Farley Hill 172 all
out (39.3 overs)
Zia 3-15, Withers 3-30
RUASCC 160 all out
(38 overs)
Umer 43, Partha 33
RUASCC lost by 12
runs
This was my first game in nearly two years owing to a
complication arising from my wife’s pregnancy (specifically she had a baby) and
it is comforting to know that very little has changed in my absence: Eagle
still works hard to get a full team together, Eagle still wins the toss and
chooses to field, Eagle still fields ground balls with his knees and Eagle
still positions his fielders by saying things like “go a bit rounder” and “try
that way”.
What else? Oh yes, Zia
arrived at the ground late, we still drop catches by the bucket load and we are
still prone to falling agonisingly short of what should have been a manageable run
chase. But despite everything I
thoroughly enjoyed myself.
A soft wicket and damp outfield made scoring fairly
difficult but we did our best to help the hosts along by dropping four of the
first five chances they offered, the only exception coming when Partha safely
held on at fine leg to give Sami the first wicket of the season. The second wicket partnership, led by
Ditchburn’s contractual half-century, seemed to last forever until Zia came on
and removed both batsmen in his first spell.
Withers toiled for seven overs without success before bursting
into life with two in two balls thanks to superb catches from newcomer Askew at
long-on and Nasir at short extra cover.
The hatrick ball sailed harmlessly past the outside edge but the next
ball was a beauty that clipped the off-stump to give Withers a treble-wicket
maiden to finish.
Askew took two more catches including a dive to
his left to give young Aussie guest Alex Rusjan a debut wicket. Sami bowled another to finish with excellent figures of 2-21 from his eight overs and some lusty hitting at the end took
Farley past 170 before tea arrived three balls early.
Sadly after a promising first half the RUASCC run chase
petered out. Splendid batting from Umer
and Partha took us rapidly to within a hundred of the target with sixes raining
down on the pavilion roof, but when both were dismissed in successive balls the
momentum was lost, never to be regained.
Zia (29) and Rusjan (19) were the only other batsmen to make double
figures as the tight bowling of skipper Jalil and off-spinner Wilsher took care
of the lower order. Eagle (batting himself
down at number ten) tried valiantly and one more partnership would have done
the trick, but last man Withers arrived and promptly misjudged a straight one
to be bowled for a first ball duck.
I almost certainly won’t be a regular this season (not least
because I’m relocating to Dorset in June) but I highly recommend all RUASCC
players should turn up once in a while just to reassure yourself that
everything is as it should be.
RUASCC Highlight: Despite a mixed day in the field overall,
Askew’s catch running back at long-on, followed the very next ball by Nasri
clinging on to a fierce drive in the covers, were particularly enjoyable
because they were both off my bowling.
RUASCC Man of the
Match: No, not really.
RUASCC Team: Carpenter, Partha, Umer, Rusjan, Askew, Zia,
Nasir, Sami, Dip (wkt), Eagle (capt), Withers
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