Match Report

A game against Surrey Warriors has always been a much anticipated one, they have a good team, have good banter and are very competitive.

They have lost to us 7 times in a row and news from grapevine suggest that they are willing to do anything to win.

‘To the best of my recollection’ (you can preface this to most things I write here), the day started with a few Plough bumping into each other at bus stop 3 at Brixton station.

Waiting for the bus had us discussing Cricket, Covid, God, and the devil himself, whilst Trent showed off his McDonalds for breakfast.

A trek from Brixton station to bus stop 3 can be an enlightening one, we have all the God brothers of every religion and their mother in laws telling you that they have the best GPS to salvation, deliverance and the ultimate destination, heaven. For the four of us (Lonnen, Silva, Trent and myself), Paradise was just a few bus stops away at DSG.

Onto the cricket then; it started off with a few of us trying to figure out the whereabouts of ‘one’ Plough, there is always one and I have been that ‘one’ on a few occasions but it’s different when you are on the receiving end, that much I have now gathered.

So, for the benefit of the wider audience, we hadn’t found Ronnie yet ?. Fortune was on our side though.

James Tisato who has been a constant towering figure in almost every game was there and his kit bag was tucked nicely in his car, his short Cricket whites though, awful. So, in the end we had 11 Plough.

James Tisato though, what a man, omnipresent, there in almost every game, scoring, fixing bats, getting beers and fixing score boards amongst other things.

Unlucky for him that we are not in Gunnersbury anymore, he would have shared the Clubhouse with a few homeless before the game.

Back to Cricket. Skipper Ovens, ‘lost the toss’ (didn’t realise that it rhymes) and we were made to field.

Ovens gave the ball to Silva and yours truly with a bit of a speech on how you don’t change a successful opening pair, like you wouldn’t change a successful undergarment.

Silva was quick to prove Ovens right, picking early wickets like a motherless child, at will and with no respect. Silva took the first 3 bats with the score at 15-odd runs.

Yours truly got lucky too, when Max Gumpert took a catch at mid-on which everyone thought he will not get there after he recovered from a 1-meter slip.

Silva went on to bowl exceptionally well to end the day with 4 scalps for 21. Yours truly was an able assistant to the opening pair giving way 6 runs off 8 overs with 1 scalp.

Max and Duray joined into the bowling bandwagon, Max was unlucky not to get a wicket whilst Duray took 2.

However, the 29th of August is to be remembered as the day when Tom Lonnen found God. With the blessings of the Gods in that morning trek between Brixton Station and Bus Stop 3, Lonnen crossed his 666 wickets for the club – Legend.

With all this stupendous bowling display, Ploughman bowled Surrey Wariors for 92 runs in 33.4 overs.

After the traditional break for tea, the Plough went on to bat.

After having taken power naps between wickets, Fred Gumpert’s face was that of a child’s bum cheek. Fred was unlucky to get out after making 10 runs and he went back to sleep only this time he had a blanket on.

Hickson and Barras built a strong partnership with each getting 30 and 28 runs respectively.

Surrey bowled very well and tight, and kept getting wickets in good intervals, they did make us a wee bit nervous with loads of noise, but in the end we got to the target in 24 overs with 3 heads to spare.

Post-game beers were entertaining and the banter with the oppo continued.

Whoever we thought misbehaved in the field from Surrey were men enough to apologise and offer a good handshake.

There was also a bowler who claimed to bowl 140kph, he was given the due respect the following week when Hickson smashed him for 3 boundaries in the first over, more on that on the other match report.

What a year it has been, what a great bunch of people you are. To the men who are responsible for all the Cricket that we have got – Salute!

Plough On!

Ashish