Ivanhoe journeyed around the M25 on a glorious sunny Sunday in late July to test mettle against a team that have generally had the wood over us for the past few years.
The weather bordered on oppressive, and Rich did his bit by winning the toss and taking first use of the batting conditions. The pitch proudly sits on the flattest part of the ground, as it slopes slightly more than gently across a line between the square boundaries…leading to a well equipped clubhouse. Perhaps it was a little too early in the day to enjoy a libation whilst Ives were batting, but reclining on the grass in the sunshine with the sound of leather on willow ringing around the ground.
Shez and Phil K opened up and plundered runs with aplomb. From the view on square, the pace seemed ferocious until PK was cut short. Tai joined the fun before one moved with the slope and nipped the edge of the Shez’s stumps and the fine partnership was broken. Tai was next to go after making a decent contribution. Mo joined Hansi and brought some big fireworks as Mo smote the ball mightily before a horror call ran him out. Hansi was himself fun out trying to keep the scoreboard ticking. In strode Rich to join Saqib and runs abounded. The last ten or so overs saw the scoring rate appreciate as Rich reached a rapid fire 50. All up 238 seemed a fantastic score, on what was an increasingly excellent batting track with little movement and the slope all but irrelevant. For the first time since the nets the batters were able to play thought the line and trust the bounce with the ball coming on nicely…if anything the biggest difficulty was waiting for the slower bowlers; as the day wore on, some of the runups had batters thinking about dodging a missile as they charged in, only for the ball to gently drift towards them on a length. The fire and brimstone pace that the innings began with petered out.
Confidence was high as Ives took the field, and the first couple of tight overs gave cause to optimism, before the Theydon batters found their range and suddenly runs flowed. A brief moment of respite came with the fall of the first wicket, before normal service resumed. Good balls were dispatched with excellent strokes – nothing that field placings could ameliorate. Saquib took a good catch for the first wicket, and Rich an excellent, running and finally diving catch on the boundary was a moment for the highlights reel for all that saw it. Sadly for every good moment, butterfingers and a case of the dropsies scuppered the good work. Several balls went in and out, another came crashing to earth just by the fielder who lost it in the sky.
Ives were almost in it, every time it looked like things were beyond them a wicket fell and the run rate eased, before the flurry of boundaries resumed…it was almost a run a ball needed with 5 wickets in hand and forty odd needed when the final hopes were extinguished. The batters suddenly moved from playing cautiously and respecting the bowling, to striking with disdain and showing disregard for all and sundry. The last few tens of runs were picked off within the space of a couple of overs…leaving the fielders stunned and the bowlers perplexed.
Despite what was a shocking over rate, the game finished just after 7, albeit ameliorated by the unbowled overs. This left just enough time for a visit to the clubhouse and discourse over the day. The general consensus was that the good batting pitch combined with batting first made setting a target very hard, knowing what was chaseable was very difficult and perhaps more risks ought to have been taken earlier.
In the end, the better side won, but Ives gave a very good account of themselves and, like in previous seasons, one more wicket a little earlier could well have shifted the dial in Ivanhoe’s favour. Had one of the catches been held, let alone all three, the story could have been very different and the toasts afterwards wouldn’t be of commiseration but commendation.
Author: Hansi B