RUASCC 206-6 (40
overs)
Ward 56, Eagle 29
Sixpenny Handley 100-9
(all out, 27.3 overs)
Stewart 3-14, Withers 3-19
RUASCC won by 106
runs
The second match of the tour, and by now the resentment had
started to set in. We’d been stuck with
each other for three days, we’d been staying in a filthy hotel with
inexplicable evening “entertainment” and at least one member of the team had
been guided into a local bush after an evening in Vodka Revolution. We’d had a pizza together, we’d had a curry
together, we’d had a few drinks together… at this precise moment, 2pm on Sunday
afternoon, we didn’t want to see any of our teammates ever again, let alone
play cricket with them.
With no game on the Saturday we were free to pursue other
activities. Baker, Main and Withers set
off for yet another coastal walk and several others went for a round of golf
before we all convened in the Walkabout to watch Chris Rodgers and Shane Watson
rescue another perilous situation for the Australians in Durham. Kenny Stewart lost his glasses then went out
to buy a new shirt, ending up with the kind of shirt you could only buy if you’ve
lost your glasses.
So to finish the tour we just had to pass one more test: the
fixture against Sixpenny Handley, another wonderful purpose-built facility with
cricket pitch, tennis courts and recreation hall. Skipper Eagle lost the toss and we were asked
to bat first in a 40-over game.
Scoring didn’t come naturally on an unpredictable wicket and
Ward accumulated only in singles while Eagle, naturally, accumulated only in
edges down to third man. Having put on
60 Eagle was the first to go when he was run out. Zia repeated his score from the previous game
(hitting one six and one four to make a quick ten) before being trapped LBW by
one of several that kept very low.
In a playful shake-up of the batting order Richard Tranter was
next in and he made a handy 19 in his long-running chase to reach 5,000 club
runs. Meanwhile Ward eventually started
finding the boundary despite having to face a bowler who sent the ball 22 yards
high but barely 18 across. On a number
of occasions Wardy found himself beaten by the absurd flight and yet still able
to comfortably regain his ground before the ball passed the stumps.
Nevertheless our opening batsman passed fifty for the second
time on tour and then decided it was time to give others a go and got himself
bowled. Stewart (11) and Weeks (14) did
their bit in the middle order but runs only really started to flow when Malde
and Baker, who had been itching to get out to the middle, added 39 in the last
four overs to take us past 200.
From the looks on the faces of the home side at tea we
suspected we might have scored enough, but when ten runs came from the first
two overs we had momentary cause to question our optimism. Not for long though: wickets in each of the
next three overs (two for Withers, one for Zia) made headway into the top
order, and a flurry of boundaries from Nodder ended when a full toss from
Carpenter was miscued to the bucket hands of Bruce Main at mid-off.
Main’s bowling proved too hot to handle as his five overs
went for a mere three runs, while Withers was removed from the attack having
taken 2-5, which gave Ken Stewart the chance to run through the lower order
taking an impressive 3-14.
With only one wicket remaining the home side did at least
reach 100 before death bowler Mike Ward came on to take the final wicket of
tour. A just reward and a fitting end for
our undoubted Player of the Series.
Those tour stats in full:
Games Played: 2
Games Won: 2
Highest Run Scorer: Ward (106)
Highest Wicket Taker: Stewart (4)
Most Catches: Eagle, Baker, Main and Ward (1 each)
Mildest Curry: Withers (pasanda)
Purplest Shirt: Stewart (hideous)
Loudest Snorer: Main (troubled)
Until next year then, I’m sick of the lot of you.
RUASCC Highlight: Tremendous diving catch by wicketkeeper Baker
to dismiss Patel after the ball had brushed a glove and looped up in front of
square.
RUASCC Man of the
Match: It’s Ward again!
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