Farley Hill (A) – 22.4.18

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

Dorchester-on-Thames (A) – 27.9.15

RUASCC 180-8 (all out)

Rafiq 51, Eagle 49, Abid 33

Dorchester 161-9

Rafiq 5-19, Abid 2-12, Zia 1-14

Match Drawn

Those of us who made the trip to Dorchester can count ourselves lucky we got a game in at all - the recent improvement in the weather allowed us this bonus cricket weekend but it took the full weight of Zia’s address book merely to scrape together nine players.  Nevertheless we were determined to enjoy ourselves and it was undoubtedly this end-of-season feeling that prompted Eagle to choose to BAT FIRST, then go on to play with the sort of freedom that saw him race to 40 not out in 31 overs.

Opening partner Abid hit eight fours in his 33 but then disaster struck as Ward (LBW) and Zia (C&B) were dismissed from consecutive deliveries prompting Withers and Ashman to start getting padded up.  Fortunately we still had some middle order strength in the shape of Rafiq who joined Eagle at 69-4 and posted a valuable half century in a stand of 88.

While it’s often true that our beloved captain bats like a giraffe in a man costume it cannot be denied that he held the RUASCC innings together here.  When Eagle was eventually bowled for 49 the innings petered out and we sacrificed 15 minutes of batting time to the home side, meaning we ended up having to bowl 46 overs while limited to eight per bowler with only nine players.  This meant everyone had to put in a spell except the wicketkeeper, the skipper and Dilip whose injured shoulder meant he was unable to turn his arm over.

Withers bowled as usual without much incident, taking his only wicket with his penultimate ball.  Jaffri generated plenty of turn and was unlucky to finish up wicketless, while Abid was rapid enough to give Ward a torrid time behind the stumps but he too was unable to break through in his first four.  All of which meant that Dorchester reached drinks needing only 101 runs in 20 overs with eight wickets in hand.

Once again in our time of crisis we turned to Rafiq and he picked up a couple of quick wickets including the opener who appeared to be their biggest threat.  And he wasn’t finished there: a change of ends brought two wickets in two balls and suddenly the likelihood of defeat had given way to the possibility of victory.

Abid picked up a couple and Zia returned to get rid of Sharman (40) who was starting to make a good fight of the run chase.  By then Rafiq had picked up his fifth wicket and, much to the delight of Dr Ashman, we headed into the last few overs with all four results still on the table.

It soon became apparent that Dorchester’s last pair were only in it to protect their stumps, so with the sun slowly disappearing behind the treeline and all nine of us surrounding the bat, Ashman and Zia had an over each in which to attempt to dislodge them.  Then tension mounted but the old guys stood firm to save the draw.

A thoroughly compelling end to the season, just a shame there weren’t more of us there to appreciate it.

RUASCC Highlight:  Eagle winning the toss and batting first.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  Rafiq, despite dropping two catches.

RUASCC Team:  Eagle (capt), Abid, Ward (wkt), Zia, Jaffri, Rafiq, Dilip, Withers, Ashman

Whitchurch-upon-Thames (A) – 27.6.15

RUASCC 156 all out (25.3 overs)

Zia 103, (Extras 18), Binod 17, Weeks 12

Whitchurch 117 all out (35.4 overs)

Withers 4-20, Saad 3-13, Binod 2-13

RUASCC won by 39 runs

This was my first visit to Whitchurch-upon-Thames, a lovely little village with a 40p toll bridge from Pangbourne and a long, thin cricket pitch on the green.  It’s the ground where Chan famously got knocked out while keeping wicket in 2013 so there was plenty for this fixture to live up to, and it turned out to be one of the strangest games of cricket I’ve ever been involved in.

Limited overs again, and it started in all too familiar fashion: Eagle won the toss and chose to bat first but was out second ball, caught by a gully who was only placed there after they saw how he tried to play the first ball.  It soon became clear this was just a tactic to get Zia and Binod batting together again as soon as possible and the pair repaid their captain’s faith by bludgeoning 62 runs in just five overs before Binod was caught at mid-wicket.

