The first day of the RUASCC cricket season! Oh, how long we have waited! At 8am on Sunday morning this report writer woke up and threw open the curtains to let in the glorious sunshine, only to discover it was absolutely crashing down with rain.
Not to be deterred, we were rewarded by the first glimpse of blue sky on arrival in Farley Hill and the match started on time, Eagle winning the all important toss and politely suggesting to the home skipper that perhaps they might want to bat first.
As can happen early in the season, both Withers and Jagesh seemed to be lacking in line, length, pace and indeed any form of control whatsoever. Withers went for a six in his second over and the opening partnership had made it past 50 with some more lofted shots before first change Koslicki found an edge and Jagesh took a good catch falling to his left (and almost crushing Rahul) in the gully.
Zia replaced Withers and went for two sixes to the same short boundary before the right-handed opener reached his fifty and retired knackered. Koslicki took his second wicket, trapping the new man LBW in front of Umpire Sewell, but Farley were still looking comfortable at 106-2.
Koslicki (2-50) made way for some off-spin from Ward who broke through in his second over, bowling a beauty through the gate to peg back the leg stump. Then Jagesh returned and took a wicket in quite spectacular fashion: a huge lofted on-drive almost – ALMOST – made it to the boundary, but only nestled perfectly into the left hand of Dr Eagle who clearly had as much trouble as everyone else believing what had just happened.
Withers was given another couple of overs but was hit for a straight six not just into the next field but into the field after that as Farley thundered on towards 200. The final over of the innings was bowled by 9-year-old Rahul Patel who cemented his place as the best left-arm spinner at the club. He took a well-deserved first wicket when the batsman unwisely danced down the track and missed the ball with every fibre of his being.
That was enough for Farley and they declared on 206-5 from 37 overs.
The RUASCC reply began as RUASCC replies often do: the first three runs provided by extras, three consecutive maidens from one end and an opening partnership of six. Ward was the first man to go, well caught at mid-on by the home captain for 2.
Zia, promoted to bat at number three, put on 48 in exciting fashion with Eagle. Both men played with confidence and flair – Eagle moved his feet well and drove freely and Zia hit one six into the road on his way to 25 before falling LBW (which was OK because he had to leave early anyway).
New batsman Carpenter played some fine shots of his own before holing out to the only man at very deep mid-wicket. Dip, troubled by a back injury, limped along to 4 before skying one to the keeper who made no mistake running to his left. By this time the heavens had opened again but even some very heavy showers couldn’t deter the brave cricketers. The scorer hid in the pavilion because he’s not stupid.
Eagle was next to go, finally mis-timing a drive to mid-off for 37 – an acceptable start to the season despite his assessment that a fifty was there for the taking. As Very Young Rahul joined Young Sam at the crease hopes for a winning chase were starting to fade – and they evaporated entirely when Sam found the man at deep cover (who spoiled what would have been a wonderful flat six) and Rahul edged to slip for a duck leaving RUASCC more than 60 to reach with only three wickets remaining.
Dersh went out to bat then returned to the pavilion without facing a ball – an arm injury hadn’t healed as well as had been hoped – and Jagesh somehow contrived to divert a painfully slow long hop onto his stumps with nine balls of the match remaining. It was left to Withers (0) and Koslicki (8) to see out the match with minimal fuss and earn the draw. 151-8 from 41 overs.
An encouraging start but the bowling will need to improve against Blewbury this Sunday.
RUASCC Highlight: Either Eagle’s outrageous catch or Rahul’s maiden wicket. I think they’ll have to share.
RUASCC Man of the Match: Eagle and Zia both batted very well, but for taking two wickets and seeing out the match: Ben Koslicki.
RUASCC Team: Ward, Eagle (capt), Zia, Carpenter, Dip, Griffiths (wkt), Rahul, Dersh, Koslicki, Jagesh, Withers
Tuesday 27 April 2010
John Tranter
Just one week before the opening game of the 2010 season, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of John Tranter, a well-liked team mate and the son of Club Captain Richard Tranter.
John was one of my summer friends. For the six months between October and April we had no need for communication - we found out everything we needed to know on sunny Sunday afternoons, chatting and telling stories while waiting for our turn to bat. John might have been about to embark on a bike ride around Belgium, or maybe John had sunk twenty pints at Lords the previous Thursday. I had invariably done neither of those things.
John was big, strong, friendly, interesting. He clearly enjoyed life. He might also have worked extremely hard, but I admit that it wasn’t until after he died that I learned how he had made his living. On a cricket field it doesn’t really matter.
Several hundred of John’s friends attended his funeral dressed in rowing blazers, rugby shirts, cricket jumpers and other brightly coloured attire. We heard moving tributes from those closest to him, and everything I heard only enhanced the positive impression I had of the man. Incidentally, stories of some of his adventures make you wonder what you’re doing with all your time.
So what about the cricket? Well, as regular report-writer for RUASCC matches, here are some words I have never used to describe John Tranters batting: “elegant”, “subtle”, “deft” or “cautious”. JCB Tranter was certainly built like one.
A brief search through the archive brings up various mentions of “upping the run rate”, “hitting it hard” and “bowled for a duck”. Some examples:
Kidmore End, April 2003:
“the lower order including John Tranter and Zia upped the run rate to get us to 152-7 and an honourable draw against a strong team”
Hambleden, August 2003:
“and a hard hit 25 from John Tranter that meant run rate was not an issue.”
Farley Hill, April 2009:
“some much needed stability followed in an impressive partnership with John Tranter who pushed very firmly into the offside on his way to a valuable 29.”
Braywood, July 2009:
“Withers eventually took the first wicket when a lofted drive was well caught on the cover boundary by John Tranter, whose fielding was nothing short of superb all afternoon.”
“first Chan then John Tranter were bowled for ducks to leave RUASCC about 110-5”
In that Braywood game, John fielded on the cover boundary for 43 overs (translation: he stood at the edge of a large field for nearly three hours) and if he did complain he did it quietly enough for me not to hear a word of it.
But the performance I will always remember was in the final game of the 2009 Portsmouth Tour when, having been set a target of 249, John played a vital role in our reply contributing a brutal 34 to a big stand with “brother-in-law” Sam. As I sat by the boundary adding yet another four to his tally in the scorebook, Dr Ashman remarked to me that John batted “like a giant wielding a railway sleeper”. The villagers certainly looked frightened. It was a shame we didn’t get to see him play a lot more often.
John was struck down by a pulmonary embolism resulting from a broken toe on Thursday 15th April. He was 30-years-old. He will be greatly missed.
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