sure if they tinkered with their order, but we had them at 53-5 and were well on top. Naveen came to the crease though, slowly started to dominate and they moved to 122-5. But we countered and with them at 144-8 we were still hopeful of having to chase a moderate total. We lost control (perhaps in fairness they took control) and nearly all the bowlers went for a few. They scored something like 150-4 off the second 20 overs and presumably were very pleased at the break. While disappointed, I had thought early on that 200 could be an average score so knowing this team, I felt we were in with a chance if we batted well.
At 66-1 we were going nicely (Avanish looked particularly threatening) but then lost two quick wickets. Lijo's brief innings was cruelly ended by a knee injury and we were in effect 70-4. But we just don't know when we are beaten. Andy's great season keeps rolling on and supported first by Kevin and then by Paolo hitting out, we stayed in touch though it was getting progressively more difficult.
A word on Kevin's Mankad - he had been 'warned' (by a different bowler) a few overs before. He was definitely out of his ground. What was a bit uncertain was had the bowler's arm passed the vertical. Wikipedia has a good summary: "Some such dismissals cause controversy because they challenge long-established (but not universal) conventions about the spirit of the game." Also "While a generous bowler may warn a batter to stay in their crease rather than to take their wicket, it is not required by the laws of cricket nor the guidance notes by MCC on the spirit of cricket to do so." The debate will rage on, but what is certain is that we did not descend into finger-pointing and acrimony. What is also certain is that we shrugged it off and kept on fighting.
Consider this: we needed 40 off the last three overs, then lost Paolo and still needed 27 off two overs. Neville, Matt Hodgson and Anoop (who needed to hit consecutive sixes to win the game) got us to within 3 runs. It was some effort and a testament to the competitive spirit of this team. We still have an outside chance of promotion and will try our best to win our next game.
Finally, a word on two players. Lijo made a considerable effort to be available for this game despite him not being fully fit. We are all really grateful for this commitment in a week where both captains were scratching their heads about how difficult it was to get eleven players on the field, particularly considering the two league teams are in the hunt for the top spots. A well-done also to Matt who made his H1 debut. He was keen to bowl, he did so very capably at a difficult time, he fielded very well and hared up and down between the wickets putting them under pressure at a tense time near the end. His future is bright.
H1's final game of the season is away to Adamstown on Saturday. We'll try to win it for Lijo!
John Threadgold 2/9/24