Zia was in dominant form and quickly recorded a second consecutive fifty (off about 20 balls) making use of the short boundaries square on either side, while at the other end wickets began to fall at an alarming rate.  Green was caught at square leg for a duck, Greenhalf hit one six before being bowled for six, and Weeks continued his positive intent from last week before dragging on for 12.

It was like watching cricket on fast-forward - the sheer contrast of watching Zia destroy the bowling while the bowlers picked off everyone else made it difficult to tell who was genuinely on top.  From 117-5 Zia took the score to 156 with support provided by Varun (0), Main (0), Saad (0), Sayed (0) and Withers (0 not out).  In all seven RUASCC batsmen failed to score but Withers hung around long enough to allow Zia to hit the two boundaries he needed to reach his century in the 24^th over.  Next over he was caught behind and we were in for tea an hour early.

And a lovely tea it was, sadly not to be enjoyed at all by those fasting for Ramadan and taken only in moderation by those preparing to open the bowling.  The home side, needing less than four an over on a decent pitch with short boundaries, had plenty of reason to be confident, and both openers clubbed Withers straight back over his head early on in the run chase.

Saad, bowling off a shorter run-up but still with plenty of menace, picked up the first wicket before Withers went on the rampage and took out the rest of the top order.  He was aided by his first two victims both playing rather injudicious shots to straight deliveries, but the third was merely patting one back down the wicket and couldn’t have expected the bowler’s spectacular diving one-handed catch that sealed his fate.  To be fair no one in the RUASCC team was expecting it either.

Next up were two younger kids and Saad proved too good for both of them, and at the end of an exhilarating passage of play Whitchurch were 35-7 when Main took a good catch at mid-off to give Withers his fourth wicket.  It then became apparent that there had been an element of tinkering with the batting order because despite the best efforts of Main and Zia the next partnership stayed together for 20 overs and took the home side to within 50 runs of the target needing about a run a ball.

The first hint of a chance came when Withers dived full length at wide mid-on and only got finger tips to the ball, but just in the nick of time Zia prevailed and found a glove through to the keeper.  The outgoing batsman, who had somehow made it to fifty despite playing exclusively pre-meditated paddles to fine leg, insisted it was off the hip but both umpires disagreed and that was the game.  Binod bowled beautifully to take the last two wickets and seal the win by 39 runs.

RUASCC Highlight:  I’ve been given express permission to say it was Withers’ catch off his own bowling.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  I’m going out on a limb and saying probably Zia.  Any complaints should be directed to the usual address.

RUASCC Team:  Eagle (capt), Binod, Zia, Green, Greenhalf (wkt), Varun, Main, Saad, Sayed, Withers

Highmoor (A) – 21.6.15

Highmoor 180-5 (40 overs)

Zia 3-21, B. Hawkes 1-18, Withers 1-28

RUASCC 182-6 (35 overs)

Zia 59, Binod 50, Weeks 36 not out

RUASCC won by 4 wickets

A rarity at Highmoor: sun!  First time I think we’ve ever seen a solid surface here, treated as we have been to some real puddings, and the Highmoor openers made good use of it reaching 92-0 at the drinks break.  It was pretty streaky stuff for the most part, plenty of shots in the air falling just to the left or right of fielders.  A couple of genuine chances went down but overall we didn’t do a lot wrong.

The opening stand reached 111 before it was finally broken by Zia, and RUASCC’s bowling attack did well to keep the score under control.  Going into the last five overs on 159-2 looked like a strong position but Withers and Zia restricted the home side to just 21 runs for the loss of three wickets at the death.

After Eagle’s early departure it looked as if Zia and Binod were going to make extremely short work of the chase, bringing up the hundred in just the 12^th over.  Binod took advantage of some short-pitched bowling and pulled multiple boundaries into the hedge at square leg, then just as he reached his fifty he was given LBW.  Zia followed shortly after, caught and bowled by Mayers for 59, and suddenly the innings took on a very different appearance.

