Farley Hill (A) - 24.4.11

Farley Hill 175-8
Carpenter 2-24, Withers 2-25, Stewart 2-29, Zia 2-54

RUASCC 177-5
Eagle 85 not out, Dersh 21

RUASCC won by 5 wickets.

A hot, sunny Sunday afternoon in Farley Hill provided the perfect setting for RUASCC’s first game of the 2011 season. And when Tranter, incredibly playing in his 700th game for the club, did the unthinkable and actually won the toss we knew it was going to be a good day.

In the end it was a comfortable win in which opening batsman Andy Eagle picked up where he left off last season. Zia bowled a typical 18-over spell, the wickets were shared between the bowlers, only three catches were put down and there were no major fights – all things that point to a good afternoon’s work for RUASCC.

Withers and Zia opened the bowling with good support from the fielders. Withers himself showed commendable early-season keenness making a full-length diving stop on the fine leg boundary before Dr Ashman did likewise in the gully, creating a tremor so massive it forced a butterfly to flap its wings on the other side of the world.

Withers picked up the first two wickets (one bowled, one caught by Dersh at cover) and would have skittled out the top three had Carpenter clung onto a sharp chance at first slip. The spill did not prove costly, however, as Zia trapped Blake lbw for 23 in the very next over. Farley Hill had ambled to 51-3 after 19 overs when Withers (2-25) was replaced by Carpenter.

Carpenter was driven for four and six in his second over but then managed to take a wicket with his worst ball of the day - a full toss on leg stump was somehow skewed high into the air towards Withers at mid-off who took the catch despite having ample time to reflect upon that chance that Carpenter spilled at slip. The home side upped the run rate to reach 100 in the 28th over but Zia bagged his second wicket, sneaking one through to hit leg stump, and Carpenter (2-24) earned a successful lbw appeal to reign things in a bit.

Pensioner Ken Stewart survived another long, cold winter and he came on to bowl his wily left arm things, occasionally dropping too short and getting heaved away to cow corner by Ditchburn. The Farley captain never fails to reach fifty in this fixture but in a shocking act of jug-avoidance he retired, seemingly unhurt, on 48. Success then came for Stewart (2-29) as he clean-bowled a dancing left-hander as the sloggers tried to hit out. The final wicket to fall came thanks to a comfortably taken catch at long on by Carpenter who by this time had washed the butter off.

Zia (2-54) bowled 18 overs almost unchanged from one end but there was still time for Tranter to bowl the final over and the skipper didn’t disappoint. He certainly didn’t disappoint the home side who got an extra ten runs out of it. 175-8 declared.

TEA - RUASCC need 176 to win

Farley Hill’s opening bowlers were tall and quick but not always accurate and RUASCC were 14-0 before the first run came off the bat, largely thanks to a novice wicketkeeper standing half a mile behind the stumps. Extras were so dominant that the opening partnership had put on 43 when Ward was bowled for just 6.

As Eagle settled in for the long haul, both Dip Patel and Chan Malde were dismissed without scoring. Dip’s first attacking stroke looped up to mid-off, and Chan saw two of his stumps uprooted by a ball that he insisted didn’t move in the air and definitely didn’t beat him for pace. In fact, we understand that the delivery had absolutely nothing whatsoever to recommend it.

At this point RUASCC were 60-3 and in need of a cool head and some solid technique to recover the situation. We had a jolly good look around but couldn’t seem to find either of those things so instead we sent Dersh Patel to join Eagle in the middle. Fortunately this seemed to do the trick and the pair set about building a partnership - with 20 overs remaining RUASCC were 72-3 needing 104 to win.

Eagle used his feet well and found the offside boundary on several occasions and it was another low full toss from Ali which gave him the chance to drive another four to bring up his fifty. Having put on 70 the partnership came to an end when Dersh (21) found the only man on the long off boundary. 130-4.

Carpenter added 13 runs in a fifth wicket stand of 28 (during which time Eagle swept a six into the trees) before trying to cut a delivery from the off-spinner Ali that just came back in and bowled him. Then, just to keep things interesting, with only 18 runs needed for victory Zia and Eagle’s running between the wickets took the form of two men auditioning for the lead roles in a new farcical comedy:

And There’s No Run
Scene 1 – Ext. Farley Hill Cricket Ground.

(Andy Eagle dabs the ball into the offside and sets off briskly for a single.)

AE: Yes, yes, yes!
Zia: (Motionless) No Andy, we can’t. I’m afraid it’s just too dangerous.
AE: But I want to!
Zia: I know Andy, I know. But, you see… well, it’s complicated.
AE: Forget the fielders, forget all about them. This is just about you and me, and I know we can make it work.
Zia: No Andy. The time just isn’t right for us. Go back home, you’ll be safe there.
AE: Shit.

(Andy, halfway down the track, turns with the grace of a two-day old giraffe and just about makes his ground).

With both batsmen having got that out of their system, Eagle hit the first two balls of the next over for four to bring RUASCC to within touching distance of the target and Zia, taking a guard three yards out his crease to avoid an lbw decision, spanked an on drive for four to seal the win by five wickets with two and a half overs to spare. Eagle ended just one run shy of his highest ever score with 85 not out. A great start to the season.

Quote of the Day: “I wouldn’t applaud an Eagle fifty half as much as I would applaud Eagle running himself out on 49” – Dr Ashman.

RUASCC Man of the Match: Andy Eagle for his match-winning 85 not out.

RUASCC Team: Ward, Eagle, Dip (wkt), Chan, Dersh, Carpenter, Zia, Tranter (capt), Stewart, Ashman, Withers

Keiwit Stat Fact: My distinctly average 2-25 from nine overs would have been my second-best figures of the whole 2010 season.