Match Report

Highlights

• Stevenson – 3 for 25 off 8 overs
• Prasad – 3 for 11 off 5 overs
• Lonnen – 2 for 10 off 6 overs
• Silvapulle – 1 for 19 off 5 overs
• Tailor – 1 for 4 off 3.1 overs
• Britto – 52 runs not out
• Catanzariti – 15 runs on debut
• Harris – 13 runs

Report

The weather just ticked over at 15 degrees as the ocean coloured Ploughmen took to the shores of Woking and Horsell for “Sunday Funday” in the Surrey Hills.

After 2 moderate panel beatings the previous Sunday, it was a golden opportunity for redemption on a ground which had yielded dividends for the Ploughmen over previous seasons.

Winning the toss and sending the oppo in to bat, the bowling heavy contingent led by captain Carson looked to dine out on a “Thali” courtesy of the wicket’s subcontinental offerings.

Veteran Britto and debutant Catanzariti provided plenty of gee ups and jocular remarks throughout the fielding gig to jazz up a day on the green that even drew a few chuckles from the oppo batters looking to string together back to back wins.

Lonnen and QuickSilva opened proceedings, enticing the opening pair to go fishing for Barramundi with the onslaught of line and length bowling around off stump. Much like the Aussie legends of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, the pace and movement from our opening pair gave the W&H counterparts plenty to ponder as the cherry often went flying through to Gledhill behind the stumps bringing back vivid memories of the days of Gilly’s glovework playing for the then fair dinkum Green n’ Gold across a decorated decade between 1999-2008 … those were the days!

W&H were 3 wickets down for 30 runs after 10 overs of express freight trains, their middle order exposed like the Eurozone’s most debt riddled economies and staring down the barrel of a departure from the field quicker than Brexit negotiations in Strasbourg.

The next 12 overs belonged to the unheralded prime minister waiting in the wings. “Uncle Nige” continued his rich vein of form in the change of pace department with 3 wickets and proved along the way across his 8 over spell how difficult it can be to dispatch well flighted spin bowling on a batting struggle street. “Just get it in the right spot and see what happens” to coin a wise phrase.

Inspired by these run inhibiting heroics, Captain Carson was itching to get a piece of the action continuing where he left off in the home and away season last year at Ickenham, with his Ian Harvey inspired medium pacers bamboozling their spring chickens, and in fairness was unlucky not to come away with a wicket during a diligent 5 overs interrogating the corridor of uncertainty.

5 for 70 after 23 overs provided the perfect Sunday spit roast for Reading Renegade AJ Prasad to redeem himself from a cold turkey outing the previous Sunday at Hollies. Three wickets including a casual one-handed caught and bowled when many of our fielders would much rather procure a late-night kebab and grab it with both hands.

Yours truly a.k.a. the Western Australian globetrotter went from the mountain to the river enjoying his first wicket of the season via a clean bowled dismissal of their Ned Kelly bushranger much to the delight of Carson, the flight and landing akin to the flagship first ever Qantas Dreamliner’s touchdown on London Heathrow tarmac 1 yr ago. Not bad for a part timer as 3 and a bit overs of tight finger spin bowling left the oppo feeling like sundried tomatoes ready for a London Borough scrap bin.

With the petrol station cuisine at the teahouse taking place, the Blues were chock full of confidence having restricted W&H to 91 runs whilst systematically unravelling their batting stock with clinical and imposing bowling and exploiting the irregularities and inconsistencies of their home deck. Resolute fielding encompassing “Bondi Rescue” patrolling in the deep, steady hands in the infield as well as individual moments of brilliance such as Captain Carson’s classic catch of an asteroid straight down the ground, when the oppo’s timber really needed to build their innings fortress.

Master Britto and Lords Tavern Chief Catanzariti put on a clinic against the W&H young opening arsenal, setting to work early building our Rock of Gibraltar. The first 10 overs on a very difficult wicket made batting on Hollies look like a walk in the park. Synonymous with Tim Flannery and Roy Slaven elegantly motoring down the Murray River, it was a command and conquer batting display against the young pacers hungry like the wolf for early wickets. Both openers really did a tremendous job keeping out good deliveries and feasting on loose bowling like the demolition of a fresh bucket of KFC. A lesson for all those young ones out there about proper constructive cricket!

The star of the show was undoubtedly Britto as he pressed the Captain Cook cruise control button from ball 1 establishing the tone for a well-constructed run chase and gave the Plough its backbone for the assault. Much of the stroke play could be described as the cricketing version of Roger Federer in a 3 set well executed demolition job on Wimbledon centre court against a tenacious upcoming 100th seeded opponent with a few green shoots but thin on bark and finesse.

An excellent piece of in-fielding eventually brought about a misjudged attempt at a single with Catanzariti run out for a well-made 15 runs on debut. The Brisbane Heat had sedated the venom of the opening bowlers who were determined to give us a taste of our own medicine, as well as given Britto the runway to take his innings off to 10,000ft via 2nd and 3rd gears.
Much like yours truly’s Sunday Chinatown duckhouse innings previously, Gledhill unfortunately was undone by a good low bouncing delivery by their Ned Kelly as the Ploughmen’s run chase was beginning to slow.

Jules Harris came to the middle and played an excellent left-hand anchor role with a Gautam Gambhir’ish cameo which included a few solid shots to the boundary and delicate touches to rotate the strike and keep the oppo on their toes.
As the game reached high intensity with 20 odd runs to win, Ryves brought his tiffin of recent newfound MV nets form to the middle, guarding the stumps like Kensington Palace as their bowlers dried up the runs for 4 overs and the hosts sensed a sniff of hope at getting back in the game.

Lonnen had the final say, however. After some initial surveillance of the scene which was followed by a magnificent Andrew Symonds’esque club downtown to provide the icing on the cake and save the Taswegian built yours truly from back to back asymptotic dates with another “ten pin bowling” wicket.

A solid team victory and an exceptional game filled with egalitarianism and conviviality. The Ploughmen waltzed into the sunset feeling warm and fuzzy, everyone enjoying a piece of the pie with bat and ball, in an arena which provides the club’s cricketing collegials with a damn good day out year upon year in effervescent surroundings tucked away in the Surrey Hills.

Yours in ploughing on.

Niraj