Waltham made the short trip to Twyford for a match
that looked set to be ruled by the weather. The wet
week that had preceded the game had left the pitch very
soft and before any more rain had fallen it was a safe
assumption that there would be significant irregular
bounce. When the Twyford skipper Nathan Eddy won the
toss and asked the visitors to bat, the openers knew
they were in for a tough time.
Neil “Off the Leash” Wilkinson
was watchful as ever, while at the other end even Naveed
“Mr Lover-Lover” Raja was reining in his usual aggression.
The pair were starting to build a promising partnership
with some lusty hitting when Raja attempted a big shot
to leg but mis-timed his effort and was trapped LBW.
Ed ‘Doc’ McGee joined Wilkinson in the middle and they
began building upon the solid start.
With the score approaching
the half century Wilkinson was caught off the bowling
of newly introduced Eddy for a well constructed 27.
Ziggy “It Takes Me a Week to Pack” Kiani came and went
quickly but was very unlucky to be the victim of a piece
of genius. McGee drove the ball back hard at the bowler
who first gathered the ball in one hand, then flicked
it back onto the stumps to run out Kiani who had been
backing up well. Eddy had made his first 2 marks upon
the game and as only getting started.
As skipper Matt “Glass Chin”
Connor made his way to the crease the storm clouds were
gathering with a vengeance over the field, and it was
not long before the heavens opened and the umpires had
little choice but to the take the players off. The break
lasted only a quarter of an hour but had made conditions
under foot a little tricky. Eddy though defied the conditions
to take a stunning one handed diving catch at slip to
dismiss McGee for 40 and bring to an end a promising
innings.
Mike “Cutter” Thompson joined
Connor with the hope of building the kind of steadying
partnership they had managed the previous week, but
this was not to be as the Saints skipper checked on
his shot and offered at return catch to the bowler.
As he made his way back to the pavilion the rain began
to fall again and no sooner had Chris “Colossus” Burge
replaced him than the umpires were leading the players
off again.
The break was shorter this
time but the rain added further variability to the pitch.
The break seemed to do Burge little good either as his
long wait to face his first ball was immediately followed
by a further walk back to the pavilion as he was caught
first ball by the Waltham nemesis,
Eddy. When the pitch claimed its first victim shortly
after as Nicholls’ half-tracker failed to bounce and
took Thompson’s off-stump it looked unlikely the Saints
would see out their overs.
Waz “The Rocket” Javed added
10 runs before playing one too many big shots, while
Taz “Reverse Rain Dance” Ghulam’s stay at the crease
was also short despite breaking out a previously unknown
defensive shot. When Andy “Stage Dive” Smith was adjudged
LBW the Waltham innings came to a close with Matt “Mrs
Lover-Lover” Nebbett stranded perilously short of his
maiden century for the club on 0 not out.
As the rain came down again
during the tea break skipper Connor would have felt
his side were a few runs short of a competitive total
but did at least have something for his bowlers to go
at. As tea drew to a close the skies cleared and the
Twyford innings began on time.
Things were eventful from the
first ball as Ghulam managed to catch the edge only
to see it fly through Raja at first slip. Not to be
denied though the very next ball he had Smith fending
off the ball to McGee in the gulley for the first wicket.
The breakthrough brought the dangerous Eddy to the crease
and he was aggressive from the start, plundering boundaries
and quickly racing to 17 within a few overs.
Ghulam’s new ball partner Thompson
made the crucial breakthrough as Eddy’s inside deflected
the ball down onto leg stump to make it a double of
played-ons against Waltham this
season. It was the breakthrough the Saints needed and
there was a real buzz in the field. As they looked to
press home their advantage chances came and went with
some tough drops in the field and a number of cutters
from Thompson leaving batsmen, fielders and umpires
scratching their heads as to how the ball had missed
the stumps.
Skipper Connor then gave his
bowlers just the added incentive they needed to pick
up more wickets by informing it was their last over.
Ghulam responded having the remaining opener Cochrane
well caught by Burge at point for 6, then Thompson bowled
Markham around his legs to end
his stubborn resistance. With C.Fort well caught at
slip by Raja for a duck off Ghulam (3 for 31) and Hancock
bowled by Thompson (3 for 27) the hosts found themselves
at 48 for 6 at drinks.
After liquid refreshment Raja
and Javed were introduced to the attack and it took
little time for them to mop up the tail. Javed bowled
fast and unusually straight to pick up the wickets of
H.Fort & Green in consecutive balls, not to mention
knocking the keeper off his feet with a rising ball
for good measure.
With wickets running out Raja
chipped bringing Nicholls’ good innings (12) to an end
as he was caught by Nebbett at Mid-Off in a manner that
resembled Bambi on ice. The final wicket was left to
Javed for him to finish with exceptional figures of
3 for 1.
On a rain interrupted day it
was an excellent performance from the Saints set up
by a strong platform in difficult conditions from McGee
and Wilkinson which the bowlers and fielders capitalised
on enthusiastically. A thank you also to Twyford for
a game played in good spirits. |