Tilehurst & Theale (H&A) - 18.7.10

My thanks once again to Dr Eagle for penning this week's match report. I had a lovely holiday, thank you for asking.

Just when it all seemed to have gone well in that we had managed to find 11 players, the afternoon took a turn for the worse before making a handbrake turn into the bizarre!

T&T thought they were playing away and had booked out their pitch, we heard from our “scout” Wardy and from an early arrival from the opposition. Eagle & Carpenter tried, with their undoubted charms, to persuade the Sports centre to allow us the main pitch but all we were offered was the artificial 2nd pitch. Well, seeing that our other choice was to cancel we trekked to the forbidding oval that is the 2nd pitch. Eagle lost the toss (9 times in a row for RUASCC now) and a youthful (and I mean that as in “fast, fit, threatening and cocky”) T&T batted.

Zia and Jagesh opened, and it was with much satisfaction that Eagle took a catch at long off, Zia having just told him to drop back a bit as he was going to try a slow one! This was the first of eight catches for RUASCC. Two more wickets fell as Venu took catches off Zia and Jagesh, one a good diving effort. Their older left handed opener (he must have been at least 30) looked solid until he smacked one that seemed destined to be a stylish four to long off until Ken Stewart somehow grabbed hold of it as it just passed the non-strikers wicket. It was a miraculous catch and Ken’s day got better as he replaced Zia and took two wickets in two balls. His slow, flighty deliveries encouraged rash shots from the middle order and catches went to Carpenter twice, Weeks and Ravi to give him figures of 10-0-48-4. T&T rallied for the 8th wicket but a brilliant run out from Ravi from Venu’s bowling had the innings nearly complete and T&T declared on 192-9.

After an al fresco tea, Ward and Eagle opened and were met by some immediately fierce bowing, the concrete belly of the artificial track giving higher bounce than they were expecting. Eagle pulled and cut two fours, then successfully ducked a fast bouncer. And then he ducked, again, one that did not bounce so much; which was a mistake as he soon realised when the lump on the back of his head appeared! Retiring to nurse his blow (and I do realise it could have been SO much worse), Zia took to the stage and smote the ball to all parts as is his wont; he was dropped twice which spurred him on to make 43 before sadly retiring to go to work! I do think we could have won the game if he hadn’t! Ward, after a promising start of some lovely shots went for 19.

Weeks did not last long, run out after a rather optimistic (tactically so?) call from Carpo. He was replaced by Ravi who was a guest courtesy of Jagesh. He had a few runs before he too retired and was carried off with a pulled hamstring! You see what I meant by “bizarre”! Ashman’s sub, Adam Seymour, took his place and things slowed down rather, especially when Carpo went for 18, another stylish start unfinished.

So it was that Eagle took to the crease again and T&T thought it would be fun to put back on the young tearaway who had struck earlier on. Eagle thought it wise to don a helmet at this point. What followed was something like Atherton facing Donald! With a silly mid off and on, both in helmets and an orthodox and fly slip cordon, the youngster bowled bouncer after bouncer. Eagle hit two successive pulls for four before moving to the offside and upper cutting with gay abandon, at one point clearing both slip rings and nearly scoring a six. Suddenly the run rate picked up, although things the other end were rather too slow, even after Adam had been replaced by a walking Ravi (plus Weeks as runner).

One wonders if a judicious substitution of Ken at this point would have helped our chase; “Ifs and Buts” as the Great Leader would say. Eagle continued to deal mostly in fours and withstand the attack but it was too late perhaps to make up for lost time earlier. So RUASCC made the draw and Eagle made 43 not out whilst probably concussed. Twenty runs short - irritatingly only one run per over for the last 20 overs, which made it seem at once an honourable draw and a missed chance.

RUASCC Highlight of the Match: Probably Ken's stupendous catch, but mentions to the batting of Zia & Eagle.

RUASCC Man of the Match: Ken Stewart for his 4 for 48 and that catch (Zia and Eagle also contenders).

RUASCC: Ward (wkt), Eagle (capt), Zia, Carpenter, Weeks, Ravi, Seymour, Venu, Stewart, Jagesh, Ashman