John Baker played for the first time this season but after a notably accomplished performance keeping wicket he scratched around for nine singles before being bowled by a freak lifter that he managed to chop on while trying to leave.  Our two guests, Ben and Dave Hawkes, managed just three runs between them and there was no denying it any longer – we were in a bit of bother.

Fortunately RUASCC found a new hero: Tom Weeks.  He showed promise at Farley and delivered utterly here.  Some spectacular drives to the boundary kept the scoreboard ticking over and even after splitting his bat down the middle he carried on in the same manner, ably supported by Bruce Main.  Run rate was never really an issue, but with only Tranter, Ashman and Withers to come in we were understandably nervous.

No need to worry though – Weeks and Main (13 not out) took us over the line with five overs to spare and gave us a win that had looked at times very unlikely, quite unlikely, very likely, then fairly likely and quite unlikely again before its exciting conclusion.

RUASCC Highlight:  Zia and Binod’s explosive partnership.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  Tom Weeks.

RUASCC Team:  Eagle (capt), Binod, Zia, Baker (wkt), Weeks, B. Hawkes, D. Hawkes, Main, Tranter, Ashman, Withers

Farley Hill (A) – 14.6.15

RUASCC 187-6 (40 overs)

Murphy 50, Greenhalf 35 not out, Ward 34

Farley Hill 189-4 (35.2 overs)

Withers 3-35, Ashman 1-40

RUASCC lost by 6 wickets

Two games at Farley Hill this year, two defeats – and not even very close ones to be honest.  The home side made this run chase look pretty easy in the end, helped enormously by captain Jalil’s assured 80 and also by the fact we only brought four bowlers to a limited-overs game.

Eagle won the toss, chose to bat first and came up against accurate bowling on a pitch with variable bounce.  There was also plenty of swing in the air and Eagle was the first victim of it – bowled off an inside edge for two.  Ward meanwhile had set off with typical intent and he hit three fours and a six in a rapid 34.  Several partnerships got started: 32, 27, 55, 29, mostly anchored by Murphy’s patient half-century, but the highlight was the 40 stand between Greenhalf and Weeks who combined to inject some pace towards the end of the innings and took us to the respectable, if not daunting, total of 187.

Withers and Ashman opened the bowling and kept the run rate down at about four an over in the early stages.  Withers removed both openers and was withdrawn from the attack with the home side on 40-2, but the third wicket added 87 before Ashman produced a gem of an accidental off-spinner to clean bowl Holland.  Sadly there was no miracle turnaround - the fourth wicket added a further 50 as Farley cantered home with nearly five overs to spare, with the only other RUASCC success coming when Withers finally bowled Jalil with his penultimate delivery.

RUASCC Highlight:  Weeks’ first scoring stroke, a kind of flat-batted straight drive for four.  Nobody was expecting it, but it set the tone for what was probably his most positive RUASCC knock.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  Murphy.  Conditions were tough, but he made it look tough.

RUASCC Team:  Ward, Eagle (capt), Murphy, Mazhar, Dip (wkt), Greenhalf, Weeks, Main, Green, Ashman, Withers

Theale & Tilehurst (A) – 24.5.15

Theale & Tilehurst 228-5 (44 overs)

Saad 2-57, Withers 1-26, Law 1-29

RUASCC 150-6 (41 overs)

Ward 51, Eagle 23, Greenhalf 19 not out

Scorecard

Match drawn

A batsmen’s track we expect in Theale

On a warm weekend in the month of May

Then we lose the toss and start to feel

It’s going to be a bloody long day

The new ball, Withers - it’s risky no doubt

Hit to the boundary as likely as not

First ball of the match: caught Eagle, he’s out!

(But that was the only one Withers got)

Forty-four overs, a long time to bowl

It might have been fewer if we could catch

Ward, Dersh then Withers – it saddens the soul

Our dignity shelled, and maybe the match

  Set two twenty-eight, a typical score

  A possible win?  More likely a draw

Eagle and Ward started on the right track

Seventy-seven their opening stand

Fifty for Wardy, a brutal attack

An Eagle-hit six is still yet to land

An excellent start, unlikely to last

In a procession our wickets we tossed

When RUASCC turn bad we unravel fast:

Twenty runs later and five wickets lost

Five wickets down, not a hundred yet scored

Can we survive till the end of the game?

Just playing for pride and runs on the board

Working out which of our batsmen to blame

  Andy and Ifti both proved to be sound

  The last ball walloped clean out of the ground

RUASCC Highlight:  Eagle’s maximum – you don’t often see him hit six over a proper boundary.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  Ward, despite the two dropped catches!

RUASCC Team:  Ward, Eagle (capt), Dersh Patel, Saad, Zia, Dip Patel (wkt), Greenhalf, Ifti Ahmed, Law, Waqar, Withers

Greys Green (A) – 23.5.15

RUASCC 158-9 (all out)

Daman Singh 62, Zia 45, Greenhalf 25

Greys Green 118-5

Zia 2-26, Saad 1-22, Raqib 1-33

Match drawn

It looks like I owe someone an apology.

It’s time to stand up and admit that I was wrong.  I doubted.  Last July I refused to believe sworn testimony, first-hand accounts from people I would normally trust.  In these very pages I have mocked, unashamedly failing to hide my unfounded scepticism, and now is the time to make things right.  Serve me a piece of that humble pie my good man, and top it with extra cream.  I was wrong.  Put it on a t-shirt, I deserve to wear it.

Daman, I’m sorry.  They told me you scored 59 against Peppard and I dismissed the whole match as merely the concoction of a fragile imagination.  As recently as October, in my review of the season, I scoffed and said I’d never seen you bat for very long (which was true).  Cynicism is an unattractive quality.  I was a half-century denier.

Not anymore.  Now I’ve seen wonders with my own eyes and I’m converted like Saul on the Damascus road.  I will preach to all who care to listen that I saw Daman score a fifty.  I was a witness to The Miracle of Greys Green.

In the absence of realistic alternatives Daman opened the batting with Eagle and, like so many others before him, soon found himself batting without Eagle.  It was by no means a fluent start: a streaky four over the slips to get off the mark and a chance dropped at mid-off that was worthy of RUASCC, but Daman soon displayed a level of defensive application and a confidence in uppish driving that made a mockery of the record books.

I never thought I’d be writing this but Daman was the backbone of the RUASCC innings, and after his dismissal the whole thing fell apart.  Daman, Zia and Greenhalf between them contributed 132 runs to the rather meagre total of 158, with opening bowler Ahmed taking six wickets for the home side and the last five wickets falling for just nine runs.  Against a typical RUASCC attack that might not have been enough, but we had a couple of Saads on our side.

Saad 2 (a guest of Saad 1) proved to be a bit useful: with the ball he’s every bit as quick as Saad 1, and with the keeper’s gloves he stood right up to Saad 1 seemingly completely at ease.  Between them they kept the run rate under control though wickets proved hard to come by.  A fantastic chase and throw from Jagesh saw Mo run out first ball attempting a risky second, but half way through the Greys innings all three results were still possible.  With Skilliter at the crease Greys were perhaps favourites but Zia bowled him for 46 to ensure the game petered out into a draw.

There are those who’ll say it isn’t worth playing a game for seven hours only to end up with no result.  There are those who think we’re all wasting our time.  But for Daman, and those who were there watching as he reached his second RUASCC fifty, this was a day we will never forget.  And henceforth I promise to be far less cynical about reports of the achievements of others.

Oh except that nonsense about Eagle scoring a century, obviously.  I’m not a complete idiot.

RUASCC Highlight: The run out – a great piece of work from Jagesh and Saad 2.

RUASCC Man of the Match:  Well, Zia scored 45 and took a couple of wickets, but I can’t give this to anyone except Daman.

RUASCC Team:  Eagle (capt), D. Singh, S. Raqib (wkt), Zia, Greenhalf (wkt), Saad, Tranter, Jagesh, Ashman, Withers